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Tag: soldiers

  • Tension as gunmen reportedly kill 8 soldiers, policemen, NSCDC personnel in Imo

    Tension as gunmen reportedly kill 8 soldiers, policemen, NSCDC personnel in Imo

    There was tension at Umualumaku community, in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State, following the reported killing of no fewer than eight security personnel by unknown gunmen.

    It was gathered that the casualties included soldiers, police officers, and members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps.

    It was learnt that the incident  which occurred on Tuesday morning, has created an atmosphere of fear, with residents in heightened tension.

    Two security trucks carrying the joint security task force team were reportedly attacked and set on fire by their assailants.

    When contacted, the spokesperson for the police in the state, Henry Okoye, confirmed the development but asked for time to get the full details of the horrible incident.

     

  • FG to include families of injured, fallen soldiers in social register, says Minister

    FG to include families of injured, fallen soldiers in social register, says Minister

    The Federal Government has unveiled plans to include families of wounded and fallen soldiers in the national social register and its poverty alleviation programmes.

    The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Dr Betta Edu, made this known during a meeting with the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa on Monday in Abuja.

    Edu expressed the need to support the military families.

    ”We want to expand our social register to accommodate military personnel that have either been wounded or affected by war even soldiers that left their families behind.

    “’ We need this data from the military so that we can have them captured under the social register” she said.

    The minister said, she was at the defence headquarters to solicit the support of the Nigerian military to tackle humanitarian crises across the country.

    “Alleviating humanitarian crises and poverty is top most on President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

    ”Our preference is to discuss humanitarian crises across the nation and the need to collaborate with the military to prevent more persons coming under the humanitarian bracket.

    ” We also should be able to reach out effectively to those who are affected by humanitarian crises wherever they are.

    ”So that our humanitarian workers should be able to reach the people wherever they are with the support of the military” she said.

    Responding, Gen. Musa, assured the minister of the commitment of Nigerian military to support her towards achieving the mandate of the ministry.

    Musa who acknowledged the link between military operations and humanitarian aid, noted that, successful organisations directly benefits their military efforts.

    The defence chief therefore expressed to the humanitarian ministry for considering the military community on the task.

    While assuring the minister of his unwavering commitment towards her humanitarian mission, the defence chief was optimistic that the collaboration will yield positive results.

    The agenda of the engagement was to forge a formidable alliance between humanitarian efforts and the military.

    The aim is to urgently curb the crisis growth and offer swift aid to those affected.

     

     

  • Niger state: Buhari sends condolences over death of soldiers

    Niger state: Buhari sends condolences over death of soldiers

    Former President Muhammadu Buhari has sent his condolences to  President Bola Tinubu, the Armed Forces of the Federation over the death of 36 soldiers in an ambush and the crash of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) MI17 helicopter in Niger State on Monday, August 14.

    Buhari made this known in a statement issued by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, on Saturday, August 19, 2023.

    The former president said: “I am saddened by the helicopter accident following the tragic ambush in which we have lost our brave army personnel. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I hope those injured recover at the earliest.

    “My heartfelt condolences to the President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the Armed Forces of the Federation and the families of the deceased.

    “With the soldier discipline in our troops, it is a matter of time before they overcome.”

    The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, while briefing newsmen on Thursday, had disclosed that three officers and 22 soldiers paid the supreme price in the ambush in Zungeru general area while seven were wounded in action.

    Buba stated that the NAF helicopter was on a mission to evacuate the deceased and wounded troops when it crashed at Chukuba area of Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.

    He said the crashed helicopter was conveying 14 bodies of the previously killed soldiers and the seven wounded ones as well as the two pilots and two crew members on board.

  • NAF crash: Obi expresses sadness over death of slain soldiers

    NAF crash: Obi expresses sadness over death of slain soldiers

    Mr. Peter Obi, the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party has expressed sadness over the ill-fated Air Force helicopter that claimed 36 soilders in Niger on Monday morning.

