Shaky Ceasefire: Soldiers Kill 25 Boko Haram, Recover Arms In Fresh Attack on Damboa

At least 25 members of the Boko Haram terrorists group were on Sunday night killed by troops of the 7 Division, Nigerian Army in Damboa Local Government Area of Borno state, Security officials have said.

Court Martial: Convicted Soldiers Appeal Death Sentence

Three soldiers out of the 12 sentenced to death by the military General Court Martial on September 15 have dragged the Nigerian Army before the Court of Appeal in Abuja, seeking to set aside the death sentences passed on them.

Boko Haram: 'Mutinous' Soldiers Set For Court Martial; Insurgents Overrun Police Training School Near Gwoza

Mutinous soldiers of newly created 7th Division of the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri have been relocated to another division for trial, it was learnt yesterday.

The military is said to have taken the step to avoid the trial constituting a distraction to the Division in its fight against the Boko
Haram insurgency and to avoid “spiral effect” on the morale of other soldiers.

A source revealed that Buni Yadi in Yobe State is constantly exposed to attacks from Boko Haram because of the “thin presence” of troops in the area as a result of manpower challenge. The troops deployed in the area are only on patrol duties.
Although the military is silent on the number of the affected soldiers, the figure is said to be between 18
and 50.

Some of the soldiers were fingered in the alleged shots fired at a car carrying the former General Officer Commanding the 7 Division in Maiduguri, Borno State, Maj.-Gen. Ahmadu Mohammed while others were said to have violated the Army Act on issues bordering on redeployment to flashpoints in parts of Borno State.

A military source, who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “The mutinous soldiers have been taken away from Maiduguri to some Divisions where court martial had been ongoing.
According to him, “We do not want the trial to distract the focus of the 7 Division in curtailing Boko Haram. It can evoke emotion and generate more reactions. Already, you can see the wives of soldiers protesting against deployment of their spouses to flashpoints.” The source was however not forthcoming on the location of the court martial.

Another source cited security reasons for the shifting of the trial from Maiduguri to other divisions.
The source said: “Actually, based on security reasons, it will not be safe to put the soldiers on trial in Maiduguri.
They do not want it to have contagious effects.
“And the good thing about court martial is that its jurisdiction covers all parts of the country. The soldiers can be tried anywhere.”

On a related note, it was learnt that the Police Training Academy near Gwoza in Borno State had been overrun by Boko Haram insurgents.

A witness was quoted by the BBC as saying that he heard shots after the insurgents arrived in three armoured vehicles and on dozens of motorcycles.

A police spokesman confirmed the attack and a senior security source said it had not been possible to
establish communication with the academy since Wednesday, the BBC reported.

The Liman Kara College is near Gwoza town, which has been seized by Boko Haram since the beginning of this month.

The militants have stepped up their attacks after being pushed out of their bases in Maiduguri, the capital of
Borno state, and have been targeting towns and villages in deadly raids.
In recent weeks, the militants have been moving from their rural camps and taking over substantial towns such as Damboa and Gwoza.

Attempts by the security forces to retake Gwoza have not succeeded so far – and a group of about 40 soldiers is now refusing to fight, saying they are too poorly equipped to take on the heavily armed insurgents.

Residents of Liman Kara, which is about 15km from Gwoza, told the BBC Hausa service that police recruits
were seen running from the college after the attack began at dawn on Wednesday. He said he was unable to confirm if there were casualties as he had joined other residents and fled the town to nearby hills.

A security official who craved anonymity told the BBC that the militants had “entered the school” but said he could not confirm they were in control of the college as it had not been possible to contact it.

A similar attack on the college was repelled by officers undergoing training there two weeks ago.
BBC Hausa’s Mahmud Lalo said the Liman Kara academy is one of only two riot police training colleges in Nigeria and the militants are likely to find weapons there.

Several hundred militants were reportedly involved in the raid on the college, which there were reportedly more than 290 police trainees at the time.

Source:
The Nation

Boko Haram: Soldiers’ Children, Wives Protest Husbands’ Deployment To Gwoza

There is tension in the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maiduguri, as angry wives of soldiers at the Giwa Barracks, blocked the entrance to the barracks, vowing not to allow their husbands to proceed to Bama as directed by the General Officer Commanding (GOC), General Mohammed Ibrahim.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that the enraged women got wind of the fact that their husbands had been directed to proceed to Bama, about 70km from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno
State.

