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Tag: Nigerian Army

  • Boko Haram: Bangladeshi Army pledges support to Nigerian Armed Forces

    The Bangladesh Army has pledged to support the Nigerian Armed Forces in the areas of training and capacity building to fight Boko Haram insurgents.

    Gen. Abubilal Shafiulhuq, Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Army, made the promise after being conducted round the Nigerian Army museum in Abuja on Monday.

    Shafiulhaq said that the relationship between Bangladesh and Nigeria dated back to 1970.

    The Army chief said his visit was to explore ways both countries could further strengthen the existing relationship.

    Shafiulhaq, who is on a five-day visit to Nigeria, is expected to speak on insurgency at a forum at the National War College, Abuja on Wednesday.

    Shafiulhaq was received by his Nigerian counterpart, Lt.Gen. Tukur Buratai.

  • JAMB seeks Nigerian army to secure UTME exam centres

    The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has pleaded with the Nigerian Army to help secure its computer based tests (CBT) centres for the unified tertiary matriculation examination (UTME).

    According to a statement by the agency’s spokesperson, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, disclosed this at a meeting with the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Tukur Buratai in Abuja.

    Oloyede solicited for the intervention and cooperation of the Nigerian Army in the coming examination.

    “We are here to thank you for the wonderful job you have been doing, all Nigerians are happy with you for the wonderful feat you have recorded in the discharge of your duties, and your quest for an indivisible and united country,” he said.

    “This need became imperative to seek for security intervention from the Army, particularly in turbulent areas”, he added.

    The Registrar said over 678 centres across the country would be put to use with an estimated 1.5million candidates for the examination.

  • El-Rufai, Nigerian Army collaborated to secretly bury slain Shiites – Falana

     

    Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has accused the Kaduna State Government as led by Mallam Nasir El-Rufai of aiding the Nigerian Army in secretly burying slain Shiites.

    He also accused El-Rufai of failing to prosecute the soldiers that killed 347 members of the sect.

    “The Kaduna State government has refused to prosecute the soldiers who killed the 347 Shiites as recommended by the judicial commission of inquiry which it had set up,” Falana said in a statement on Thursday.

    “The Kaduna state government aided and abetted the army in the secret burial of the bodies of the slain Shiites in a mass grave in Mango village, near Zaria.

    “As if those atrocities were not enough, the Kaduna state government proceeded to demolish the houses of the Shiites leader, Sheik Ibraheem Elzakzaky. Apart from witnessing the gruesome murder of three of their children, Elzakzaky and his wife who were subjected to horrendous brutalisation from the troops have been detained without trial since December 14, 2015.

    “Having lost his right eye, Elzakzaky has applied to seek medical treatment abroad. But the request has been rejected by the State Security Service. In a grand display of impunity the order of the federal high court that the couple be released from detention and be provided with accommodation by the government which has rendered them homeless has been treated with disdain.”

    Falana also criticized President Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal to order the army authorities to court martial the soldiers involved in the killings.

    “In the same vein, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, President Buhari has refused to direct the army authorities to constitute a court-martial for the trial of the military officers who issued the illegal order for the genocidal acts,” he added.

  • Why Boko Haram leader, Shekau has not been captured – Nigerian Army

     

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, has explained why Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, has not been captured despite the recent onslaught on the Sambisa forest.

    According to a report by Daily Trust, Buratai said Shekau and other top Boko Haram commanders fled the forest as they could not withstand the superior firepower of the Nigerian Army.

    When asked about Shekau’s whereabouts, Buratai said: “Your guess is as good as mine because as we are planning, he too was planning. He could not withstand the advancing troops into that location so he moved and we are still going after him.

    “As for the items that were recovered in Camp Zero which we strongly believe belong to the terrorists, these were evidence to show that our troops have been there. These criminals that have been staying in that place are no more in that location.”

    Buratai also stated that they hoped to apprehend some key leaders of the insurgent group, but they also escaped.

    “It was the expectation when Camp Zero was captured. We even expected to see the Boko Haram terrorists’ key leaders.

    “They were able to slip out of that place and move to another location. The forest is very large but we are still searching for them.

    “The troops are continuously carrying out clearance operations in other suspected locations.

    “But the most important thing is that Camp Zero was the stronghold of the Boko Haram terrorists; it was their main headquarters where we suspected the key leaders were hiding”, he added.

     

  • How to identify suicide bombers, accomplices – Nigerian Army

    The Nigerian Army has enlightened the general public on how best to identify fleeing terrorists in the country particularly in the northeast.

    Disclosing how to identify a suicide bomber or an accomplice, Spokesman for the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Sani Usman, told Channels TV that the terrorists, forced out of their enclaves, have taken to attacking soft targets, mostly with suicide bombers who are more of young females.

    Usman stressed the need for residents of different communities in Nigeria’s northeast and other cities to be wary of fleeing Boko Haram members, hinting that the process of coupling an IED would require inputs from different persons, making it possible for those observing to know that crisis was imminent.

