TheNewsGuru

Tag: Borno

  • Zulum advocates for enhanced salary, welfare for military personnel

    Zulum advocates for enhanced salary, welfare for military personnel

    Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno has advocated for improved salary and welfare for the military personnel to boost thier morale.

    Zulum made the call on Sunday in Maiduguri at a feast to celebrate the Acting General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7 Division, Maj.-Gen. Abdulwahab Eyitayo, who was promoted to the rank of Major General.

    Zulum noted that military personnel had made lots of sacrifices under harsh conditions and paid the supreme price to secure the nation, adding that it need to be rewarded accordingly.

    He congratulated Eyitayo and other elevated officers, saying that the government and people of the state were excited over the development.

    The governor reiterated commitment of his administration to support the military to enable it to succeed in the fight against insurgency.

    Zulum described the relative peace recorded in the state as a welcome development, adding that it facilitated resettlement of displaced persons in the liberated communities.

    He also announced plans to re-open the commercially viable Maiduguri – Gamboru – Ngala road and Maiduguri – Damboa road in January, to fast track normalisation of activities in the state.

    “Today; I am happy as the Governor of Borno because we have achieved a lot.

    “We are able to return people to Baga, Wulgo, Ngoshe and many communities in the state.

    “By the grace of God, we shall soon resettle people back to Malumfatori, headquarters of Abadam Local Government Area.

    “The only way we can fight insurgency is for us to continue to be resilient,” he said.

    In their separate remarks, Eyitayo and Maj.-Gen. Christopher Musa, Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), restated commitment of the military to end insurgency in the country.

    While commending the support of the government and people of the state in the counter insurgency operation, they urged remnants of the terrorists to emulate those that surrendered before it’s too late.

  • Stop comparing my achievements in Borno with that of other governors, Zulum warns supporters

    Stop comparing my achievements in Borno with that of other governors, Zulum warns supporters

    Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum has expressed gratitude to many of his promoters on social media platforms.

    But he enjoined some of them to stop comparing his performance with those of other governors since all states have their peculiarities.

    Professor Zulum’s Adviser on Public Relations and Strategy, Malam Isa Gusau, delivered the governor’s appeal in a statement yesterday.

    “The fact is that I feel extremely uncomfortable any time I am being negatively compared with any governor, especially if anyone of those making the comparisons fall into any of the social media groups associated with us. I consider such comparisons unhealthy.

    “Moreover, we are not in a competition. The truth is that all of the 36 states have their peculiarities and priorities, depending on developmental plans and the needs of societies.

    “In Borno’s case, we have to be desperate in our recovery efforts because we have been faced with 12 years of war, resulting in thousands of deaths and displacement of about 2 million people with humanitarian needs.

  • Civilian forces kill three terrorists, capture one alive after attack on Borno farmers

    Civilian forces kill three terrorists, capture one alive after attack on Borno farmers

    The Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) arrested one terrorist and killed three others on Friday.

    The insurgents were caught in the act of stealing food items along Maiduguri-Damaturu Road in Borno.

    They attacked farmers and were leaving with their loot when the security operatives engaged them.

    The farmers, both siblings, had harvested their farm produce near Daiwa within the Damboa precinct.

    A military source said the terrorists shot a number of people on their farmland, killing two and injuring one.

    He said Saminu Audu, a CJTF commander, led the operation at Lamboa, between Minok-Janaka along the Damaturu-Maiduguri highway.

    “After a fierce confrontation, three of the terrorists were killed, one was captured alive.

    “The terrorists are remnants of Boko Haram under Abubakar Shekau faction.

    “They refused to pay allegiance to ISWAP and depend on robbery and kidnapping for survival”, the officer added.

  • BREAKING: ISWAP attacks Damboa LGA in Borno, set houses ablaze

    BREAKING: ISWAP attacks Damboa LGA in Borno, set houses ablaze

    Six days after the attack that killed a general and three other officers of the Nigerian Army in Chibok/Askira Uba in southern Borno, Damboa, another neighbouring Local Government Area is presently under severe attack by terrorists of Islamic State West Africa Province.

    This attack is the third one in a month in Damboa.

     

    Though details are sketchy, information available as of the time of filing this report shows that the insurgents came to the town early around 5:30 am Friday morning and are currently setting houses and public property on fire.

     

    No reports of human casualty yet but Damboa is one of the few towns that refused to be displaced by the insurgency despite its closeness to Sambisa and being a target of several attacks by the ISWAP terrorists.

