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Tag: Military

  • Kagara abduction: Buhari orders military, police to ensure immediate rescue of victims

    Kagara abduction: Buhari orders military, police to ensure immediate rescue of victims

    President Muhammadu Buhari has dispatched the military and police to Niger State for the rescue of the victims abducted at Government Science Secondary School, Kagara.

    In a statement Garba Shehu, his spokesman, issued on his behalf, the president demanded that the victims should be rescued immediately.

    The security officials are to coordinate the rescue operation and meet with state officials, community leaders, as well as parents and staff of the College.

    “Following these reports, the President has directed the Armed Forces and Police, to ensure immediate and safe return of all the captives.

    “The President has also dispatched to Minna, Niger State a team of security chiefs to coordinate the rescue operation and meet with state officials, community leaders, as well as parents and staff of the College.

    “President Buhari has assured of the support of his administration to the Armed Forces in their brave struggle against terrorism and banditry and urged them to do all that can be done to bring an end to this saga, and avoid such cowardly attacks on schools in the future.

    “’Our prayers are with families of the victims of this attack,” said the President as he condemned as cowardly the attack on innocent school children.”

    A witness had narrated how the gunmen broke into the staff quarters of the school before raiding hostels.

    Speaking with newsmen, the witness said the gunmen gathered some staff and students at a place for hours before moving them out of the school premises.

    The armed men reportedly dressed in military uniform, were said to have overpowered the security guards at the school.

    Some students were said to have escaped while being led to an unknown destination.

    A headcount is being conducted at the school to ascertain the actual number of missing students.

    It was learnt that security agencies are currently on the trail of the armed men.

    An aircraft of the Nigerian Air Force has been hovering in the air to track the location of the students.

    Meanwhile, one of the abducted staff, simply identified as Batagi, was said to have escaped from his captors.

    Some of those who are still in captivity were identified as Lawal, Ali, Hannatu and her husband, Dodo, and Mohammed Abubakar(Akawu).

  • Myanmar military seizes power in bloodless coup, detains elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, others

    Myanmar military seizes power in bloodless coup, detains elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, others

    Myanmar’s military seized power on Monday in a coup against the democratically elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with other leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in early morning raids.

    The army said it had carried out the detentions in response to “election fraud”, handing power to military chief Min Aung Hlaing and imposing a state of emergency for one year, according to a statement on a military-owned television station.

    A verified Facebook page for Suu Kyi’s party published comments it said had been written in anticipation of a coup and which quoted her as saying people should protest against the military takeover.

    According to Reuters, the coup derails years of Western-backed efforts to establish democracy in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, where neighbouring China also has a powerful influence.

    The generals made their move hours before parliament had been due to sit for the first time since the NLD’s landslide win in a Nov. 8 election viewed as a referendum on Suu Kyi’s fledgling democratic rule.

    Phone and internet connections in the capital Naypyitaw and the main commercial centre of Yangon were disrupted and state TV went off air after the NLD leaders were detained.

    Suu Kyi, Myanmar President Win Myint and other NLD leaders were “taken” in the early hours of the morning, NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt told Reuters by phone. Reuters was subsequently unable to contact him.

    A video posted to Facebook by one MP appeared to show the arrest of another, regional lawmaker Pa Pa Han.

    In the video, her husband pleads with men in military garb standing outside the gate. A young child can be seen clinging to his chest and wailing.

    Troops took up positions in Yangon where residents rushed to markets to stock up on supplies and others lined up at ATMs to withdraw cash. Banks subsequently suspended services due to poor internet connections.

    The detentions came after days of escalating tension between the civilian government and the military in the aftermath of the election.

    Suu Kyi’s party won 83% of the vote in only the second election since a military junta agreed to share power in 2011.

    The pre-written statement uploaded on a NLD Facebook page quoted Suu Kyi as saying such army actions would put Myanmar “back under a dictatorship”.

    “I urge people not to accept this, to respond and wholeheartedly to protest against the coup by the military,” it quoted her as saying. Reuters was unable to reach any NLD officials to confirm the veracity of the statement.

    Some pro-military supporters celebrated the coup, parading through Yangon in pickup trucks and waving national flags but pro-democracy activists were horrified.

    “Our country was a bird that was just learning to fly. Now the army broke our wings,” student activist Si Thu Tun said.