It was gathered that the soldiers’ wives and their children came out in their numbers insisting that their husbands would not abandon them in the barracks to be killed by Boko Haram.

The women, it was gathered, rejected pleas by senior commanders, insisting to block the entrance to the barracks until the GOC reverse his directive.

A reliable military source who spoke with our reporter said that the commander of the barracks had already relocated to Bama and was waiting for his boys who should have joined him since morning for some clandestine operations.

“They blocked the road, all our weapons are now locked up inside and in case of emergency we do not have weapons to defend ourselves. The women are equally not armed but are very angry sitting down there with their children.
“They are not ignorant of what is going on. They live in the barracks with their husbands and are aware that there are over 40 of the insurgents locked up inside the dungeons of that barracks.

“Living them alone is clear suicide and there is no guarantee that they will not be attacked by the insurgents who are always bent on releasing their own regardless of where they are kept.
“You are aware of the fact that they tried releasing their people from the same Giwa barracks this year. It is by the grace of God that some of us are alive now.”

The source stated further that “some of us think the decision to move the soldiers is risky.
“This decision is due purely out of corruption because money is involved in their movement. If it is not corruption, why should they take such a decision when they know that the soldiers are protecting the city.”

Tribune Newspaper

Boko Haram: Nigerian Military Set To Reinforce 'Special Forces' To Damboa, Borno State

The leadership of the Nigerian military has concluded arrangement to deploy 600 specially trained commandos in the troubled area of Damboa, Borno State.

A security source said on Tuesday that the military personnel were specially trained within the country for the purpose of strengthening the security presence in Damboa, which is considered as one of the most volatile areas in the North-East.

It was gathered that the military and the soldiers deployed in that part of Borno State had become very skeptical about the sincerity of the people following the ambushing and killing of an army officer, who was commanding the troop.

It was said that the leadership of the military was shocked that the lieutenant-colonel, a Muslim, who was on mission to convince the people to prevail on the insurgents to embrace peace could be killed in an ambush by the same people he was protecting.

The source said that the military leadership had to take the step to send the specially trained forces to the area to replace some of the soldiers with affected morale in the area.

The source said, “The Army is sceptical about the sincerity of the Damboa people. The situation is such that it has become difficult to separate the people of the area from Boko Haram elements in the area. The place is completely infested.

“And that was responsible for the ambushing and killing of the officer, who was in charge of the troops in the area.

“The morale of the troops is seriously affected, with the killing of their commander and there is the need to prevent them from acting irrationally, to boost their morale.

“The officer, who was killed went there to protect the integrity of the nation. Being a Muslim, he had to tell them they were damaging the image of the North.

“He led that soft approach, to plead with the leaders to talk to them about the importance of peace, and to warn anybody who refused would be dealt with.

“A specialised team has been trained to take over from some of the guys on the ground. Six hundred of them are ready for deployment now. It is a strong force that would boost the morale of those in the area.”

Investigations revealed that the Federal Government had embarked on massive procurement of military hardware from the United States and Russia to address the incessant Boko Haram attacks in the North-East.

It was learnt that the government had imported 40 helicopter gunships from the US and Russia. They are expected to arrive the country first week of August.

The government was also said to have imported mine-resistant tanks required for some planned operations in areas taken over by the insurgents.

The source added that the military had also embarked on massive recruitment of troops in the bid to strengthen the nation’s security forces against the threat of terrorism.

“The Federal Government has purchased some fighter helicopters for this operation; about 40 helicopter gunships have been imported out of which over 30 are from the US while the rest are from Russia.

“They are scheduled to arrive the country in August; the government is embarking on a massive purchase of equipment and recruitment of troops in preparation for the threat. They are doing a lot of recruitment this year,” the source added.

Punch

Boko Haram: Nigerian Army Take Delivery of Sophisticated Weapons in War Against Sect

In a move targeted at effectively stamping out the Boko Haram insurgency in the country, the Nigerian Army has started taking delivery of critical equipment, some of which include two sophisticated helicopter gunships with in-built night vision technology capable of neutralising the nocturnal manoeuvres of the deadly terrorist group.

Sources within the presidency told THISDAY that the special choppers come with night vision technology to enable soldiers monitor and take out the insurgents who move mainly at night to carry out their dastardly acts.

The helicopters, THISDAY learnt, are some of the highly sophisticated military and surveillance aircraft that have been ordered by the Federal Government.

The source explained: “The two helicopters, which are very expensive and boast of the latest technology were ordered for the ongoing counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations.