    Obi, the former Anambra  governor made this know in a statement via his official X handle (formerly Twitter) in Lagos on Friday.

    Recalled that the Nigerian Air Force on Thursday, announced that an MI-171 Helicopter on a casualty evacuation mission crashed in Niger State.

    A statement  by the spokesman, Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, said the aircraft crashed in Chukuba Village, Niger,  saying that preliminary investigation had commenced to ascertain the cause of the air mishap.

    Obi said  the death of the soldiers, reportedly killed in a terrorist ambush in Niger  and the ill-fated military helicopter, on a rescue mission, in the same state was unfortunate and disheartening.

    He expressed concerns over the deplorable level of insecurity in most parts of the country which, had continued to cost the nation precious lives and property with the attendant economic costs.

    Obi also expressed sympathy to  families of the patriotic slain soldiers who had paid the supreme price for their fatherland in a very painful way, fighting against insecurity in the country.

    “The continual loss of lives, of our military men and other citizens, to insecurity is very painful and disgusting.

    “We must unite as a people, to subdue this monster of insecurity threatening our collective existence, without which, no development will be experienced in the country,” he said.

    While commiserating with the military agencies over the sad incidents, Obi urged them not to be dispirited over the challenges they faced but to see them as the inevitable path to go before achieving a safe and secure nation for all.

    He said: “I commiserate with our military agencies whose personnel have continued to pay the supreme price, for peace and security in our nation.

    “I want you to remain courageous and resilient in the fight. I will also like to encourage a full-scale investigation to be carried out to unravel the cause of the helicopter crash as a way of preventing future occurrences.”

    The former Anambra governor restated his commitment to ensuring safe and secure Nigerians, adding that fighting insecurity in the country would always be his top priority.

    According to him, fighting insecurity squarely, remains my priority in the New Nigeria, and so should it be, for long-lasting peace and progress in Nigeria.

    Finally,  Obi prayed God to grant eternal rest to the dead, console their families and console them as a nation over this great loss.

    He said they would never give up on their nation as it was their greatest heritage in whose service all their sacrifices became noble acts.

  • BREAKING: DHQ reveals real figures of officers, soldiers killed in Niger ambush

    BREAKING: DHQ reveals real figures of officers, soldiers killed in Niger ambush

    The Defence Headquarters has provided detail on the soldiers killed in an ambush and the crash of Nigerian Air Force (NAF) MI17 helicopter on Monday in Niger State.

    The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, while briefing newsmen on Thursday, said that a total of 36 officers and soldiers were involved in the two incidents.

    Buba said that three officers and 22 soldiers paid the supreme price in the ambush in Zungeru general area while seven were wounded in action.

    He explained that the NAF helicopter was on a mission to evacuate the deceased and wounded troops when it crashed at Chukuba area of Shiroro Local Government Area of the state.

    He said the crashed helicopter was conveying 14 bodies of the previously killed soldiers and the seven wounded ones as well the two pilots and two crew members on board.

    “The ambush and the fire fight resulted in the death of three officers, 22 soldiers, while seven were wounded in action.

    “As a result of this, there was need for casualty evacuation whereby the air force helicopter was dispatched while that operation was on and inbound to Kaduna, the helicopter crashed.

    “It crashed with 14 of the previously killed in action personnel at the ambush, seven of the previously wounded in action personnel at the ambush, two pilots of the helicopter and two crew members.

    In his contribution, the Director of Public Relations and Information for NAF, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, said the cause of the crash was yet to be determined, saying operations were ongoing to unravel the cause of the accident.

    Gabkwet urged the public to be wary of the kind of things they send on social media, saying they should not allow themselves to be used as as communication equipment to spread propaganda by enemies of the state.

    He said military had continued to be open about its operations, adding that accidents in military operations was nothing to be to be ashamed of, as an organisation.

