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Tag: Commander

  • Police arrest bandits’ commander, ban unauthorised use of tinted glasses in Zamfara

    Police arrest bandits’ commander, ban unauthorised use of tinted glasses in Zamfara

    The Zamfara State Police Command says it has arrested one of the notorious commanders of bandits, Bello Ruga.

    Commissioner of Police in Zamfara, Ayuba Elkana, who disclosed this to reporters said Bello, also known as Bello Dan Malankara, was apprehended at a bandits’ camp in Gummi Local Government Area of the state.

    “On 1st October 2021, police tactical operatives on anti-banditry operations around Gummi axis acted on intelligence report and stormed Gidan Bita, Malankare, and Kagara forest in search of one notorious bandit known as Bello Rugga,” he said during a briefing on Friday at the Police Headquarters in Gusau.

    “The bandit who happens to be one of the Turji’s commanders was the one in charge of Gummi, Gidan Bita, Malankare, and Kagara forest in Gummi LGA.

    “He has been commanding a series of attacks and kidnaps in Gummi that led to the unwarranted killing of innocent people, and the kidnapping of many persons where ransoms were paid. The suspect who has many bandits under him also is in possession of AK 47 rifles.”

    Meanwhile, Elkana announced that all vehicles with unauthorised tinted glass should be immediately removed.

    He also directed the police to arrest and prosecute owners of vehicles without plate numbers on all roads in the state.

    The police commissioner also clarified the status of the measures announced by the state government to check the activities of bandits in Zamfara.

    According to him, the ban on carrying more than a passenger on a motorcycle, as well as the use of motorcycles with clutches in 13 LGAs and some parts of Gusau, remains in force.

    Elkana warned residents against non-compliance with the closure of weekly markets in the state, except in Gusau.

    He reminded them of the restriction of movement in and out of the 13 LGAs from 6am to 6pm, and from 8pm to 6am in the state capital.

    The police commissioner, however, revealed that movement within Gusau metropolis has been extended to 12am, as announced by the Commissioner for Information in the state, Ibrahim Dosara.

    “All Keke Napep (tricycles) putting additional curtain to cover passengers is banned. The suspension of communication networks in the 13 LGAs is still in force with the exception of Gusau metropolis,” he said.

    Elkana appealed to the residents to exercise more patience and support the government in its bid to restore peace and security in the state.

  • Nigerian army appoints new PSOs, field commanders, others

    Nigerian army appoints new PSOs, field commanders, others

    The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Maj.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya, has approved the appointment of Principal Staff Officers (PSOs), Field Commanders and other key staff officers to provide the needed vigour in his command of the Nigerian Army (NA).

    The Director Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.

    Nwachukwu disclosed that the Chief of Operations (Army), Maj.-Gen. Ibrahim Yusuf, now becomes the Commandant, Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), while Maj.-Gen. B.O Sawyer is the new Director of Defence Information.

    He also said that Maj.-Gen. TA Gagariga would move from Army Headquarters, Department of Policy and Plans, to the Nigerian Army Artillery Corps as Commander and Maj.-Gen. Victor Ezugwu becomes the Commander, Infantry Corps.

    According to him, Maj.-Gen. MA Yekini is the new Chief of Defence Training and Operations, Maj.-Gen. MS Yusuf takes over as Chief of Defence Standard and Evaluation, while Maj.-Gen. Anthony Omozoje is the new Chief of Policy and Plans (Army).

    Similarly, Nwachukwu further disclosed that Maj.-Gen. SO Olabanji had been appointed the Commander, Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), while Maj.-Gen. OA Akintade would be the new Chief of Army Logistics.

    He said that Maj.-Gen. OT Akinjobi has been appointed as the Chief of Operations (Army), Maj.-Gen. James Ataguba as Chief of Army Standard and Evaluation, while Maj.-Gen. KI Mukhtar becomes the Chief of Administration (Army).

    Maj.-Gen. C Ofoche is the new Chief of Transformation and Innovation, with Maj.-Gen. AB Ibrahim appointed as Chief of Training (Army).

    “Among the new field commanders are Maj.-Gen. Abdul-Khalifa Ibrahim who takes over as the Force Commander, Multi National Joint Task Force, N’Djamena, and Maj.-Gen. IS Ali who becomes the General Officer Commanding 3 Division would also double as the Commander Special Task Force ‘Operation Safe Haven’.

    “The COAS equally approved the appointment of Commanders, Commandants of NA Institutions, Directors and other key appointments at both Defence and Army levels.

