Cameroon Troops Kills 27 Boko Haram Militants in Border Clashes

YAOUNDE (Reuters) - Cameroon's army has killed 27 members of Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram near a northern town, state radio said on Wednesday, in a sign of growing cross-border activity by the militants.

The Boko Haram fighters crossed the border into Cameroon earlier this week, after attacking a military base and police station in Nigeria and apparently sending some 480 Nigerian troops retreating across the frontier.

"Cameroon soldiers have killed 27 Boko Haram elements during an attack in a locality near Fotokol in the far-north," state radio CRTV said, adding that the deaths occurred on Monday and Tuesday. There was no word on any Cameroonian casualties.

A Cameroonian soldier in the region said the militants had been pushed back into Nigeria, with calm returning to the area on Wednesday.

In recent weeks, Boko Haram, which is seeking to carve out a de facto Islamic state in northern Nigeria, has stepped up attacks in Cameroon, leading the central African country to increase deployments along its jungle border.

But Cameroon has not always been successful in fending off Boko Haram raids. President Paul Biya dismissed two senior army officers last month
following attacks in which at least seven people were killed and the wife of the vice prime minister was kidnapped.

Reuters

Boko Haram: Military Uncovers New Tricks Exploited By Terrorists

There are strong indications that terrorists are currently employing new tricks to beat security checks.
Among such moves is the recruitment of physically-challenged people to carry out their dastardly acts in some parts of the country.

The recruitment of these set of persons, as gathered, was to allow easy access into states like Lagos.
This came as the Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obaniko, yesterday in Lagos, described Boko Haram sect’s declaration of Gwoza town in Borno state as an Islamic caliphate, as a ‘temporary madness’ that would
soon disappear, saying there would never be another republic within Nigeria.

Military sources hinted that following intelligence report on the use of people with disabilities by the Boko Haram sect, screening of physically challenged persons, particular those using tricycles had begun.

The disclosure as gathered, followed the confessional statement of the physically challenged man arrested recently at the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos,
with combustive substance.

A military source, who spoke on condition of anonymity however assured that the Military was on top of the situation.

NigerianEye

Nigerian Troops Back From 'Tactical Manoeuvre' To Cameroon, Deployed To Another Counterterrorism Operation

Residents of Mubi confirmed that Nigerian troops numbering up to 480, were seen on arrival from Maroua, most of them looking haggard and wearing tattered clothing.

They were ferried back to Nigeria by military trucks, according to witnesses.
The soldiers supposedly fled a Boko Haram rampage in the border town of Gamboru when they came under superior firepower, but the Defence Headquarters in Abuja said on Monday the troops were “charging through the borders in a tactical manoeuvre”.

Spokesman for the DHQ, Major General Chris Olukolade also confirmed yesterday that the troops were back but declined to state their location.
“Yes they are in the country but I will not confirm their location,” he said.

On Monday, Cameroonian army spokesman Lt Col Didier Badjek said the Nigerian soldiers who crossed the
border were disarmed and accommodated at a school in Maroua.

Nigerian military authorities said later that following talks with Cameroon military “the issues have been sorted out. Subsequently, the troops are on their way back to join their unit in Nigeria.”

In Mubi, witnesses said the soldiers were conveyed back yesterday in batches by military trucks, but it was not clear whether the trucks transported them all the way from Maroua.
“At first, residents panicked before but they soon discovered they were Nigerian soldiers,” a resident told Daily Trust.

Another resident told the BBC Hausa of how they saw the returnee soldiers: “As we came out of our homes in the morning, we just saw the Nigerian soldiers, who were said to have crossed over to Cameroon, all over the place, and looking for where to get food.
“Some of them were holding their weapons, while others don’t have weapons. But their number would likely
reach 400.”
He added: “If you see them, you must pity them, because as someone who works for the army, but due to the condition they found themselves, they had to run away.”

Defence Headquarters said the troops who returned from Cameroon were addressed by the General Officer Commanding the 3 Division, Major
General Zaruwa, “as they embark on another mission in the counter-terrorism campaign.”
“All the soldiers are in high spirit with all their weapons and equipment intact,” the DHQ added.

DailyTrust

DHQ Extenuates Purported 'Defection' Of Nigerian Troops To Cameroon

The Nigerian troops that were found in Cameroun was as a result of a sustained battle between the troops and the terrorists around the borders with Cameroun which saw the Nigerian troops charging through the borders in a tactical maneuver.

Eventually they found themselves on Camerounian soil. Being allies the normal protocol of managing such incident demanded that the troops submit their weapons in order to assure the friendly country that they were not on a hostile mission.