  • Boko Haram is now a weakened enemy of Nigera – DHQ

    Boko Haram is now a weakened enemy of Nigera – DHQ

    The defence headquarters says Boko Haram insurgents are “weakened enemies” of the country and no longer have “sovereignty or authority” on any territory in the country.

    The spokesperson for Defence Headquaters, John Enenche, stated this on Friday while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

    Eneche said as of 2015, Boko Haram had between 17 and 20 local government areas under its control.

    He said but those territories were recaptured under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “Yes, the commander-in-chief is very right by saying that we have a weaker BOKO Haram. Why is it so? In the sense that as at 2015, before they came on board, we had a very terrible situation in the northeast.

    “Between 17 and 20 local government areas were under the full authority of the insurgents, that is the Boko Haram group and what does that translate to. It translated to a fact that they (referring to Boko Haram) constituted authority, local administration and judiciary.

    “They were even collecting levies, which we can term taxes, the people were subject to them, they sack traditional rulers and most of them were into exile. By 2016, the whole place were recaptured.”

    Eneche said the current crop of Boko Haram insurgents are hiding from one bush to another enclave with no capacity to fight.

    “Now what we have as Boko Haram is a weakened enemy of the country, so it is very right going by my analysis I just made,” he said.

  • Several feared dead as Boko Haram launches another attack on four Borno villages

    Several feared dead as Boko Haram launches another attack on four Borno villages

    Several persons were feared dead on Saturday as Boko Haram terrorists on launched another streak of attacks in four villages in the southern part of the troubled Borno State.

    According to local sources who are on the run, the attack is ongoing as of 9pm on Saturday.

    According to reports, the insurgents rode in at least 10 Toyota Hilux vans, and they were first seen around Mandara Dirau at about 1pm.

    The insurgents were said to have proceeded unchallenged through parts of villages identified as Debiro, Tashan Alade, Tirgitu, and Shaffa town shooting sporadically, looting food items, and setting houses ablaze.

    Villages attacked are situated within Hawul and Shaffa Local Government Areas of the state.

    Terrified villagers were said to have hidden in nearby mountains, except for the old and the sick that were feared to be stuck in the mayhem.

    For fear of attacks, farmers in remote villages resorted to storing their harvested food in rented stores at the local government headquarters of Biu Local Government.

    According to reports, despite distress calls to the military, the terrorists were not repelled, adding that the villages attacked today (Saturday) are not remote and the attacks were unexpected.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the insurgents have been launching attacks since Thursday where a Chibok village was ransacked during a Christmas Eve carol night.

    A similar attack was also launched in Garkida, an Adamawa town bordering southern Borno.

    Saturday’s attack is the third in three days, with no word from the military.

    Details of the attacks are still sketchy as villagers are still in hiding.

    Boko Haram and a splinter group known as the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) have launched a series of attacks in Nigeria for more than a decade now.

    More than 30,000 people have been killed and nearly 3 million displaced in a decade of Boko Haram violence in Nigeria, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

    According to the UN Refugee Agency, violence by Boko Haram has affected 26 million people in the Lake Chad region and displaced 2.6 million others.

  • Kankara schoolboys rescue without loss of lives historic – Military

    Kankara schoolboys rescue without loss of lives historic – Military

    The Nigerian military says the rescue of 344 Kankara schoolboys is the first time an operation of that magnitude will be carried out without any loss of lives.

    The military described the rescue as a major achievement which will go down in history.

    This position was stated by a military spokesman, Major-General John Enenche on Thursday in Abuja.

    Enenche also stated that several bandits have been arrested and Boko Haram terrorists neutralised.

    The spokesman further charged troops to remain determined, sustain the tempo of recent successes, and called on the public to continue to provide information that will help track down criminals.

  • Zulum condemns military over fresh abduction of travelers

    Zulum condemns military over fresh abduction of travelers

    Borno Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, expressed displeasure over what he described as the routine attacks of travellers and villagers by Boko Haram along Maiduguri-Damaturu highway.

    The governor, who visited Jakana, one of the major towns along Maiduguri-Damaturu highway, on Monday, criticized the army for Friday’s abduction of over 30 travellers.

    Zulum said it was unacceptable that the majority of the attacks within the last two years, took place between Auno and Jakana, a distance of about 20 kilometers.