    “The appointments are aimed to rejig for efficiency in command and administration within the Nigerian army and these appointments take effect immediately,” Nwachukwu said.

  • ‘Uzodinma will pay dearly’ IPOB reacts to killing of its Commander, others

    ‘Uzodinma will pay dearly’ IPOB reacts to killing of its Commander, others

    The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has reacted to the killing of one of its leaders, saying Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, “will pay dearly”.

    The Nigerian Army on Saturday said it had led a combined team of security forces to raid “the operational Headquarters of the IPOB/ESN terrorists in Awomama Village, Oru East LGA of Imo State.”

    During the raid, Ikonso – who the Army said was the mastermind of the April 5 attacks on the Imo State Police Command and the Owerri Correctional Center, in addition to multiple attacks in the South East and South South regions – was neutralised along with six of his top Commanders.

    IPOB, in a statement signed by spokesman Emma Powerful on Saturday, said “the killing of the heroic innocent Biafrans protecting our communities and towns from Fulani terrorists herdsmen masquerading as cattle herders in cold blood is very painful.”

    The statement added that “the Supreme Court Administrator of Imo State Hope Uzodinma and all those who had a hand in this wickedness will pay dearly.

    “Hope Uzodinma and his cowardly Nigerian security agencies that cannot confront Fulani terrorists but only flex their muscles when they see Biafra agitators. For murdering Ikonso, the ESN unit COMMANDER in in cold blood, Uzodima has stirred the hornet nest! He should get ready for a sting.

    “Uzodima decided to kill Ikonso because he refused his offer to head Ebubeagu ghost security outfit formed by South East governors. Uzodima has tried but without success to lure ESN operatives into EBUBEAGU. He had made irresistible offers to them which were turned down, hence his resorting to elimination of these patriotic heroes who vowed never to betray Biafra.

    “Hope Uzodinma sent a lot of emissaries to beg Ikonso and other ESN officers to join EBUBEAGU security outfit. So, because of their refusal to betray Biafra agitation and our Leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the hopeless governor mobilized joint security forces to attack them today.

    “Contrary to claims by the cowardly security forces who flee from terrorists but kill innocent citizens, they were not able to peneterate into the camp of Eastern Security Network ESN. They only ambushed Ikonso but we promise them hell for this cowardly act!

    “Hope Uzodima has murdered sleep, so he should be ready to stay awake! FULANI terrorists pretending as cattle sellers in Enugu destroyed Police van and attacked Government officials on lawful duty with AK-47 but no Army, police or DSS attacked them till now. But ESN operatives defending our communities against the terrorists are being hunted like games everyday. The world has kept quiet over this atrocity until we begin our own madness.

    “Hope Uzodinma as you the body of Ikonso was paraded by Fulani Jihadists in police and Nigerian army, so shall it be your portion one day.”

  • 80-year-old father visits Boko Haram camp, begs ‘commander’ son to surrender

    80-year-old father visits Boko Haram camp, begs ‘commander’ son to surrender

    Mallam Baba Modu, an 80-year-old father of a Boko Haram commander, popularly called ‘Ba-Ana,’ has narrated how he travelled to the Lake Chad camp of the Al Barnawi faction of the sect to plead with his son to dump the insurgents.

    Modu, who disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Maiduguri, said his efforts to convince his son to surrender and embrace peace failed.

    He said he was unable to persuade his son to abandon the cause and surrender himself to the Federal Government’s Operation Safe Corridor.

    Recounting his ordeal, Modu said his son was conscripted by the insurgents in 2012 at a farm in Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno State.

    He said, “I lost hope of meeting my son after his abduction in the past seven years. One day, I met someone who told me that my son was alive and mentioned where I could find him.

    “I was also told he is one of the commanders of the Al Barnawi faction of the Boko Haram sect.

    “I travelled to the shores of the Lake Chad to plead with Ba-Ana to surrender and embrace peace. It took me about one week to get to where I met him.

    “When I arrived at the camp, I told them that I am the father of Ba-Ana and after a series of interrogations, they asked me to wait for him to return from a mission.

    “Ba-Ana returned at night, he was surprised to see me, and when he heard my voice; he told his men that I am his father.

    “I pleaded with him for about 30 days in a bid to convince him to lay down his arms and embrace peace, regrettably he did not heed my counsel.

    “Ba-Ana confessed that he killed many people and believed that the authorities would not forgive his crimes. He also believed that he had committed his life to the cause of God.