     

     

    Details soon…

     

  • Borno attack: How ISWAP targeted, killed Gen Zirkusu – Senator Ndume

    Borno attack: How ISWAP targeted, killed Gen Zirkusu – Senator Ndume

    The Senator representing, Borno South Senatorial District, Ali Ndume, has disclosed the reason the Islamic State West Africa Province killed Brigadier General Zirkusu in Saturday’s attack.

    The military officer was killed alongside three others during an attack on a military base in Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State.

    Ndume said the general was killed because he was a major obstacle to ISWAP operations in the area. He also disclosed that he died after a bomb-ladened car rammed into his vehicle.

    He said, “They know that the general was the major obstacle to their operation. They laid an ambush and rammed a bomb-ladened car into his vehicle.

    “The military is aware and the air force is providing surveillance in the area. It was a revenge mission. The army has been taking out key ISWAP commanders and they have their revenge.”

    According to Ndume, who is the Chairman of, Senate Committee on Army, the attack was a revenge mission for the Army neutralising some ISWAP commanders.

    He added that the terrorists were regrouping for a fresh attack, however, the military is aware and are taking steps to stop it.

    “They (ISWAP terrorists) are also regrouping around Borno North, that’s Lake Chad axis, planning to launch a fresh attack. The military is aware and the Air Force is conducting surveillance in the area right now.”

  • ISWAP fighters attack military base in Borno, engage soldiers in gun duel

    ISWAP fighters attack military base in Borno, engage soldiers in gun duel

    Suspects fighters of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) on Saturday, November 13, 2021, attacked a military base in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State.

    According to Daily Trust, some civilians had sighted the fighters in a long convoy of gun trucks along Ngude axis towards Askira this morning before they attacked the military base.

    The civilians told the newspaper that they reported the terrorists’ movement to security forces but no step was taken before the terrorists struck hours later.

    Confirming the attacks, Engr Abdullahi Musa Askira, Deputy Speaker of Borno House Assembly, said the troop and the fighters exchanged gunfire.

    “Yes, ISWAP is currently attacking Askira town. I was reliably informed that our troops are fighting them, but the residents are in the bush.

    “My people told me that the insurgents came with about 16 gun trucks and there is confusion in the whole town now,” the lawmaker told Daily Trust.

    A resident and member of civilian JTF, Yakubu Luka said the attackers went straight to the military base immediately they stormed the town.

    “We are expecting a reinforcement from the nearby community, as I am speaking with you heavy gunfire is ongoing,” he said.

    He also appealed to the authorities to send fighter jets to support the ground soldiers because they were outnumbered.

  • Top Borno civil servant bags 28 years jail term for N86m fraud

    Top Borno civil servant bags 28 years jail term for N86m fraud

    A Borno State High Court, sitting in Maiduguri, has sentenced a civil servant, Ma’aji Shettima Arfo, to 28-years-imprisonment for engaging in an N86.1 million contract fraud.

    Arfo, who was sentenced to jail by Justice Haruna Mshellia, of Borno State High Court, 3, was the General Manager of the state-owned Maiduguri Flour Mills Limited, where he committed the fraud.

    He was charged on a six-count by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for offences bordering on abuse of office and conferring undue advantage on himself.

    The charge sheet showed that Arfo, while acting as the General Manager of the Flour Mill, between 2014 and 2020, engaged in multiple frauds in violation of Sections 12 and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under relevant sections of the same Act.

    One of the counts on which he was convicted revealed that he awarded multiple contracts to Falkwat Multilinks Limited, a private company where he was a director, to supply diesel (Automotive Gas Oil) and maize to Maiduguri Flour Mills.

    Counsel to ICPC, Anas Mohammed Kolo, while arguing the case, told the court that the convict in October 2015, awarded a N4.9 million contract to Falkwat Multilinks Limited to supply 40,000 litres of diesel to the flour mills.

    The court further heard how Arfo, while being a public servant, awarded several contracts between 2016 and 2017 to his private company, Falkwat Multilinks Limited, to supply maize to Maiduguri Flour Mills Limited.

    For instance, he authorized the payments of N42.1 million to his company in July 2016 for the supply of 386.45 metric tonnes of maize and another N23 million to the same company in March 2016 to supply 306.94 metric tonnes of maize to the state-owned flour mills.

    He was convicted for yet another offence when he approved the payment of N16 million to Falkwat Multilinks to supply 217.45 metric tonnes of maize.

    Justice Mshellia, at end of the trial, found the general manager guilty of four counts out of six preferred against him and sentenced him to seven years imprisonment on each count. The judge ruled that prison terms will run concurrently.