    He said this in a statement on Monday titled, ‘Friday abductions: Zulum visits Jakana, furious over routine attacks on Maiduguri-Damaturu highway …Baffled with army’s failure to secure 20 kilometers’.

    The statement quoted the governor as saying, “I have had occasions to defend the Nigerian military in order to boost the morale of commanders and their troops at the front lines because I know the true picture of things, however, I am really disappointed that despite all support from both the federal government and from us in Borno state, our military is failing to secure an area of 20 kilometers, which is the distance between Auno and Jakana.

    “And incidentally, the majority of Boko Haram’s attacks along this Maiduguri-Damaturu-Kano road, keeps happening between Auno and Jakana. So, if the military cannot secure 20 kilometers, how can they keep us with the hope they will defeat the Boko Haram?”

    The governor also criticized the army and his own state government established rapid response squad which combines well-equipped policemen, vigilantes, and local hunters, for lack of visibility along the Maiduguri-Damaturu road.

    “With all you (journalists) we drove from Maiduguri to here, Jakana. We did not see soldiers on the road, we did not see even our own rapid response squad on this road and they were trained, employed, kitted, and paid to protect all Nigerians within their areas of operation and these Nigerians include travelers plying this busy and important road,” the governor stated.

     

  • How we successfully rescued 334 Kankara schoolboys without casualties – Military

    How we successfully rescued 334 Kankara schoolboys without casualties – Military

    The Nigerian military on Saturday made some disclosures on how it carried out the rescue operation of the 344 boys kidnapped from their school in Kankara, Katsina State, on Dec. 11.

    It disclosed that while kinetic and non-kinetic approaches were used to ensure all the boys were rescued unhurt, there was resistance from the abductors who laid ambush against the troops.

    Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, the Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, and retired Maj.-Gen. Ahmed Jibrin, former Director, Military Intelligence, gave the accounts on Saturday when they featured on a special edition of the Nigeria Television Authority programme, “Good Morning Nigeria.”

    Jibrin is currently the Special Adviser, Technical, to the Minister of Defence, retired Maj.-Gen. Bashir Magashi.

    Jibrin said following the abduction of the boys, the minister led a delegation, including the Service Chiefs and National Security Adviser, to Katsina and Kankara.

    He said the minister gave the rules of engagement directing the troops to ensure the abducted boys were rescued without casualties and within the shortest time possible.

    “Following the directive, the troop closed in on the abductors from four different fronts, including the reinforcement that was made from other divisions to ensure that the entire location was sealed off.

    “The bandits were all under siege and they were fully aware of that, feeling the impacts of the presence of the troops both from the air and on the ground.

    “When they approached the location where the boys were held, the troops encountered some pockets of opposition which they cleared and moved deeper into the forest.

    “Although, there was no casualty on the part of the boys, a lot of the bandits were neutralised because in the attempt by the military to move forward, they laid ambush in two places along the way.

    “In-fact, in the second place where they laid ambush, there was serious resistance because they were hiding and occupied the road.

    “They delayed the movement of the troop for some hours before they were neutralised,’’ he said.

    Jibrin said while the troops were on the field, negotiations were ongoing at another level of the rescue efforts.

    He said the troop could not completely demobilise the bandits because of possible collateral damage as the abducted boys were used as human shield.

    On the claim by the Boko Haram terrorists that they were responsible for the abduction, Jibrin said the group was only seeking cheap relevance.

    “Shekau does not have the reach to carry out the abduction because a lot is being done to stop them in the North-East.

    “He is just taking the advantage of what happened to get publicity locally and internationally, it is clear that the abduction was done by bandits

    “All their efforts when they were trying to reach out to the bandits, which they did, were monitored,’’ he said.

    On his part, Enenche said the rescue mission, like any other one, was a delicate operation because if it was not carried out very professionally, the tide could turn negatively.

    “This is an operation where you do not rely on your capacity on platforms and mechanical weapons but your ability to effectively carry out the mission with unarmed combat.

    “This means you have to silence your enemies and take your objective away without firing a shot.

    “It is very delicate in the sense that if you do not manage the operation well, the children who are in between you and the enemies will now become the victims.

    “When they become the victims, the people outside there will attribute it to failure on the part of your security forces,’’ he said.