    “We are fighting an insurgency and if anybody thinks insurgency is something that is tackled in such an easy way, then you should go back to the history books and find out how other nations have been facing the same problem.

    “What we what we see in other countries is the citizens of those countries rallying around their armed forces and supporting them,” he said.

  • Mutinous Soldiers claim to have overthrown Niger’s president

    Mutinous Soldiers claim to have overthrown Niger’s president

    Mutinous soldiers claimed to have overthrown Niger’s democratically elected president.

    The soldiers said all institutions had been suspended and security forces were managing the situation. The mutineers urged external partners not to interfere.

    The announcement came after a day of uncertainty as members of Niger’s presidential guard surrounded the presidential palace and detained President Mohamed Bazoum. There was no immediate indication of whether the mutiny was supported by other parts of the military. It was unclear where the president was at the time of the announcement or if he had resigned.

    “This is as a result of the continuing degradation of the security situation, the bad economic and social governance,” air force Col. Major Amadou Abdramane said on the video. Seated at a table in front of nine other officers, he said aerial and land borders were closed and a curfew was imposed until the situation stabilised.

    The group, which is calling itself National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country, said it remained committed to its engagements with the international and national community.

    Earlier Wednesday, a tweet from the account of Niger’s presidency reported that members of the elite guard unit engaged in an “anti-Republican demonstration” and unsuccessfully tried to obtain support from other security forces. It said Bazoum and his family were doing well but that Niger’s army and national guard “are ready to attack” if those involved in the action did not back down.

    The commissions of the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States described the events as an effort to unseat Bazoum, who was elected president two years ago in the nation’s first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since its independence from France in 1960.

    Before the announcement, hundreds of people took to the streets of the capital, Niamey, and chanted “No coup d’etat” while marching in support of the president. Multiple rounds of gunfire that appeared to come from the presidential palace dispersed the demonstrators and sent people scrambling for cover.

    The international community strongly condemned the attempted seizure of power.

  • Bazoum’s govt has been ousted – Niger soldiers declare

    Bazoum’s govt has been ousted – Niger soldiers declare

    A group of soldiers who appeared on the West African nation’s national television late on Wednesday, hours after the President of Niger Mohamed Bazoum was held in the presidential palace says his government has been ousted from power.

    Reading from a statement, Colonel Amadou Abdramane, seated and flanked by nine other officers, said defence and security forces had decided: “Put an end to the regime that you know due to the deteriorating security situation and bad governance.”

    Abdramane said Niger’s borders are closed, a nationwide curfew declared, and all institutions of the republic are suspended.

    The soldiers warned against any foreign intervention, adding that they will respect Bazoum’s well-being.

    The military takeover, which marks the seventh coup in the West and Central Africa region since 2020, could further complicate Western efforts to help countries in the Sahel region fight a jihadist insurgency that has spread from Mali over the past decade.

    Land-locked Niger, a former French colony, has become a pivotal ally for Western powers seeking to help fight the insurgencies, but they are facing growing acrimony from the new juntas in charge in Mali and Burkina Faso.

    Niger is also a key ally of the European Union in the fight against irregular migration from sub-Saharan Africa.

    France moved troops to Niger from Mali last year after its relations with interim authorities there soured.

    It has also withdrawn special forces from Burkina Faso amid similar tensions.

    Bazoum’s election was the first democratic transition of power in a state that has witnessed four military coups since independence from France in 1960.

    The United States says it has spent around $500 million since 2012 to help Niger boost its security.

    Germany announced in April that it would take part in a three-year European military mission aimed at improving the country’s military.

    “Bazoum has been the West’s only hope in the Sahel region.

    “France, the U.S. and the EU have spent much of their resources in the region to bolster Niger and its security forces,” said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme for Germany’s Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung think-tank.

    He said a coup would create an opportunity for Russia and other actors to spread their influence in Niger.

    Early on Wednesday presidential guards, headed by General Omar Tchiani, took over the presidency, prompting regional leaders to organise a swift mediation mission to try to prevent a coup.