    “I have not lost hope; I will continue to pray to God to heal his soul and bring him back to me,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the military said on Wednesday that it was clearing the remnants of Boko Haram on the major road leading to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

    A statement signed by the spokesman for the counter-insurgency operation in the North-East, Operation Lafiya Dole, Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, said there was no truth in media reports that the Maiduguri-Damaturu Road had been closed to motorists.

    The Maiduguri-Damaturu Road, he said, was perhaps the only safe road leading to the town and had it been closed, the town would have been cut off from the rest of Nigeria by road.

    The road in the last one week had become the latest theatre of war between the military and the terrorist group which is threatening to capture Maiduguri.

    The insurgents have, however, suffered heavy casualties as they have continued to fall under air and land bombardments of the Nigerian military.

    A statement by Nwachukwu partly read, “Our attention has been drawn to rumours that the Nigerian Army has closed the Maiduguri-Damaturu Road. This is not true. What is happening is an ongoing clearance and snap check operations in the general area required to clear suspected Boko Haram terrorists along that road.

    “The clearance operation is ultimately for the safety and security of motorists and other road users.”

    He added, “Members of the public are advised to cooperate and bear with the troops as they carry out these duties.”

     

     

  • Arrested Boko Haram commander narrates deadly activities in Kogi, Abuja, Kano, others

    Arrested Boko Haram commander narrates deadly activities in Kogi, Abuja, Kano, others

    A suspected commander of Boko Haram terrorists, who was recently arrested in Lagos, Umar Abdulmalik, has disclosed his adventures in the crime world including being a terrorist and a bank robber.

    Abdulmalik confessed to have been involved in several bomb explosions in Kaduna and Kano states as well as Nyanya and Kuje bombings in Abuja.

    He said he partook in the 2012 Koton Karfe Prison break in Kogi State, where over 100 inmates were freed and asked to join his group to attack banks in Okene, Kogi State and Owo in Ondo State.

    The native of Okene, in an interview during the week, stated that the proceeds of the robberies were used to procure sophisticated explosives used for terrorism.

    Abdulmalik was tracked down penultimate Thursday in Lagos by operatives of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team. He was later paraded in Abuja along with seven other suspected members of his gang.

    The 39-year-old said an Islamic cleric, who he identified as Mallam Mustapha in Okene, initiated him into Boko Haram through radical teachings that frowned on western education and democratic system of government.

    He said, “I joined one of the Boko Haram cells in Okene headed by one Zeeidi and we carried out several bombings within Kaduna, Kano and Abuja. Zeeidi was the person providing the bombs and my job then was to take them to our target locations. After a while, the Department of State Services infiltrated our cell and started arresting members of our group. Mallam Mustapha was arrested and his mosque was demolished.

    “Zeedi also brought the idea that we should rob banks so that those of us who have not been arrested could have resources to continue with the struggle. He brought some guns and he suggested we should attack the Koton Karfe Prison so we could free our members who were detained there. The attack on the prison was successful and we freed a lot of our members.

    “We then attacked some banks in Okene and Owo and made away with large sums of money. We used some of the money we got from those robberies to buy advanced explosives, including materials we could use in producing non-metallic bombs that could beat metal detectors. A lot of our members were arrested after those bank robberies and the attack on the prison.”

    Abdulmalik said he relocated to Abuja in 2014 and formed a new gang during which they attacked Banex Plaza, Nyanya and Kuje areas.

    He stated that the gang was busted with five members arrested while explosives were recovered from them.

    He said he fled to Kano and returned to Abuja two years after to form a new gang that specialised in armed robbery.

    It was gathered that the IRT operatives, led by DCP Abba Kyari, got intelligence that led to the arrest of Abdulmalik and his gang members during investigations into the gruesome killing of seven policemen and a civilian, who were attacked in July 2018 at a police post at Galadima Roundabout, Abuja.

    In November 2018, the detectives made a breakthrough when they arrested a member of the gang, Abdulmalik Lukman, aka Lampard, in Ondo State.

    He reportedly confessed to taking part in the killing of the policemen and named Abdulmalik as the gang leader.

    “Lukman took the IRT operatives to the gang’s hideout in Abuja and four of his gang members: Abubakar Sidi; Yusuf Abdulazeez aka, Fine Boy; Suleman Zakariya; and Haruna Lamid, were arrested. But, Abdulmalik escaped with a bullet wound. Four AK-47 rifles belonging to the deceased policemen, six magazines, 270 rounds of AK-47 ammunition and two police walkie-talkie radios were recovered from the suspects,” a police source said.

    The source added that Abdulmalik fled to Lagos to treat the bullet wound at his younger sister’s home, where he was arrested.

