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Tag: Defence Headquarters

  • Prison break: Fani-Kayode, DHQ clash over Kuje attack

    Prison break: Fani-Kayode, DHQ clash over Kuje attack

    Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode and Defence Headquarters have clashed over the recent attack on the correctional facility in Kuje.

    Defence spokesman, Maj.-Gen. Jimmy Akpor, had in a statement yesterday said Fani-Kayode’s claim that soldiers were withdrawn shortly before the prison was attacked was false.

    “It may not be impossible that such a claim is part of a calculated attempt to cause division and rivalry amongst all government agencies that have been working collaboratively in addressing issues of insecurity in the country.

    “The claim that soldiers were withdrawn from the Kuje Correctional Custodial Centre before the attack is laughable.

    “It is sad that Fani-Kayode is ignorant of whose responsibility it is to guard prison,” Akpor said.

    He also accused Fani-Kayode of attempting to malign the leadership of the military, by creating an impression that while junior military commanders and non-commissioned officers were working hard, senior commanders were doing nothing.

    However, in a lengthy statement posted to Instagram today, FFK said that he would not be cowered into silence.

    “For this I offer no apology and I stand by everything that I said in that video including the assertion that the leadership and rank and file of the DSS, NIA and NPF have continued to give the necessary intelligence, confront and tackle the terrorists and do their job as best as they can but the Military High Command have not,” he said.

    “Others may be intimidated and compelled to remain silent but I will not. Numerous Governors, including the Governor of Zamfara state, have publicly and privately called for Nigerians to arm themselves whilst others, like the Governors of Kaduna state and Niger state, have called for greater efforts on the part of the military to seek out, uproot and confront the terrorists.

    “Other Governors, like the Governor of Ondo state abd indeed ALL the Governors of the South West, have gone as far as to demand that the states and zones have their own Armed militias and police because you have not been able to protect the people.”

    The ex-minister, who is a member of the governing party, also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to retire the service chiefs.

  • DHQ promises to find killers in Benue community

    DHQ promises to find killers in Benue community

    The Chief of Training and Operations, Defence Headquarters, Maj.-Gen Adeyemi Yekini, says the military will not rest until the killers of 15 villagers at Tiortyu, a community in Tarka Local Government Area of Benue, are apprehended.

    Yekini, who served as the first Commander of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), said he was at Tiortyu to commiserate with the residents of the village over the killing of its residents.

    Speaking to journalists at the scene of the 15 slain villagers at Tiortyu, he assured the public that those who carried out the heinous crime would be apprehended and served justice.

    He was accompanied by the Commander, Operation Whirl Stroke, Maj.-Gen Kevin Aligbe and other top officers of the unit.

    Yekini regretted the attack but assured the people that no stone would be left unturned until the perpetrators were brought to justice.

    He described the perpetrators as bandits and said it was premature to conclude they were herders.

    “Those that carried out the attacks must be tracked and brought to justice and for me justice means neutralising them,” he said.

    In an earlier address to the community leaders, the army chief, appealed to the residents to return to their homes and resume their normal business activities.

    He assured them that no such attacks would be repeated in the area but advised them to report all suspicious movements to the security agents.

    Also speaking, Aligbe said that the military would do its best to ensure those behind the attacks were found and advised them to report all suspected people to security personnel.

    Also speaking, the traditional ruler of Shitile community in Tiortyu, Chief Sabastine Hule, commended the federal government for its prompt response in sending the high-power delegation for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.

    He said that with the assurances from the Defence Headquarters, the fleeing residents would return home.

    Newsmen reports that Tiortyu village, situated along Makurdi-Gboko highway, was attacked by gunmen, who killed 15 residents, an action that was condemned by the state government and other corporate entities both within and outside the state.

  • High profile terrorist commander surrenders – DHQ

    High profile terrorist commander surrenders – DHQ

    The Defence Headquarters says a notable commander of Boko Haram terrorists, Saleh Mustapha, has surrendered to troops of Operation Hadin Kai, in the North East as 51,114 terrorists have so far surrendered.

    The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Bernard Onyeuko, stated this while addressing newsmen on the operations of the military between March 25 and April 7 on Thursday in Abuja.

    Onyeuko said the surrender of Mustapha popularly known as Inn Kathir, who was the Qaid of Garin Ba-Abba, to troops in Bama was significant.

    He added that a total of 51,114 terrorists and families comprising of 11,398 men, 15,381 women, 24,335 children had so far surrendered to troops as at April 5.

    According to him, all surrendered terrorists have been documented, while arrested, rescued civilians and recovered items have been handed over to the appropriate authorities for further action.