Following necessary discussions between Nigerian and Cameroonian military authorities, the issues have been sorted out. Subsequently, the troops are on their way back to join their unit in Nigeria.

The reference to the incidence as a defection is therefore not appropriate considering the discussion between the two countries’ military leadership and the series of contacts with the soldiers who have confirmed that they are safe.

Meanwhile, troops are repelling a group of terrorists who are trying to enter the country through Gamborou Ngala. A group of them who fizzled into the town are being pursued.

DHQ

Boko Haram Crisis: Hundreds Of Nigerian Troops 'Flee Into Cameroon' - BBC

Some 480 Nigerian soldiers have fled into Cameroon following fierce fighting with Boko Haram militants, Cameroon's army has said.
Army spokesman Lt Col Didier Badjek said the soldiers had been disarmed and were now being accommodated in schools.

Clashes are said to be continuing in the border town of Gamboru Ngala.
Boko Haram on Sunday released a video in which it said it had established an Islamic state in the towns and villages it controls in north-eastern Nigeria.

The group's five-year insurgency has intensified in recent months despite the deployment of thousands of extra troops to the worst-affected areas.
Last week, a group of soldiers refused to follow orders to go and fight Boko Haram, saying the militants were
better equipped.
Insurgents also seized one of Nigeria's two main police training academies, which is near the town of Gwoza, captured earlier this month.
Thousands have fled recent fighting - these people are now living in a school.
The Nigerian soldiers are currently in the Cameroonian town of Maroua, about 80km (50 miles) from the Nigerian border, Lt Col Badjek told the BBC.

Thousands of civilians are also said to have fled across the border.
In May, some 300 people were killed in an attack on Gamboru Ngala, which left much of the town in ruins.
It is near Gwoza, the largest town under control of Boko Haram. In the most recent census, in 2006, it had a population of more than 265,000 people.
In the 52-minute video released on Sunday, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said Gwoza was now "part of
the Islamic state".

He did not specify whether his groups now had any links to the Islamic State (IS) group, which has seized much of northern Iraq in recent months, prompting the US to respond with air strikes.
There is no evidence for such links but in July, Mr Shekau congratulated IS on its territorial gains.

Source:
BBC

Suspected Fulani Herdsmen Kill 13 In Fresh Violence In Wukari

Suspected Fulani herdsmen yesterday killed 13 people and destroyed more than 50 houses in fresh attacks on Wukari villages in Taraba state, BBC Hausa Radio reported.

Similar attack from gunmen on Bishu village of Wukari local government a day earlier also claimed the lives of
six people, the BBC report said.
Mr Zondu Huku, leader of the Jikun Youth Association said there were about 50-suspected Fulani herdsmen who stormed Muba village, dominated by Jukun ethnic group, at around 7am yesterday and killed seven people instantly.

But the herders in the area have distanced themselves from the atrocity, describing it as “baseless” and without evidence.
Speaking via telephone, Huku said “At around 7am, there is a Jikun village called Muba, which came under the attack of Fulani, totaling 50. They came with heavy weapons and killed seven people.
“One person is still missing; although we don’t know whether is also dead or he is still alive. We are now preparing to go for the funeral of the seven slain people in the village.”

But while reacting to the allegation against them, a Fulani herder, Malam Audu Ali said “this accusation of an attack is baseless. We are not aware of it.
“They are the ones who possess weapons. They have guns, and that is why they chased us out of our homes
in Wukari. We don’t have weapons. It may even be that the attackers came from amongst themselves, because
we are unaware of anything like that.”

When he was told of the Jikun people’s recognition of the attackers as Fulani herders, Malam Ali replied that “if they are insisting that Fulani are the ones who did that (attack) on the village, let them show it, let them come up with any evidence. This is just a mere allegation.”

DailyTrust

Ebola Outbreak Impinges On Nigeria’s Economy, May Lose N542bn In 6 Months

There are indications that the Ebola virus disease is affecting several sectors of the Nigerian economy, as the nation risks losing over $3.5 billion (N542.5 billion) to the epidemic by December, if nothing is done to contain the spread.

Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr Bismarck Rewane, who stated this in the firm’s latest report, said the fear of the disease had affected economic
activities significantly.

This was even as experts in the maritime sector raised concern that containers volume had dropped slowly, as ships reduced to 16 this month from 26 in July, indicating 38.4 per cent drop.

The report said the sectors that would be impacted the most in Nigeria are aviation, hospitality and tourism, trade, medical and agriculture.
The report, which analysed the contributions of the sectors to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), noted that Nigeria might lose about $2 billion in the first quarter of the outbreak and about $3.5 billion in the second quarter, although the chance of the outbreak going into a second quarter is very slim.
The August 2014 edition of Financial Derivatives Company’s report on the Nigerian economy illustrated the immediate and potential aggregate economic impact of the outbreak of
the Ebola disease in Nigeria.