    He said the special troops deployed on the mission were on the spot and could not have blinked their eyes for even one hour all through the days of the mission

    Enenche said the information provided locally were also very encouraging while the support they got from all the stakeholders was of assistance.

    “There was no conspiracy of silence. All that we needed were provided even from the locals and before you know it we were able to locate the place.

    “All the kinetic and non-kinetic blockade were all effectively monitored.

    “This is to the extent that even when they were going to leave their enclave to make bulk purchases from the market, we got information,” he said.

    Enenche said a lot was done during the rescue mission to ensure that there was no trigger happy incident as well as fright release from the bandits against the school boys.

  • We’ll rescue abducted Kankara schoolboys ‘whichever way’ – Military

    We’ll rescue abducted Kankara schoolboys ‘whichever way’ – Military

    The military on Wednesday assured parents and concerned citizens that it will do everything possible to rescue abducted pupils of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State.

    It is determined to get the boys out “whichever way.”

    Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Adamu has deployed a Special Squad in the state.

    Governor Aminu Masari said there is an ongoing negotiation with the abductors through Miyetti Allah – a Fulani group.

    Defence Headquarters spokesman Maj.-Gen. John Eneche told reporters that the military was not part of any form of negotiation with the abductors.

    He said although the military acknowledged the right of the Aminu Masari government to “negotiate,” it was working on its own strategy to ensure the safe rescue of the remaining 316 schoolboys “whichever way.”

    Seventeen of the 313 students abducted by bandits last weekend have returned from the forest where they were taken

    The governor told Channels Television last night that the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) was carrying out the negotiation on behalf of his administration.

    He added however, that the government would not pay cash to the kidnappers.

    He said he was working with the security agencies to ensure that no attempt was made to change the location of the children by the bandits.

    He said: “The leadership of MACBAN is the one that we are talking with. The Commissioner of Police and Special Adviser on Security are discussing with the leaders of Miyetti Allah, who are also discussing with those that abducted the children.

    “This is the way we are talking to them. I am waiting for the feedback on their discussion. We are doing all we could to get the children back but what we will not do is to negotiate money with the bandits.

    “We should be more proactive with the information given to the security agencies. Everybody should be more involved by providing reliable information and not misleading information that would endanger the lives of the security operatives.

    “I am a Chief Security Officer without security apparatus. No governor is a true chief security officer but that is our Constitution. We should do something about it but right now I have over 300 students to look for. I am concerned, more concerned than everyone else except perhaps the parents. I am accountable here and hereafter.

    “It is the responsibility of the security agencies to do what they are supposed to under the constitution of the Federal Republic oF Nigeria. I am quite aware of my responsibility and I will support these security agencies till they get each and every one of the children. I am the leader; I am not shying away from my responsibilities.”

    He said none of the missing students is dead, quashing fears about the safety of the boys.

    “The children are alive and we have not received any report that anyone had fallen sick. So we assume that all is well with the children. I was in touch with at least two of the students that escaped on Saturday. I was also in touch on Monday with two that came back.”

    Masari also refuted the claim by the Boko Haram that its members abducted the pupils, saying that “from the information available to us, this was conducted, executed by local bandits that are known to all of us.”

    He added: “These are bandits that are roaming the forests of Zamfara and parts of Kaduna State. So far, this is the information we have. Whatever role any other terrorist group must have played, we are yet to confirm it.

    “But with regards to this abduction, we have not seen any direct involvement of Boko Haram or ISWAP.”

    The Coordinator, Defence Media Operation, while giving an update on the military operations across the country said: “I don’t know from history where the military or the armed forces go into negotiations when it comes to ransom and I don’t have any record.

    “Nothing is connecting the armed forces with negotiation. If the governor believes in that as a father, he is seeing it in a larger perceptive.

    “We are going on with our operations, and we don’t step down our kinetic operations for any reason at all. There is nowhere in the world where you stop your kinetic operation; it is a total package because purported negotiations are going on. It is not done. We will rescue the school children whichever way, that’s what I can assure you.”

    Gen. Enenche restated that none of the abducted boys was dead.

    He said: “Nobody is dead; we have not received anything that anybody is dead from the information that we have monitoring the situation and then the troops are on guard as it were.

    “They have started patrolling the whole of that area to ensure that they are intact and that we rescue them alive.”