    Speaking further about his robbery exploits, Abdulmalik said, “We robbed a man at a checkpoint in Okene. We pretended to be policemen and collected N1.3m from the man. We then moved to Abuja where we started robbing supermarkets. We also robbed a shop along Second Gate on the Abuja-Kaduna Road. We became friends with a dismissed policeman called Apin Iron. We used to buy drugs from him. In one of our encounters he told us that he knew several rich people we could rob and that he would get his share of the loot.

    “He gave us information about a man, who we robbed of N5m. We gave Apin Iron N2.5m as his share because that was what he demanded. He also gave us several other jobs before I had an accident and lost one of my eyes.”

  • Troops kill five; capture Boko Haram commander in Borno

    Troops in Borno killed five Boko Haram insurgents and captured a top commander of the group in the ongoing operation in Sambisa Forest and the Lake Chad basin.

    Col. Onyeama Nwachukwu, Deputy Director, Army Public Relations of Operation Lafiya Dole, in a statement in Maiduguri, said troops also rescued three civilians, recovered vehicles and high calibre ammunition in various operations in the past two days.

    Nwachukwu said on Thursday, the troops engaged and neutralised a number of fleeing insurgents while attempting to escape the military blocking position in one of the cleared enclaves ‘Sabil-Huda’, deep in Sambisa Forest.

    He said that the troops also recovered one G-III rifle magazine, one life jacket, a light Machine Gunmetal link, four rounds of Anti-Aircraft ammunition, four rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition and three rounds of 7.62mm (Special) ammunition.

    “Unfortunately, two soldiers were injured in the process; they had been evacuated by the Nigerian Air Force and are responding to treatment,” he said.

    Nwachukwu said that the troops on Friday launched offensive targeting a terrorist’s hideouts up ‘CAMP ZAIRO’, and neutralized a number of insurgents in spite of initial damaged caused to their Armoured Fighting Vehicle by Improvise Explosive Device (IED) planted beneath the ground.

    He said that the troops killed five insurgents; several others wounded and recovered ammunition at a hideout in Parisu, Sambisa Forest.

    Nwachukwu disclosed that troops of 151 Battalion in conjunction with “7 Division Support Group’ had also cleared nine terrorists’ hideouts along Frigi-Izza area.

    The director added that the troops also recovered one motorcycle, two bicycles, 10 bicycle tyres, one bicycle, three Boko Haram flags, a solar panel, five drums filled with grain, two mattresses, two grinding machines, three bags of metal scraps, two motorcycle tyres and two underground grain silos.

    Also recovered are one AK-47 Rifle Magazine, 1 dummy rifle, a round of 12.7mm ammunition, 12 empty cases of 7.62mm ammunition, assorted IED materials and a tool box.

    According to him, the Air Task Force of Operation LAFIYA DOLE provided air cover for the land troops in the conduct of the operations.

  • Capture Shekau `dead or alive’, Buratai directs Commander

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has directed Maj.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, the Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maiduguri, to capture Abubakar Shekau, self-styled leader of the Boko Haram sect, “dead or alive”.

    Buratai further directed the Theatre commander to do so within 40 days.

    A statement issued by the Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman, on Friday night, said that Attahiru should “employ all arsenal at the disposal of the Theatre Command to smoke out Shekau wherever he is hiding in Nigeria.”

    “The general public is please requested to also assist and volunteer information that would lead to the accomplishment of this task,” Usman said.

     

  • Tension as Boko Haram commander swapped with Chibok girls threatens to bomb Abuja

    One of the Boko Haram commanders, who were swapped with the recently released 82 Chibok girls, has threatened to bomb Abuja in new a video obtained by international journalist, Ahmad Salkida.

    Salkida, who has close links with the insurgent group, said the video released by the Abubakar Shekau faction, featured one Shuaibu Moni, a Boko Haram commander who was one of those allegedly swapped for the girls.

    He disclosed that Moni issued threats to the Nigerian government and President Muhammadu Buhari.

    According to a report by The Nation, Salkida also claimed that the commander stated that it was not true that only five insurgents were released in exchange for the Chibok girls. He then warned of imminent bombing in Abuja.

    Moni added that there’s been no dialogue with government and that there won’t be.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that no fewer than 276 schoolgirls were abducted over three years ago, while 82 were released after negotiations involving the Swiss Government, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Federal Government on one side and the terror sect on the other.

    However, the Federal Government had on Thursday said it had no apologies or regrets whatsoever for swapping the recently released (82) Chibok girls for the suspected Boko Haram members in its (FG’s) custody.