In the same vein, global rating agency, Moody, also announced that the outbreak of Ebola in Nigeria could lead to disruptions in some sectors of the economy, with negative financial
consequences.

The 2014 Ebola outbreak is adjudged the worst to date, affecting Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria.
On August 8, World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the latest Ebola epidemic to be an “international public health emergency,” which has the effect of mobilising global resources to combat it.

Source:
Tribune

Boko Haram Retreats From Magadali Town, Borno State

Boko Haram Islamic insurgents have reportedly withdrawn from Madagali town of Borno State, after holding siege to the town for 24 hours, Daily Trust gathered.

Chairman of Madagali Local Government Area, James Waltharda, said the civilian casualty has been minimal so far but that many residents have been scattered across the state.
He added that five churches were burnt down by the Insurgents in Sabongari and Hembla settlements.
“The insurgents spent the night in Madagali, but military operatives are there now, because I spoke with them. I have not heard of any encounter between soldiers and the assailants, so I can say there is peace. But people will not return to their homes until they are certain that the insurgents have left completely. Our people have left the town for Michika and Shuwa and even in those towns, people are running”, he said.

A security operative who spoke to Daily Trust said the insurgents withdrew to their camps in Gwoza and Limankara in Borno State, few kilometers away from Madagali yesterday morning.
It was gathered that after hoisting their flags at the military base located at the secretariat of Madagali North Development Area, the insurgents patrolled streets in the town throughout the night.

Another source told Daily Trust that the siege on Madagali might not be permanent as the insurgent were
there in pursuit of troops from the Nigerian Army who had launched a failed offensive in the early hours of
Saturday in an attempt to reclaim Limankara and Gwoza.

A resident, Ibrahim Madagali, said the insurgents killed three civilians and that the assailants told some trapped
residents that they did not intend to attack residents as their targets were security agents.
“How could we trust them after they killed many people in Gwoza and other places, so we quickly left and are currently in Michika and we intend to move further because the people hosting me here are planning to run
to Mubi due to rumour of imminent attack”, Ibrahim said.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Adamawa, DSP Michael Haa, said security has been restored in the
area. He said he was not aware of any casualty suffered during the attack.

Source:
DailyTrust

DHQ Refutes Boko Haram's Claim of Gwoza Being Part of Its 'Islamic Caliphate', Says Sect’s Claim 'Empty'

The Defence Headquarters on Sunday dismissed as empty, claims by the leader of the Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau that the sect had seized Gwoza from the Nigerian government.

In a statement forwarded to our Correspondent, Defence spokesman, Major Gen. Chris Olukolade insisted that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country remained intact.

The statement said: “The claim is empty. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Nigerian state is still intact. Any group of terrorists laying claim to any portion of the country will not be allowed to get away with that expression of delusion and crime.
“Appropriate military operations to secure that area from the activities of the bandits are still ongoing”

Source:
The Nation

Nigeria Police Confirms 35 Officers Missing Aftermath of Boko Haram Attack on Police Academy

Nigeria Police authorities confirmed that following the deadly attack by suspected Boko Haram fighters on the Mobile Police Training School, Gwoza, last week, 35 of its officers were still missing.

The police, however, noted that search and rescue efforts had led to the recovery of scores of policemen, adding that the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, had ordered the tightening of security in police
formations across the country to prevent future attacks.

A statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Emmanuel Ojukwu, in this regard, said, “Following the attack launched by insurgents on the Gwoza Training camp of the Nigeria Police Mobile Force (PMF), the Inspector-General of Police, Ag. IGP Suleiman Abba has since ordered the tightening of security around all police facilities in the country in addition to efforts made to further protect the lives of all people in Nigeria and their properties.

“It will be recalled that a ferocious attack earlier launched on the Training camp by insurgents on 7th August, 2014 was repelled by the Police.
“On 20th August, 2014, the attackers launched a fresh offensive that lasted for several hours where the policemen on duty engaged them in a fierce battle.

“The search and rescue party launched immediately has located and brought to safety all Police officers in the Training College at the time of attack.
“So far, thirty-five policemen who are still missing from the facility as a result of the latest attack are being searched for with very promising prospect of locating them.

“While enjoining all citizens to remain calm and join hands with the security forces in the collective fight against insurgency, the IGP restates his determination to work closely with other security agencies to stem the tide of terrorism in the country.”