    He said, “Terrorists are normal human beings that mingle with the public. Whenever you are coupling an IED about 10 other persons will be in the chain of it.

    “If the public are more vigilant, they will notice something amiss.

    “When you see somebody buying bells of nails and you know for sure he does not have the capacity to buy that quantity of nails and you know him very well to the point that he is not embarking on a building project, then something is wrong.

    “Sometime, you will see somebody in the night moving about when every other normal human being is sleeping or somebody, wearing a winter coat when actually it is so hot.

    “His mode of dressing is so awkward that you will think that you are in a winter society. In most cases they are odd.

    “They know the mode of dressing of people within a locality and that, a soldier posted to the area, may not know. They can identify when there is something strange about a person’s dress.

    “It is very important that we involve the people that are on ground,” he added, urging Nigerians to report suspected persons to security agencies within their locality to save lives.

  • No Jupiter can bring back Boko Haram, they’ve been completely wiped out – Nigerian Army

    …says efforts still in top gear to rescue remaining Chibok girls in Sambisa forest

    The Defence Headquarters has claimed that Boko Haram has been completely wiped out from the Sambisa Forest.

    This was stated by the Director of Defence Information, Brigadier-General Rabe Abubakar, during a chat with newsmen at the Ernest Ikoli Press Centre of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

    Abubakar also said those carrying suicide bombings in parts of the North-East were the remnants of the insurgent group.

    “What we are seeing now as Boko Haram in Nigeria are just remnants that carry out these attacks. Most of the children that we caught were children who don’t even know what they were doing.

    “They were being drugged and have the explosive devices trapped on them. Most of them were drugged and they were ambitious so that those who sent them will meet their target,” he said.

    “Even in most developed nations, you can hardly completely wipe out insurgents. There is always on scenario or the other, just to pretend as if they are alive. But Boko Haram and all its apparatus have been completely destroyed.

    “Boko Haram members are in disarray and that was why we issued a statement last week that due to the ongoing crackdown on Boko Haram, some escapees may tried to integrate into the communities.

    “As we announced this, we were equally working with other security agencies, who we have always collaborated with, to ensure that those fleeing Boko Haram members are apprehended. That helped us in Abuja and other places were we apprehended fleeing Boko Haram members.

    “Boko Haram is gone in Nigeria and it has gone for good. There is no Jupiter that can bring Boko Haram; what we are doing is to only sensitise citizens on the need to alert us on fleeing Boko Haram members. On the Chibok girls, our Operation Rescue Finale is still ongoing to rescue the girls”, he added.

     

  • Nigerian troops rescue 605 hostages in raids

    The Nigerian Army said on Wednesday ground troops in different patrols rescued 605 people held hostage by Boko Haram insurgents in Sambisa forest.

    Lucky Irabor, Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, told a news conference in Maiduguri, the restive northeast Borno state capital, that 69 male adults, 180 females, 227 male children and 129 female children, were rescued during the operation between December 7 and December 14, 2016.

    “The victims are in our custody for further investigation and interrogation,” he added.

    Many areas have been cleared, while many hostages have been set free and scores of insurgents killed in different patrols conducted by Nigerian troops across the region.

    Nigeria’s northeast region has been a stronghold of the extremist group Boko Haram. Over past months, the Nigerian government has launched several military operations to eliminate the terrorist threat.

  • We have rescued 801 persons in Borno from Boko Haram terrorists – Nigerian Army

    The Nigerian Army said on Wednesday that it had rescued additional 801 persons held hostage by the Boko Haram terrorists in its ongoing anti-terrorism operations.

    Maj.-Gen. Lucky Irabor, Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole in the North-East made the announcement while briefing newsmen in Maiduguri.

    He said that the persons were rescued between Nov. 23 and date.

    “A total of 801 persons were rescued from the terrorists’ camps from Nov. 23 to date,” he said.

    Irabor said that the military had also arrested a number of terrorists fleeing their Sambisa forest hideout due to the ongoing operation.

    “Likewise, on Dec. 4 at about 1345hrs, our troops in conjunction with local vigilante intercepted five men, 29 women and children heading towards Goniri from Kafa.

    “The men were screened by the local vigilante and two of them were confirmed to be terrorists.

    “They have since been taken into custody and are undergoing interrogation,’’ he said, adding that the military also apprehended suspected cattle rustlers during its operations.

    “On Nov. 28, four persons and a teenager were arrested by our troops deployed at Bulabulim Ngarnam with 4 cows.

    “The arrested persons have been handed over to the Nigeria Police,” he said.

    Irabor said that the military also recovered arms from suspected kidnappers in Bauchi state.

    “On Dec. 2, our troops while on patrol at the general area of Gamji and Kafin Lemu villages in Ningi LGA of Bauchi state encountered some suspected kidnappers who engaged them in gun battle.

    “They were killed in the gun battle that ensued.

    “The troops recovered several arms and ammunition which include five Dane guns, a locally made pistol, some cartridges and charms,” he said.