    He said that in the last two weeks, troops recovered one battle tank, five artillery guns, two GTS and three AA guns.

    Others are: one Mine Resistance Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle, three gun trucks, One MOWAG Armored Personnel Carrier and two RPG tubes.

    “Other items recovered include three RPG rockets, three RPG bombs, one NSVT gun, two GPMG, one light MG, one PKM, three GPMG belts and four belts of PKT rounds.

    “Also recovered are 600 7.62mm NATO rounds, 16 AK 47 rifles, one Dane gun, 270 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, one Toyota Buffalo vehicle, one Golf saloon car, four motorcycles, six magazines, two pairs of camouflage, two terrorists flags, one tricycle and one active drone,” he said.

    Onyeuko said the troops also neutralised scores of terrorists while 22 terrorist spies, 11 terrorists and three logistics suppliers were arrested with 30 civilians rescued during the period.

    He said the air component conducted air interdictions which took out heavy stockpile of ISWAP weapons in their depots between March 28 and March 31 at Bukar Meiram and 2km South of Kollaram.

    “The land component with the support of the air component conducted offensive operations at different locations of the theatre such as Ukuba/Camp Zairo, Sabil Huda, Ba Masaa, Wulgo, Marta,fulatari village, Uraha Crossing Point, Mbalala, Gamboru town all in Borno.

    “Notably, among the exploits of our troops was the capture of the terrorists’ stronghold by Ukba/Camp Zairo in the Sambisa Forest where some artillery guns, armored personnel carriers, trailers and large cache of arms and ammunition were captured.

    “Troops also destroyed terrorist enclaves, captured some terrorists, destroyed terrorists improvised explosive making factory,” he added.

  • Troops eliminate top Boko Haram/ISWAP commanders, others – DHQ

    Troops eliminate top Boko Haram/ISWAP commanders, others – DHQ

    Troops of Operation Lafiya Dole have eliminated top commanders and members of Boko Haram/Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists in recent encounters in the northeast, according to Defence Headquarters.

    The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

    Enenche disclosed that the troops had on July 17, killed six terrorists at Kolofata, a community on Republic of Cameroon border, in an attempt to cross towards Sambisa Forest axis.

    He said that weapons and equipment recovered from the terrorists include three AK47 rifles, a Magazine with 48 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, one Honda car, one motorcycle and eight bicycles.

    Other items recovered include three mobile phones with multiple SIM and memory cards as well as five copies of the Holy Qur’an, among others.

    Enenche added that the troops also intercepted a letter written in Hausa Language, addressed to Abu Fatima, one of the top Boko Haram commanders, documents and other logistics.

    “Shortly after the successful operation, the enemy communication intercept confirmed killing of a top Boko Haram Commander named Sayinna and other fighters during the encounter.

    “The other slayed terrorists were suspected to be Imam and Mansur to Abu Fatima who hibernate in Sambisa Forest,” he said.

    According to him, troops continue their onslaught on the terrorists in the northeast, killing eight prominent leaders of the sect in their futile attempt to infiltrate Army Super Camp, Damasak.

    Enenche noted that with troops’ doggedness, superior fire power and manoeuvring skills, the terrorists were devastated and the rest escaped in total disarray.

    According to him, the successes of the military, since the turn of the year 2020 is causing confusion and disharmony in the insurgents’ camps.

    “This is evident by the frequent changes in ISWAP leadership within a short period of time, and this is largely due to the several losses inflicted on them by own troops in both men, weapons and equipment,” he said.

    Enenche said that top Boko Haram terrorists/ISWAP leaders were killed during the encounter at Damasak and buried by the terrorists at Goski village in the early hours of July 3.

    He listed the commanders to include: Tumbun Dabino (Ba Issoufou), Tumbun Bororo (Amir Batam), Tumbun Jaki (Almustapha), Tumbun Bagaruwa (Modou Kollo), Dogon Tchoukou (Issah), Tumbun Rakke (Mustapha Woulama) Tumbun Dila (Boukar Kowa) and Tumbun Mita (Abou Aisha).

    Enenche stressed that series of successes so far recorded had led to several of the insurgents surrendering in their numbers.

    He revealed that the insurgents voluntarily admitted that the insurgency was driven more by quest for money, power, greed and criminality, and less of any ideology.

    The spokesman said the military high command has commended the security agencies operating in the northeast for the sustained successful operations.

    “They are further urged to remain resolute and maintain the momentum of onslaught against the enemies of our country,” he said.