Vanguard

Breaking News: Boko Haram Leader - Shekau Formerly Proclaims ‘Islamic Caliphate’ in Nigeria

KANO ( AFP) – Boko Haram’s leader said he has created an Islamic caliphate in a northeast Nigeria town seized by the insurgents earlier this month, in a video obtained by AFP on Sunday.

“Thanks be to Allah who gave victory to our brethren in (the town of) Gwoza and made it part of the Islamic caliphate,” Abubakar Shekau said in the 52-minute video.

He declared that Gwoza, in Borno state, now has “nothing to do with Nigeria”.
“By the grace of Allah we will not leave the town. We have come to stay,” said Shekau, who has been designated a global terrorist by the United States and sanctioned by the UN Security Council.
The United Nations humanitarian office (OCHA) earlier this month confirmed reports that Gwoza was under Insurgent's control.

Boko Haram is also believed to be in control of other areas near Gwoza in southern Borno, as well as large
swathes of territory in northern Borno and at least one town in neighbouring Yobe state.

Mapping the precise areas which have fallen into Islamist hands is nearly impossible.
There are few humanitarian workers on the ground in the northeast, travel is dangerous and the region, which
has been under a state of emergency since May of last year, has poor mobile phone coverage.

Experts have described Boko Haram’s gains in recent weeks as unprecedented, saying the group was closer than ever to achieving its goal of carving out a strict Islamic state across northern Nigeria.

Source:

Vanguard

Parents Of Abducted Chibok Girls Give Up Hope, Ready To 'Sacrifice' Daughters To End Terrorism

Parents of the abducted Chibok School girls have told President Jonathan and the Nigerian Army to go ahead and end Boko Haram, even if it endangers the lives of the girls.

They said they are ready to turn their daughters into sacrificial lambs, if it will end insurgency and the terror that Boko Haram has being carrying out.

Four months after the captivity of their daughters, the parents are now ready for the military to invade the Sambisa forest no matter the outcome.

Chairman of the Chibok community in Abuja, Hosea Tsambido, stated that he had been in contact with the parents who had given up hope of their daughters returning alive and are only asking that the government return with their bodies so that they can be given proper burial.

He stated this in Abuja during the protest by members of the #BringBackOurGirls the movement to mark 130 days after over 200 girls were abducted from the Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok.

Tsambido stated that the Chibok culture requires parents and family members of missing persons to bury their loved ones, if they have been missing for over four months, adding that after three to four months the families must perform the burial ritual and assume that the persons are dead to enable them move on with their lives.

His words: “Culturally in our area, when our child or a person is missing for three to four months and you do not hear anything about the person, we will arrange for the burial ceremony and to take it as if the person is dead and we will perform the burial ritual and forget about the person and try to forge ahead with life.
“Now the parents are saying that it is better for them to bring the girls back, even if it means the corpses so that they will bury them properly.
“Let the girls be the sacrificial lambs, that is what they told me. I spoke with them last night on the issue and
their opinion is that the army should go into Sambisa.

If some of the girls are saved, die or abscond, so be it than all this trauma that the parents are going through
right now.
“They are saying that let the government go into the forest and bring back the corpses of the children so that they can bury them properly.

The leader of the BBOG movement, Oby Ezekwesili, has asked the government to tell the group and Nigerians what is being done to rescue the girls after 130 days.
Her words: “This is 130 days after they were abducted and we are no where closer as to knowing the fate of those girls and having any information on their rescue.
“The challenge that we have is the fact that we are told that a rescue operation is going on but when you connect the dots in the statements that are made, it leaves you within the logical frame without any precise sense of a rescue operation because in the case of abduction, what we know around the world is that people try to rescue through a military operation or they try to rescue through negotiation and and they try to sometimes have a mix of those two options.

“Each time that we have listened to statements from government, including from the President, it has seemed to dismiss any of these options and so that leaves us asking, what exactly is going on 130 days since these girls were abducted.

The Nation

Nigeria Police Seek Military Protection Aftermath of Boko Haram Attack on Gwoza Police Academy

Sequel to the recent attack on one of Nigeria's foremost police training institutions, the Police Academy, Gwoza, Borno State by Boko Haram on Wednesday, the Nigeria Police has reached out to the military to protect its facilities in the North.

It was learnt that the military would deploy soldiers to guard police barracks, primary and secondary schools, as well as its training colleges.

A senior security official, who pleaded anonymity, confided in our correspondent that Wednesday’s attack on the police college was seen in security circles as the beginning of the sect’s campaign against police
formations.

Boko Haram had carried out sustained attacks on military barracks in different parts of Borno State since the beginning of its insurgency.
The source said, “We know the sect is targeting the Police and other security formations. We have put our men on the alert. We are seeking the assistance of the military and other security agencies to ensure security of our facilities.”

