TheNewsGuru

Tag: Insurgents

  • Boko Haram: NAF neutralises gathering of insurgents, sets structures on fire

    The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) said on Saturday that it has neutralised and set ablaze the insurgent’s structures in Urga area near Konduga.

    The Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF Headquarters, Air Commodore Olatokunbo Adesanua, made this known in Abuja.

    Adesanya explained that component of Operation “LAFIYA DOLE” conducted an attack on a location in Urga area close to Konduga.

    “Previous intelligence reports, gathered through Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions by NAF ISR platforms, had indicated the presence of a large number of insurgents in Durwawa settlement in the outskirt of Urga.

    “Accordingly, one Alpha Jet aircraft was detailed to carry out air interdiction on the target and overhead the location, the aircraft acquired and attacked the target twice with bombs.

    “Subsequently, Battle Damage Assessment revealed that the aerial attack set off a fire, causing damage to the insurgent’s structures within the settlement and neutralizing most of the insurgents while a few of them fled the location,” he said.

    The director explained further that the aerial attack by NAF was in furtherance of efforts at ensuring the complete decimation of the insurgents by not allowing them to continue their terrorist attacks on innocent Nigerians.

     

     

    NAN

     

  • Boko Haram: Abubakar hails military, says ‘they have done well securing North-east from insurgents’

    The Chief of Air Staff, Sadique Abubakar, on Friday said the military had successfully stabilised and secured the North-east from Boko Haram insurgents.

    Mr. Abubakar, an Air Marshal, said this in Port Harcourt at a skills acquisition and vocational training graduation ceremony for 150 youth .

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the training was organised by the Nigerian Air Force Officers’ Wives Association, NAFOWA.

    He attributed the success to recent air and ground bombardments of Boko Haram stronghold as well as combined efforts of other members of the Armed Forces.

    “We are not aware of any national security issue (in the North-east). What I am aware of is that we have done substantially well in stabilising and securing the North-east.

    “Looking at Maiduguri itself, you will never believe that there was any security challenge there. This is so because there is no security challenge.

    “What we are just doing is to mop up what is still remaining (insurgents). We are doing substantially well and making substantial progress.

    “We had the Operation Ruwan Wuta – a ten-day bombardment day-and-night operation that substantially reduced suicide bombings and eliminated organised attacks (by insurgents),” he said.

    The chief of air staff said the military had recorded several successes in the North-east and in other regions of the country since the current administration took office in 2015.

    He commended NAFOWA for its support to the less privileged, particularly the assistance provided to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the country.

    The President of NAFOWA and wife of the Chief of Air Staff, Hafsat Abubakar, said the association was particularly concerned with the welfare of women, widows and youth in IDPs camps .

    Mrs. Abubakar said that 150 women and youth received various skills and vocational training that lasted for over ten weeks.

    “The beneficiaries were trained in fashion designing, catering and confectioneries production, hairdressing and barbing, computer appreciation, cinematography, event decoration, leather shoes, make up and makeover.

    “Others include; photography and videography, DSTV installation, interior decoration and soft furnishing, aluminium doors and windows fabrication, boots and bags fabrication and detergents and disinfectants production.

    “Our hope is that when you actually empower a woman, you have empowered the whole family because women are the bedrock of the family while youths are the future,” she said.

    She said the association had so far trained and empowered over 800 women and youth across the country with vocational skills that would enable them to create wealth.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the beneficiaries received sewing machines, electric ovens, hair dryers, laptop computers and make-up kits, among other starter packs.

    Victor Aniete who spoke on behalf of the beneficiaries, said they would use the training and working tools to fend for their families and create employment for others.

    NAN

     

  • Fayose blasts FG, says ‘Boko Haram conquering more territories, war against insurgents not won’

    Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has faulted claims by the ruling All Progressives Congress that the Federal Government is winning the war against insurgents in the country.

    The governor in a press release issued on Sunday by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, argued that Boko Haram had yet to be defeated and had not even been degraded.