    Frustrations over state failures to prevent violent attacks on towns and villages have partly spurred two coups in Mali and two in Burkina Faso since 2020.

    A junta also snatched power in Guinea in 2021, contributing to instability in a region that had begun to shed its reputation as a “coup belt”.

    There was a thwarted coup attempt in Niger in March 2021, when a military unit tried to seize the presidential palace days before the recently elected Bazoum was due to be sworn in.

    The African Union and West African regional bloc ECOWAS earlier on Wednesday condemned what they called an attempted coup d’etat.

    The president of neighbouring Benin, Patrice Talon, flew into Niger on Wednesday afternoon to assess the situation after meeting with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu who is also the ECOWAS Chairman.

    “All means will be used, if necessary, to restore constitutional order in Niger, but the ideal would be for everything to be done in peace and harmony,” Talon told reporters in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

    The United States called for Bazoum’s release, while the European Union, United Nations, France, and others condemned the uprising and said they were following the events with concern.

    U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who spoke with Bazoum on Wednesday when he was being held in the presidential palace, said the U.S. economic and security partnership with Niger depended on the continuation of democratic governance.

  • Suicide bomber kills 13 soldiers at military academy

    Suicide bomber kills 13 soldiers at military academy

    A suicide bomber in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Monday killed at least 13 soldiers and wounded at least 20 more inside a military academy in an attack claimed by the al Shabaab militant group.

    A military campaign launched by government forces and allied militiamen in 2022 has forced the al Qaeda-linked group from large swathes of territory in southern Somalia, but the militants have continued to stage deadly raids.

    In recent weeks, with the military campaign against them stalled as the army prepared a second phase of the offensive, al Shabaab fighters had stepped up their attacks.

    In late May, they killed at least 54 Ugandan peacekeepers at a base south of Mogadishu. For nearly two weeks, they laid siege to Baidoa, one of the country’s largest cities. And they have staged a series of raids in Mogadishu this month.

    The bombing on Monday targeted the Jale Siyaad military academy. A soldier at Mogadishu’s military hospital who gave his name only as Ahmed said he had the bodies of 13 soldiers who were killed and 20 more that were wounded in the blast.

    The victims hailed from the Lower Shabelle region and had come to the capital for training, said Captain Ali Farah, who knew some of them. He said he was aware of 10 deaths so far.

    “The soldiers were being counted in the queue when the suicide bomber blew himself up,” Farah said.

    Al Shabaab said in a statement that the bomber had killed 73 soldiers and wounded 124 others. The group typically gives casualty figures that are significantly higher than those provided by the authorities.

    Al Shabaab has been fighting since 2006 to topple Somalia’s central government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.

  • Enugu community accuses soldiers of allegedly killing 2, army says it is untrue

    Enugu community accuses soldiers of allegedly killing 2, army says it is untrue

    The people of Eke Community in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State have alleged the killing of a volunteer member of its neighborhood vigilante watch and a housewife from the community by soldiers.

    Narrating what transpired on Sunday, Mr Emeka Anigbo, Assistant Chief Security Officer of Eke Security Neighbourhood Vigilante Watch, who is still grieving over gunshot pain, said they were at 9th Mile Corner on Thursday night when they got a distress call.

    Anigbo said that the caller said that armed robbers blocked the major road leading to the popular Catholic Church Prayer Center (Ugwudinso) and Eke, from Ama Breweries.

    According to him, “on receiving the distress call, we swiftly drove out with a view to confronting the criminal elements, but due to heavy traffic gridlock occasioned by the blockage of the road, they could not get to the scene with their vehicle.

    He said they (vigilante group) decided to park their vehicle along the road, and started moving towards the place, and that while approaching the scene, they met three armed soldiers who ordered them to stop.

    “We obeyed the soldiers and identified ourselves as neighborhood vigilante watch guards. The soldiers asked us to keep coming.