The Force Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ojukwu, confirmed the plan to work with the military. However, he insisted that, far from being helpless, the police had strengthened security around its various training colleges and institutions to forestall further attacks by the sect.
Ojukwu said further developments would determine if its training institutions would be shut to prevent
planned attacks. The police spokesperson, however, refused to dwell on the strategies that the Police would deploy, citing “security reasons.”
Rather, he said the Police was collaborating with other security forces to provide adequate protection for police formations in the North-East and other parts of the country.

He said, “We are not contemplating closing training colleges for now. It is the situation on ground that would determine what we will do. We have already improved the security around our training institutions nationwide and we are working with the military and other security agencies to protect all our facilities.”

Also, Ojukwu, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, said he did not have details of the attack on the Police Academy in Gworza, Borno State.
He said, “We are in touch with the commissioners of police in the neighbouring states and there are plans to clear the academy of all insurgents. We are working with the military on that. As soon as there are updates, I will let you know.”

Speaking on the attack on the police formation, a security expert, Ben Okezie, said security forces had to do more to battle insurgents.
He said, “We can’t say we are winning this war now because each time the group relaxes, it is to reinforce
and stage deadlier attacks that can shake the nation. I don’t think the Police are still training their personnel in the school. Otherwise, the place would have been better protected with riot policemen who would give Boko Haram a serious fight.”

But another security consultant, Max Gbanite, said it is difficult to predict the outcome of asymmetrical warfare. He noted that the government had begun to understand how to fight the war by signing a multi-national joint agreement with neighbouring countries to combat the insurgents.
He said, “The government has begun to understand how the war would be fought but, unfortunately, the
insurgents won’t wait for them to purchase sophisticated weapons. The group has divided the nation and conspired to make the Army look bad by dressing in military uniforms and doing terrible things. We can’t win the war through threats.”

NigerianEye

Boko Haram Seize Madagali Local Govt. in Adamawa State; 100 Police Academy Trainees Still Missing After Gwoza Attack

Heavily armed insurgents belonging to the Nigerian Islamist sect, Boko Haram, in the early hours of today invaded the secretariat of the Madagali local government area in Adamawa State. The insurgents dislodged Nigerian soldiers who were guarding the facility and surrounding areas.

A security source reported that hundreds of the militants arrived at the local government headquarters led by armored vehicles they had earlier seized from Nigerian troops in Gwoza, Borno State. The source added that the Islamist fighters were also armed with shoulder-fired rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and anti-aircraft mortar guns mounted on pickup vans.

They reportedly had it easy overwhelming Nigerian soldiers in the area who retreated quickly in the face of the militants’ heavy gunfire.

The militants promptly hoisted their flag and seized the administrative headquarters of Madagali local
government area.

The local government area now joins a list of towns in Nigeria’s violence plagued northeast that are under the
control of the extremist militants who have declared Western education as the source of moral decadence
and corruption in Nigeria. The towns captured by Boko Haram fighters include Gwoza in Borno State and Buni Yadi in Yobe State.

Meanwhile, more than 100 trainee police officers remain missing days after Boko Haram fighters sacked the Mobile Police Training Academy in Gwoza last Wednesday.

Source:
SR

Boko Haram: DSS Raises Alarm Over Possibility of Female Suicide Bombers Disguised As Catholic Reverend Sisters

The Department of State Service (DSS), has raised alarm over the possibility of Boko Haram terrorists, using a female suicide bomber disguised as a Catholic Reverend Sister to attack a church.

This warning was given by Deputy Director, Public Relations, DSS, Ms Marilyn Ogar, who said that the
timely information is to prevent such terrorists disguising themselves in order to gain entrance to tomorrow’s Sunday services.

According to Ms Ogar, some unidentified persons had on August 20, 2014, about 0400 hours, broken into a tailoring shop located at No.55 Odutola Street, Sabon Gari, Kano, and stole about 13 pieces of Catholic Church Reverend Sisters’ regalia.

She said that with the recent trend of female suicide bombings in the country, the theft of these regalia heightens concerns about the possibility of terrorist elements using same to perpetrate acts of terror.

Consequently, she added that the Department of State Service wishes to draw the attention of the public to this development and to call on all citizens to be more circumspect and exercise greater vigilance with users of such peculiar attires.
"We therefore enjoin all to continue to cooperate with law enforcement agencies through the provision of
useful information on suspicious activities within their immediate environment".

"This Service will continue to collaborate with all stakeholders as we strive to keep our country safe", she assured.

Source:
ThisDay