    He stated that the brutal killings by Boko Haram all over the place contradicted the lie by the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government that it had won the battle against the insurgency.

    “The battle is not over yet. In fact, it is raging fiercer than ever before. The gory killing of the oil workers confirms this. The wanton destruction of lives and property all over the place by Boko Haram also testifies to this fact.

    “Like the ostrich, this government is trying hard to cover what cannot be covered. Boko Haram ambushes and kills soldiers at will.

    “Gallant officers and men continue to fall in battle to the superior firepower and higher morale of the insurgents.

    “Boko Haram invades and sacks communities at will, carting away human beings and other resources.

    “The insurgents throw bombs with reckless abandon. Is this the evidence of a degraded or defeated Boko Haram?”

    The governor noted that the Federal Government should be more proactive by providing the needed facilities to boost the morale of the military in order to win the war and restore peace to the troubled North East region.

  • Repentant Boko Haram insurgents will be reintegrated into our society – Olonisakin

    The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin, says in New York that Nigerian military will soon conduct a deradicalisation and reintegration exercise for repentant Boko Haram insurgents in order to better bring them back in our society.

    Olonisakin disclosed this at a reception organised for him by the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the UN.

    The defence chief was at the UN headquarters for the Second Chiefs of Defence Conference, alongside more than 100 other chiefs of defence staff all over the world. He said “by my estimation, we have about 14 security threats that we are confronting, ranging from terrorism, insurgency, kidnapping, cultism, to issues linked to armed robbery.

    “We are handling operations in all the geo-political zones of the country, but the major one is the one in the Northeast, which is ‘Operation Lafiya Dole’. “We have, of course operations down South and taking charge of militancy and oil theft; we also have that in Lagos.

    “But the major one is Operation Lafiya Dole, which of course since we came on board, we have stepped up the scheme. “Right now, we have been able to decimate Boko Haram terrorists, but what they are doing right now is hitting soft targets through suicide bombers.

    “We realised that to mitigate this particular menace is not only about the military. So we need to carry the whole nation along to be able to address that.” To mitigate incidences of suicide bombings, Olonisakin said military high command had met with other stakeholders to encourage the populace to provide them with necessary intelligence. He said the command realised that intelligence was vital to handling the menace of suicide bombings.

    The defence chief also said that the military had commenced the process of restoring full civil authority in areas formerly controlled by Boko Haram terrorists. “We are working alongside the DSS – Department of State Services -, the Police, and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps. “We are also ensuring that the civil authority is put in place; places that the military had taken over, we encourage the Police and Civil Defence to come on so they can provide civil authority for displaced people to move in.”

    Olonisakin noted that last week, many Boko Haram militants surrendered, adding that “we have what we call Operation Safe Corridor in Gombe that is to handle this kind of surrendered terrorists.

    “I believe in the next couple of days, repentant Boko Haram terrorists will be moved to that Operation Safe Corridor where they will conduct de-radicalization and integration procedure for them.

    “Down South, of course we have issues too but the military is stepping up its game to make sure we address the security challenges back home.” On peacekeeping operations, the chief od Defence staff said Nigeria had met and exceeded the gender percentage, having 16.2 per cent female peacekeepers as against the 15 per cent benchmark by the UN.

    The Nigeria’s Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the UN, Prof. Tijjani Bande, commended Nigeria’s security forces for decimating the Boko Haram as a fighting force. Bande said “soft targets are being exploited by desperate group but in truth, even beyond Boko Haram, other challenges are also being addressed.

    “What is important is the synergy that has been expressed by Chief of Defence Staff in relation to what all the security agencies are doing together; when we work together, we are secured.”

  • Army commences de-radicalisation of 53 repentant Boko Haram insurgents

    Maj.-Gen. Attahiru Ibrahim, the Theater Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maiduguri, on Saturday transferred 53 Boko Haram insurgents who had surrendered, to the military rehabilitation centre for de-radicalisation process.

    Ibrahim disclosed this at the handing over of the former insurgents to the Commander, Operation Safe Corridor, in Maiduguri.