    He also explained why troops could not foil the kidnapping of the students despite arriving the scene during the attack.

    He said the troops could not engage the bandits in gun fuel because the bandits used the students as body shields.

    “When the troops came, it was not in the best interest of saving lives to start exchanging direct fire, of course firing to scare the bandits was done but not direct fire because the children were being used as human shields.

    “What is the end objective when you come to rescue and end up killing those you came to rescue; it will amount to nothing. Of course in the hours of darkness, while that ensued they removed the children.”

    Gen. Enenche also dismissed the reported claim by the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, that the schoolchildren were abducted by his men.

    He said the claim was the usual propaganda of the terrorist group, adding that the military had continued to record successes against insurgents in the Northeast and bandits in the Northwest.

  • Why we couldn’t stop gunmen from abducting Kankara students – Military

    Why we couldn’t stop gunmen from abducting Kankara students – Military

    The Military on Monday said abductors of pupils of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State, took the boys away on motorcycles using them (the boys) as human shield.

    The assailants came to the school premises on Friday night, shot dead one of the two policemen on guard, incapacitated the other and entered the facility. They shoot sporadically into the air. The pupils were already sleeping, Coordinator of Media Defence Operations Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, recalled during his appearance on a Channels television programme, monitored in Lagos.

    He said one of the 333 pupils declared missing by Katsina State Governor Aminu Masari, had returned

    Gen. Enenche said: “They were moved on the motorcycles they (gunmen) brought and after a short distance, some of them continued with their motorcycles, others dismounted. As they dismounted, one of the boys escaped. Others had to trek long distances. Of course, that is their usual characteristics. It is the same system; the same approach they used. There was no evidence, no information about them using other modes of transport.”

    According to him the gunmen arrived at the school about 10:45pm.

    It was unclear how many motorcycles were used by the abductors to move hundreds of pupils.

    Gen Enenche said: “They stormed the school on their motorcycle around 10:45pm; there were two policemen at the gate; one was shot dead, then the other one was injured.

    “They went to the dormitories and staff quarters, shooting sporadically into the air. Their aim was to abduct the pupils and other people. We got the information and got there about 11:30pm.”

    The soldiers, he said, would have stopped the gunmen from taking the pupils away but the abductors used the pupils as human shield.

    “They were using the pupils as human shield and we do not want casualties among the pupils. The main issue is that none of the pupils was killed in the process,” the Defence spokesman said.

    He confirmed that 333 pupils were missing as at 2pm on Sunday.

    “The principal reported that he had 839 in the boarding house as at the time they were abducted, shortly after that, some came back and it was about five hundred plus that did not return. As at 2pm yesterday (Sunday), the pupils that could not be accounted for reduced to 333. As I speak with you, the figure we have is 333 out of which one escaped as at this afternoon (yesterday)… there is hope and the hope is being placed on the fact that we need them out alive,” he said.

    He admitted that he got information about the gunmen reaching out to the government through the media and other sources.

    The gunmen, Maj-Gen Enenche said, beat the intelligence behind the Save Schools Initiative put in place to secure pupils in schools.

    The programme was initiated after the Chibok school abduction in 2014. The abductors have now opened talks with the Katsina State government after claiming responsibility for the kidnap.

    They have made a ransom demand in addition to requesting that the military stop its aerial surveillance.

  • Military air strikes kill bandits in Kuduru forest

    Military air strikes kill bandits in Kuduru forest

    The Defence Headquarters says the Air Component of Operation Thunder Strike, has killed scores of bandits in airstrikes on their camp at Kuduru Forest area of Kaduna State on Saturday.

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

    Enenche said the air raid was conducted sequel to credible intelligence which indicated that a group of bandits had launched an attack on troops from the forest.

     

    He said that the confirmatory Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions led to the identification of the camp.

    According to him, the Air Component dispatched Nigerian Air Force (NAF) attack aircraft to engage the location scoring devastating hits that destroyed the bandits’ logistics structures and killed several of the criminals.

    “The NAF attack aircraft and an ISR platform later provided close air support as the Police advanced from Sarkin Pawa through Tawali towards Kofa area.

    “The attack aircraft engaged the bandits at the objective, ahead of the ground forces, while the ISR aircraft provided situational awareness throughout the operation,” he said.