  • Insecurity: Defence Minister, Service Chiefs visit Borno

    Insecurity: Defence Minister, Service Chiefs visit Borno

    The service chiefs on Friday visited the theatre command of operation in Hadin Kai, the Borno State capital.

    The delegation was led by the Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi.

    The commander of the multinational joint task force and other service commanders were also on the ground to receive the delegation.

    The minister of defence in his opening remarks said he was in Borno to get the operational brief from the headquarters of the theatre command.

    He said the commander in chief of the armed forces has provided all that is required to execute the war against insurgency and the banditry and other challenges the country faces.

    “We are making progress day in day out and I want to appreciate every member specially invited by the CDS so that we can put our heads together and see if new ideas can come and be able to finish up what we have started,” the minister added.

    “I think the success is not far away and with your determination and commitment I’m sure we’ll get out of the woods very very soon.”

  • Half a million people in three Nigerian states at risk of starvation – UN

    Half a million people in three Nigerian states at risk of starvation – UN

    The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that half a million women, men and children in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states are at risk of starvation as its funding for the region dries up.

    In a statement released on Friday, the global agency says it may soon be forced to cut food rations except it secures urgent funding to continue its life-saving operations in the crisis hotspot.

    The region has been a mainstay of insurgency attacks for over a decade and the situation has been worsened by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising high food prices, the WFP said.

    The UN agency also said the number of internally-displaced persons surpassed two million in September.

    “Cutting rations means choosing who gets to eat and who goes to bed hungry. We are seeing funding for our life-saving humanitarian work dry up just at the time when hunger is at its most severe,” said Chris Nikoi, WFP’s Regional Director for West Africa following a recent visit to Nigeria.

    The WFP, which won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2020, said it required at least $55 million in a matter of weeks to avoid cutting food aid.

    “Our food assistance is a lifeline for millions whose lives have been upended by conflict and have almost nothing to survive on. We must act now to save lives and avoid disruptions to this lifeline,” Nikoi added.

    The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, said cutting food assistance “will be a painful decision for humanitarians as it will negatively affect children, women and men uprooted from their homes due to continued violence.

    “As we call upon our partners to step up their support in response to the growing needs, I would like to say thank you to those who have stood with us over the years in providing the much-needed humanitarian assistance in the country.”

    According to its Friday statement, the WFP said it has “provided life-saving food and nutrition assistance to severely food insecure people, displaced families in camps, and to vulnerable people living in host communities thanks to generous contributions from Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Nigeria, Republic of Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, the United States of America, and private donors.

    “This year, relying on the continued generosity of donor partners, WFP ramped up its response to address rising food insecurity and the impact of COVID-19, targeting 1.9 million displaced people in Nigeria with life-saving food assistance.

    “To sustain humanitarian operations in northeast Nigeria until March 2022, WFP urgently requires USD 197 million.”

  • Over 20 feared dead as fighter jet releases bombs on civilians in Borno

    Over 20 feared dead as fighter jet releases bombs on civilians in Borno

    No fewer than 20 civilians have died from a supposed airstrike in Dabar Masara, a border town in Monguno Local Government Area of Borno State.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG gathered that the airstrike occurred on Sunday afternoon when a jet flew over the general area and dropped bombardments in three different locations all within Dabar Masara.

    The civilians, mostly farmers, were either on their farms or at the river bank when the tragic event happened.

    Dabar Masara is a farming and fishing community located on the Nigerian side of the Lake Chad region in Monguno local government of Borno State.

    “In one of the locations attacked, we were told that 10 persons were evacuated and buried that same day,” a source said.

    “Maybe they mistook them for Boko Haram for which I won’t blame them, but those were our relatives and they were only out looking for their daily bread because even if they stay at home nobody will give them food.”

    Sources claim Boko haram fighters have not attacked locals in a long time as, according to them, they mostly storm the villages to loot food or fish without harming any villagers.

    This is, however, not the first time an accidental airstrike by the military will take place in the northeast where the nation has been battling the decade-long insurgency war.

    Two weeks ago, more than 10 villagers were killed in a similar airstrike during a pursuit of Boko Haram insurgents in neighbouring Yobe State.

    Security sources had said the Air Force launched the airstrike on Buhari village in Yunusari Local Government, north of Yobe from Damaturu, the state capital, while chasing the insurgents into the village.

    Yunusari, which shares an international border with the Niger Republic, has an area of 3,790 km2 and a population of 125,821, according to the 2006 census.

    Meanwhile, the military had yet to respond to the incident.