“In fact, we now have the latest aircraft for surveillance and intelligence gathering. More of these weapons are on their way but these (helicopters) are for urgent purposes. I can assure you that more equipment are coming, serious ones,” the source said.

Confirming the arrival of new equipment, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah, at a public function yesterday hinted that government was enhancing the capacity of the Nigerian Army to fight terrorism, with the procurement of more sophisticated equipment.

He said the army was adopting new measures to up the ante of its counter-insurgency in the North-east, adding that “a lot of gains have been made in the various operations.

“Yes, we have equipment and the federal government is also introducing fresh and newer equipment for us...”
To give more teeth to its arsenal against the terrorist groups, THISDAY also learnt that Nigerian Army is finalising the   training of the newly formed 143rd Infantry Battalion, which has been set up as a “special elite force” to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency.

THISDAY had exclusively reported last month that Special Forces troops from the California Army National Guard (CNG) are currently in Nigeria training a newly formed infantry battalion designed specifically to counter the threat from Boko Haram.

According to one CNG Special Forces soldier who spoke on the condition of anonymity, a total of 12 California Guard soldiers from two Los Alamitos-based Special Forces units — Special Operations Detachment–US Northern Command and Company A, 5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) are involved in a two-month mission, the first is a three-phase plan to assist in the establishment of the battalion.

The Nigerian army’s 143rd Infantry Battalion which was formed from the ground up within the past few months, is said to be “a classic Special Forces mission — training an indigenous force in a remote area in an austere environment to face a very real threat”.

This was recently confirmed by a top military source who said that the training had reached an advanced stage at a location in Niger State.

According to the source: “The 143rd is receiving special training, kitting and equipment from the NA and US Army in Kontagora.”

The source revealed that the new battalion will help to form the core of the elite and strike force currently undergoing training in different parts of the country.

“The US is not the only country involved in this, the Israelis and other allies are also helping in various technical, tactical and operational training in the areas of intelligence, weapons handling and in general counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations,” another security source explained.

THISDAY also gathered that there is already a strike force in place in Borno State, specially trained for the possible rescue of the Chibok girls and other daring actions against Boko Haram terrorists.

The strike force was immediately put together in the aftermath of the girls’ kidnapping and the arrival of foreign military experts working alongside Nigerian security forces.

Minimah, on the other hand, yesterday added that contrary to the belief in some quarters, the ongoing military operations against the Boko Haram Islamic Sect in the North-east, does not involve foreign troops.
Minimah made this clarification yesterday at the opening ceremony of The COAS 3rd Quarter Conference 2014, which is the first under his leadership, with General Officers Commanding (GOCs) and other Operational Commanders.

Speaking to journalists against the backdrop of the popular belief that troops from the US, UK, France, Israel, and China were fighting alongside Nigerian soldiers to rescue the over 200 students of Chibok , he said: “There are no foreign troops on the ground.

Minimah added: “What the foreign nations are doing is sharing of intelligence with the Nigerian armed forces, noting that the military operations, were not being complemented by foreign troops.
“The foreign partners have  not come with boots on ground; they have come to share some level of intelligence with us.”

The COAS also frowned at what he described as “the rising acts of indiscipline and unprofessional conduct by troops”, recalling the attempted mutiny by troops in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, against the then GOC 7 Division, Major-General Ahmadu Mohammed.

Minimah warned that “as a professional army, the conduct of our troops must be above board at all times”.
Accordingly, he directed all unit and operational commanders “to put measures in place to check acts of indiscipline and misconduct by personnel under their commands”.

On reported incidents of desertion, Minimah insisted that “desertion is part of warfare”, adding, “We must accept that desertions will continue to be there, we had desertions during the Nigerian civil war, ECOMOG and now, it will continue with this war.”

He also debunked claims that soldiers had destroyed some BRT buses in Lagos, blaming the incident on hoodlums.