    “We have started the Initial process of identifying who they are and we are handing them over to Operation Safe Corridor.

    “They will move to a safe place where the de-radicalisation process takes place for possible re-integration into the society,” he said.

    The theatre commander explained that 53 out of the 70 insurgents that recently surrendered to the military, had been re-validated and transferred.

    Maj.-Gen. Bamidele Shafa, the Coordinator, Operation Safe Corridor, said that the programme was designed to facilitate surrendering of the insurgents.

    “It is a Federal Government’s initiative aimed at de-radicalisation, rehabilitation and re-integration of willing and surrendered Boko Haram members to the society.

    “It is a multinational and multi-agency setup. We have a camp within the theatre where they will go through a well-planned programme that would make them better citizens,’’ he stressed.

    According to him, the rehabilitation programme will be run for three months.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that about 70 insurgents had so far surrendered to the military in the Sambisa axis, while 700 others had indicated interest to surrender.

     

     

    NAN

  • Air Force bombs Boko Haram insurgents regrouping in Sambisa

    Air Force bombs Boko Haram insurgents regrouping in Sambisa

    The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) on Wednesday said it had frustrated efforts of the Boko Haram insurgents to regroup.

    The Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF Headquarters, Air Commodore Olatokunbo Adesanya, said this in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja.

    Adesanya said component of Operation “LAFIYA DOLE” conducted an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) mission of the Sambisa general area, the former spiritual headquarters of the insurgents.

    He said during the ISR mission, a gradual convergence of insurgents elements at some buildings in Alagarno Camp one was noticed.

    “The sight of several solar panels on the rooftops of the buildings, and the obvious attempt to conceal the buildings, gave out the plans of the terrorists.

    “A confirmatory ISR mission indicated that the structures were most likely a budding Command and Control facility, which could also house High Value Targets.

    “Accordingly, on July 3, the Air Component detailed 3 aircraft namely, 2 Alpha Jet and one F-7Ni aircraft, to conduct Air Interdiction strikes on the buildings in succession.

    “Subsequent Battle Damage Assessment revealed that the structures with the solar panels as well as other adjoining structures were damaged,” he said.

    Adesanya said further that suspected insurgents technical vehicle, which was attempting to make a run from the vicinity was struck by subsequent waves of attack.

  • Boko Haram: Over 680 Civilian JTF members killed fighting insurgents — Official

    At least 680 members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) have died trying to repel Boko Haram terrorists attacks in Borno from 2012 to date, the group’s legal officer, Junril Gunda, has said.

    Gunda said in an interview with newsmen in Maiduguri on Friday that in spite of the high casualty figure, the JTF remained undaunted in its resolve to protect communities in the state from the terrorists.

    “The group which is non profitable started in 2012 when our youths picked up sticks and said no more Boko Haram and they successfully push the terrorist group out of Maiduguri.

    “We don’t have any other home than Borno, we are therefore working tirelessly to provide civic protections against any form of threat represented by Boko Haram.

    “Sadly a lot of our youths have paid the supreme price, there is hardly any day you will hear of an attack without one of our civilian JTF killed and that does not mean we will stop defending our land of terrorism.

    “As you can see I am a lawyer by profession, this is my Chamber and I am happy to also be one of the Civilian JTF. I was also trained for eight months on light arms use by the military.

    “If I see a Boko Haram now, I can take him down with my gun.

    “It was necessary to train our civilian JTF on the use of arms because they always move along with the military in the front line during operations.

    “Our civilian JTF had taken part in almost all the operations going on in Sambisa forest.

    “It was also necessary because they are always the first to sight Boko Haram suspects during checks in the state capital.

    “Boko Haram members are not afraid of the military, they are afraid of the civilian JTF; they believe if a civilian JTF kills any of them, they will go to hell. Many of them have said this during their testimonies,” said Mr. Gunda.

    According to him, no fewer than 23,000 youth vigilantes have been registered under the body to provide civic protection in every nooks and crannies of the state.