    “On approaching, the soldiers started firing at us, killing one of us and a woman who was on a motorcycle with her husband going back to Eke community.

    “Despite the fact that we were in our full security uniforms and had identified ourselves, the trigger-happy soldiers opened fire on us at a very close range, killing Oke, and the woman.

    “After shooting me severally, while I was on the ground, one of the soldiers still, notwithstanding seeing my identification card and my uniform, went ahead to shoot me again on the shoulder,” Anigbo said.

    Anigbo said that it was the timely arrival of police operatives from 9th Mile Corner Division that saved his life, adding it was the police that stopped the soldier and confirmed that we are Eke Neighborhood Security Guards.

    He alleged that the soldiers equally shot three other members of the local security outfit at close range, leaving them with various degrees of bullet injuries, including one whose penis was completely shattered.

    “It is unfortunate that Mr Ebuka Oke, shot during the barbaric attack by the soldiers, lost his father exactly one month on the same day he was killed,” he said.

    Efforts to speak with Chinedu Okolo, whose manhood was shattered, failed, as he could not utter a word due to severe pains, just as the third victim, Obinna Offor, was passing excruciating pains under oxygen support at the intensive care unit of a hospital.

    Some natives of Eke community, who spoke on condition of anonymity, condemned the unprofessional conducts of the soldiers, describing it as “barbaric and callous”, while calling for independent investigation.

    When contacted, Lt.- Col. Jonah Unuakhalu, the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 82 Division of Nigerian Army, described as untrue the narrative of the community people and its vigilante arm.

    Unuakhalu said that from the available information in the Division’s disposal, the deceased woman was killed by a stray bullet from armed hoodlums who engaged the soldiers in a shoot-out.

    He said that the troops received a distress call that some criminal elements were operating along the Eke road, and they immediately rushed to the scene, on sighting the soldiers the hoodlums opened fire on them.

    He noted that the soldiers overpowered them leading to the arrest of one of them, and recovering of two pump action guns and some live bullets, after some ran into a nearby bush.

    The Division’s spokesman said he had no information regarding the alleged second deceased (the male).

    He added that it was in the course of the exchange of fire between the troop and the hoodlums that a stray bullet hit the deceased house wife who was rushed to the hospital, “but unfortunately, later died”.

    “So, there is no iota of truth in the information being peddled around that it was soldiers that killed the deceased (female). Our men only rushed to the scene to salvage the situation, after receiving a distress call,” he insisted.

    He noted that it was unfortunate that the woman died, if not, she would have been in the best position to narrate exactly what happened.

    “The Division is going to carry out proper investigation on the incident, so as to unravel what actually transpired,” he said.

    Eke community is the hometown of the Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr Osita Okechukwu and immediate past Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, among others.

  • Soldiers kill 2 policemen in Taraba

    Soldiers kill 2 policemen in Taraba

    The Police Command in Taraba has confirmed the killing of two of its personnel by soldiers on Monday in Jalingo.

    The command spokesman, Abdullahi Usman, told newsmen that two others were injured and currently receiving treatment.

    Usman said the investigation would be conducted to ascertain the real cause of the incident.

    “The Commissioner of Police, Yusuf Suleiman, and the Commander 6 Brigade, Brig. Gen. Frank Etim have met, discussed, and agreed that a commission of enquiry be set up to look into the real cause of this incident,” he said.

    According to him, the incident occurred at a military checkpoint close to the INEC headquarters in Jalingo and the police command at about 8:30 am.

    “The soldiers shot two police personnel and went away with their riffle.

    “Some proceeded to the command headquarters with guns and sporadically shot in the air, and one police officer who was going off duty was shot and killed instantly.

    “Another who was just reporting for duty and did not even know what was happening was also shot the moment they identified him as a policeman,” Usman said.

    “As we speak, we have gotten reports that our men who are escorting election results or on various duties are been stopped at military checkpoints and harassed,” he alleged.