  • Why we are yet to rescue Leah Sharibu, others still in Boko Haram’s captivity – Defence Headquarters

    Why we are yet to rescue Leah Sharibu, others still in Boko Haram’s captivity – Defence Headquarters

    …insists Boko Haram no longer operating in Nigeria

    The Boko Haram insurgents no longer operate on the Nigerian soil, according to the Defence Headquarters (DHQ).

    Its spokesman Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu said the insurgents had been pushed to the Tombus Islands on the fringes of Lake Chad.

    “Boko Haram is not occupying any part of this country,” he said in reference to a claim attributed to Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum that Boko Haram was occupying two local government areas in the state.

    Gen. Nwachukwu said: “I want to make it clear that Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa (ISWAP) have been defeated and pushed into what we call the Tombus Islands.

    “These are the islands between Nigeria and neighboring countries of Niger and Chad, where they have their enclave and from where they come out and carry out attacks on soft targets. Boko Haram is not holding any inch of the country.”

    On the activities of the joint operations coordinated by the DHQ, he said there were five of them.

    They are Operation Safe Haven, Operation Hadarin Daji, Operation Thunder Strike, Operation Whirl Stroke and Operation Delta Safe.

    The DHQ spokesman said activities by the operations had increased across the country in the last three months, resulting in what he called tremendous achievements.

    Gen. Nwachukwu said Leah Sharibu had not been rescued because troops were cautious not to put her and other captives in greater danger.

    Sharibu is one of the 109 schoolgirls abducted on February 19, 2018 by insurgents at the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi, in Yobe State.

    Others were freed but Sharibu was held back by the insurgents for allegedly refusing to denounce her Christian faith and convert to Islam.

    Christian leaders in the North under the aegis of the Northern States Christian Elders Forum (NOSCEF) on Sunday appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to secure her freedom as Christmas gift

    But Gen. Nwachukwu assured that the troops of Operation Lafiya Dole were working tirelessly to ensure that Sharibu and other persons still in Boko Haram captivity were rescued alive.

    He said: “Troops of Operation Lafiya Dole have been treading cautiously because these people are all in the hands of terrorists and any reckless move may result in their annihilation by the terrorists just to ward off the troops. It is a very complex and risky operation but the troops are working day and night to ensure that they are rescued.”

    Under Operation Delta Safe (OPDS), Nwachukwu disclosed that the troops averted 64 attempted infractions on Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) pipelines.

    He added that the troops also arrested 27 suspected militants/pirates, recovered nine AK47 riffles with 755 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition.

    According to him, OPDS also embarked on rigorous anti-kidnapping operations, resulting in the rescue of over 43 victims and arrest of four kidnaapping

    He said that troops under Operation Hadarin Daji in Zamfara State and its environ arrested 389 suspected bandits, 48 suspected kidnappers and rescued 1,048 kidnap victims within the period under review.

    Gen. Nwachukwu said the troops also recovered 5,567 rustled cattle, 2,499 sheep, 973 goats, 15 camels and 14 donkeys.

    Other items recovered from the bandits, he said, were 58 AK-47 rifles, five G3 riffles, five FN riffles, seven pump action guns and 95 locally-made guns.

    Others are three rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 12,803 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, 100 rounds of cartridges and 128 magazines.

    He explained that Operation Whirl Stroke was initiated to address the herders/farmers and communal clashes in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba.

    The spokesman added that troops of Operation Whirl Stroke conducted over 32 offensive operations against armed herdsmen, militia gangs and suspected kidnapping camps in the last three months.

    He explained that the troops destroyed 82 kidnappers’ makeshift camps, arrested over 266 bandits, one illegal arm manufacturer and three gunrunning kingpins and recovered 217 assorted assault weapons and 4,201 rounds of ammunition.

    According to him, efforts of Operation Whirl Stroke also paved the way for 266,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to return to their ancestral homes.

  • JUST IN: Troops arrest 3 Boko Haram terrorists at Civilian JTF tip off

    Troops of 23 Brigade Nigerian Army under Operation Lafiya Dole on 28th March 2018, acting on a tip off arrested 3 suspected Boko Haram terrorists at Ngurore.

    TheNewsGuru reports the suspects, Adam Yagga, Musa Kamsulum and Abba Djidoum, are all from Darajimal in Bama Local Government Area of Borno State.

    According to the Nigerian Defence Headquarters, one of the suspects, Abba Djidoum, with series of gunshot wounds on his thigh, confessed to have operated with the Boko Haram terrorists at fringes of Izza, Wudula and Blakule in Bama Local Government Area of Borno State.

    The suspect is undergoing preliminary investigation with 23 Brigade Provost Company, the Army said.

    “We commend patriotic members of civilian vigilante (Civilian JTF) for their resilience and continued cooperation with troops, and urge members of the public to emulate their vigilance and security consciousness by reporting any suspicious persons or objects to the nearest military location.