    Gunda said there were numerous challenges confronting the group because the members were not being paid for the job.

    “Like I said earlier, it was a voluntary thing, so no one was paid any penny for the job and because of some difficulties and poor living conditions of the youths, some engage in begging to fend for themselves.

    “It was as the result of this that Borno State Government decided to empower 1,400 of them as vanguards with the acronym BOYES and were being paid N15, 000 monthly.

    “Government and other nongovernmental organizations must also give support to the other 20,000 youths who were not empowered.

    “They should also give priority attention to widows of our deceased youths because we are left to carter for their welfare.

    “Government should sponsor their children and give them a better life in recognition of the selfless sacrifices made by their parents,” said Gunda.

  • Released Chibok girls: No need to worry over swapped insurgents – Presidency

    Released Chibok girls: No need to worry over swapped insurgents – Presidency

    The Federal Government on Monday assured the general public that there was no need to panic over the swap of some suspected Boko Haram insurgents in exchange for the 82 Chibok girls who were released to the government on Saturday.

    This was revealed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina on a monitored programme on Channels Television.

    The Presidential spokesman noted that though there were pocket of attacks in the north-east, the region is secure under the control of the security agencies.

    According to Adesina, “When there is ability and capacity to ensure security there is no need to worry, the north-east is under the effective control of the security agencies.

    “I know there are pockets of attacks here and there but in terms of is the area secure? Yes. We know it is secure.

    “This is a conjecture and there is no truth in it, the [attacks are] talks of the last kicks of a dying horse, that it was what you saw.

    “There are factions. I’m sure when those 21 girls were released, a faction must have been pissed and they decided to strike with some ferocity after that.”

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that 82 of the girls were safely returned to the Nigerian Government on Saturday following the exchange of some suspected Boko Haram members imprisoned by the government.

     

  • Dont relent in your efforts to wipe out insurgents, Buhari tells Military

    President Muhammadu Buhari said on Friday that the attention of the Army would always be required to tackle numerous security challenges across the country.

    Speaking at the closing of the 2017 Nigerian Army Small Arms Championship at Sambia, the president urged troops to use the skills they acquired in the competition to improve their performance.

    Represented by Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin, the Chief of Defence of Staff, Buhari, said: “Remember security challenges abound in our country that will continue to require the attention of the Nigerian army and indeed the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

    “I therefore urge you not to rest on your oars but harness the skills which you have used this competition to sharpen for improved performance,’’ he said.

    The president said holding the exercise in Sambisa indicated that normalcy had returned to Borno, and indeed the North-East.

    Meanwhile, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai has directed the Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, to route remnants of Boko Haram terrorists from their hiding places in the “next few weeks.’’

    “I want to give the final task to the Theatre Commander, Maj.-Gen. Lucky Irabor, to within the next few weeks flush out these criminals once and for all from their hiding places in this area and indeed in the whole North-East,’’ Buratai said.

    “This is a task we must accomplish,’’ he said.

    The chief of army staff said troops would continue to dominate the forest with the fall of Camp Zero, the last strong hold of the Boko Haram, and vowed that the terrorists would never be allowed to re-occupy the area.

    Buratai said that to ensure this, exercises including training, would continue to be held in the forest.

    He also directed the Commandant, Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA), to ensure that henceforth, final exercises of passing out cadets were held in the forest.

    Nine Divisions of the Nigerian army, 1,2,3,6, 7, 8, 81, 82 and Army Headquarters Garrison participated in the exercise.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that 7 Division, Maiduguri, emerged the winner of the championship, 82 Div., Enugu, came second, while Army headquarters Garrison took the third position.

    Apart from trophies, they were rewarded by the chief of army with N2 million, N1.5 million and N1 million in that order.

    Ten participants took part in the shooting competition including: AK47 riffle, FN riffle, pistol and female Ak47 shooting.

    All the Service Chiefs, representative of the Inspector-General of Police and Defence Attaches of various countries in Nigeria attended the ceremony which also featured display of “fire power’’ by the army and Air Force.