    “We wish to remind repentant Boko Haram fighters that the window of opportunity to embrace the Federal Government Amnesty program is still open for them to surrender and lay down their weapons.

    “It is also gratifying to report that the troops’ morale remains high as they dominate the general area with a robust fighting patrol in continuation with the clearance operations, the Defence Headquarters said in a statement.

     

  • Rann: Air strikes on Borno IDPs’ camp done in error — Defence Headquarters

    The Defence Headquarters said yesterday that “lack of appropriate marking’’ caused the mistaken air strike by the Nigerian Air Force on Rann, Borno State, where a number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were killed in January.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Rann is the headquarters of Kala Balge Local Government Area.

    The Director Defence Information, Major-General John Enenche who briefed newsmen on the outcome of the Board of Inquiry set up on the incident said that the bombing was carried out on the location because it was not “reflected in the operational map as a humanitarian base’’.

    “Hitherto, people were not expected to amass at that location,” he said.

    “The normal pattern for Boko Haram Terrorists to form up before attacking innocent civilians and troops is to amass.

    “Hence, it appeared as a place that could equally be used for enemy activities.

    “Thus, when mass movement was noticed through aerial satellite observation, it was taken for Boko Haram terrorists’ activity, which needed to be neutralised with speed,’’ Enenche said.

    He said that to avert future occurrence, “all locations where humanitarian activities take place in the theatre of operation would be marked appropriately for ground and aerial identification in line with international best practices.’’

    According to him, other recommendations by the board to avert such incident is the geographical and spatial coordinates of all areas of humanitarian activities within the theatre should be provided to the Theatre Command Headquarters.

    “There should be timely and mandatory exchange of information between stakeholders, for all activities in the theatre of operation,’’ the director of defence information said.

    On the clash between the army and police in Damaturu on April 11 in which one soldier and three policemen died, Enenche said the incident was caused by “avoidable misunderstanding from exchange of word.’’

    He said seven other policemen sustained injuries in that incident.

    He said the panel set up to look into the clash recommended that “strict centralised operational and administrative control should be exercised on all security agencies serving under Operation Lafiya Dole”.

    Enenche said that another recommendation of the panel was that “offenders in the incident are to be sanctioned appropriately to serve as deterrence to other personnel in the theatre of operation.’’

    “The outcome of all disciplinary actions should be communicated to other parties (Army and Police).’’

    Speaking on the clash between the Nigerian Navy and Police personnel in Calabar on May 30, the DDI also attributed the cause to “misunderstanding.’’

    He said while two policemen died in the incident, a naval rating was shot.

    The spokesman said that both the navy and the police would further investigate the clash to identify erring personnel for sanctions.

  • Coup Scare: No plans to overthrow Buhari – Defence Headquarters

    The Defence Headquarters has said it has no intention to stage a coup to seize power from the incumbent administration as led by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Tukur Buratai recently warned operatives of the military to steer clear of politics or tender their resignation. He alleged that some desperate politicians were already approaching some of officials of the army in their preparation towards the 2019 general elections.

    However, in a press briefing by the Defence Information Office, the military said there was no course for any alarm.

    It said, “Professionally, it is a command responsibility to caution officers and men on routine basis to conform to the ethics of the military in all ramifications, which includes; interactions and exchange of visits among others.

    “This command responsibility is exercised right from the highest echelon such as the office of the Service Chiefs down to the lowest levels of command. Hence, the caution from the Army in this case.

    “Secondly, administratively, officers and men are regularly cautioned to exercise command and control by Appropriate Superior Authorities through commanders at various levels. This is to prevent members of the armed forces from derailing from their core focus of total dedication to their oath of allegiance. Thus, it is a usual practice in military administration.

    “However, it is pertinent to state that, if there are signs of actions that point to likely breaches of military code of conduct as it were, cautions or warnings are issued with possible investigations following.

    “Thus, in the present situation, the Armed Forces and the Army in particular has employed the due process to ensure that officers and men remain committed to performing their constitutional roles. As such, the mention of coup plots from some quarters are assertions which are not confirmed.

    “At this juncture, let me assure all Nigerians and lovers of this country that the Armed Forces, is and will remain totally loyal to the Commander-In-Chief (C-in-C) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and in complete subordination to civil rule.

    “Furthermore, all fears about a coup should be allayed as the contemporary Nigerian Military is abreast with the best international practices in governance, which is democracy. In this regard, the military high and other levels of command will continue to ensure effective training and administration, to ensure that the Armed Forces of Nigeria, retain its place of pride amongst the military globally.”