Courtesy:
ThisDay Newspaper

Maimalari Barracks Mutiny: Nigerian Army Court-martials 18 Soldiers

The Nigerian Army has court–martialed 18 soldiers for attempted murder and mutiny in Maimalari cantonment, Maiduguri.
In an internal memo seen by PREMIUM TIMES, the Commander, Army Headquarter Garrison, B.T Ndiomu, ordered the General Court Martial, GCM, to be presided by C.C Okonkwo, a Brigadier General.
Mr. Ndiomu, who is also a Brigadier General, had ordered that a GCM be assembled at the garrison’s conference hall on June 26.
The GCM is made up of seven members, two waiting members, a judge advocate and two prosecuting officers.
Others include: a liaison officer, a contact officer, two officers authorized to sign any amendment convening officer and eight other soldiers who form a court secretariat.
The 18 soldiers are to be court-martialed for an incident that occurred in May at the barracks On May 14, some soldiers, angered by the death of 12 of their colleagues in a Boko Haram ambush, opened fire on the vehicle of the
General Officer Commanding, GOC, 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Ahmadu Mohammed.
The soldiers blamed Mr. Mohammed for the death of their colleagues killed in the ambush.
Sources had told PREMIUM TIMES that the soldiers were ambushed while on a special operation in Kalabalge Local Government Area where locals on the Tuesday morning killed about 150 insurgents and arrested 10 others.
After the operation, during which some military equipment were recovered from the insurgents, the soldiers who had arrived the council, at night were asked to return to Maiduguri.
The soldiers reportedly pleaded to be allowed to return to Maiduguri the next morning, as the night trip would be too risky.
Their request was allegedly turned down and the troop had to drive to Maiduguri at night.
“Those commanding the troop declined their request to pass the night in one of the villages on the grounds that the top ranks at the headquarters of the 7 Division would not be pleased if they don’t go back to Maiduguri that night,” said a ranking soldier, who sought anonymity.

The 7 Division, recently formed, is located in Maiduguri, the capital of the troubled Borno State.
But half way through their journey, they ran into a Boko Haram ambush and 12 of them got killed while some others were injured, sources said.
The military later claimed that only four soldiers died in the ambush, before it increased the figure to six.
The survivors, in what seemed a vengeance mission, opened fire on their commander, Mr. Mohammed, when they eventually arrived in Maiduguri.
Mr. Mohammed, a Major General, was immediately redeployed to another command which the military did not reveal.

However, in its version of the attack on the GOC, the military said the soldiers did not shoot at their commander.
“The fact of the matter is that troops on patrol around Chibok were ambushed by insurgents yesterday. Troops engaged the insurgents in a fierce combat and extricated themselves from the ambush killing several insurgents.
“Four soldiers however lost their lives during the ambush.
“On evacuation of the remains of the fallen troops, the General Officer Commanding addressed the troops who registered their anger about the incident by firing into the air,” the military spokesperson, Chris Olukolade, a Major General, had said in a statement.
The Nigerian Army, however, instituted a military board of inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the conduct of soldiers who fired some shots.
In a charge sheet signed by Mr. Ndiomu on June 28, it was specified that 11 of the soldiers are being charged with criminal conspiracy to commit mutiny among others.

These eleven soldiers are facing a six-count charge of committing mutiny, criminal conspiracy to commit mutiny, attempted murder, disobedience to particular orders, insubordinate behaviour contrary to and punishable under the law, and false accusation.
The charge sheet read that the soldiers inspired other military personnel of the 101 battalion to commit mutiny and also accused E. Azenda, a Lieutenant colonel who is the Second in Command of the 101 battalion of conspiring with other officers to kill the soldiers.

One of the charges read “that you between 13 and 14 May 2014 at Maimalari cantonment in Maiduguri fired sporadically with the intent to incite other personnel of 101 battalion against the authority of 7 Division.”

Punishment for the offences under the Armed Forces Act include; death, imprisonment, dismissal with ignominy from the Armed Forces, a fine of a sum not exceeding the equivalent of three months’ pay among others.
The accused soldiers are entitled to a defence counsel of their choice. However, the convening officer must be informed of the defence counsel 24 hours before trial commences.
The convening officer is also expected to appoint a counsel if the accused persons fail to secure one.
The president of the GCM is expected to submit six bound copies of the proceedings of each case to Mr. Ndiomu not later than six weeks after the end of the trial.

Below are names of the accused soldiers, their ranks and service numbers:
96NA/ 42/6235 Cpl Jasper Braidolor
96NA/ 43/ 10277 Cpl David Musa
05NA/ 57/ 3451 LCpl Friday Onun
09NA/ 64/ 4905 LCpl Yusuf Shuaibu
09NA/ 62/ 1648 LCpl Igono Emmanuel
09NA/ 64/ 4214 Pte Andrew Ngbede
10NA/ 65/ 8344 Pte Nurudeen Ahmed
10NA/ 65/ 7084 Pte Ifeanyi Alukhagbe
13NA/ 69/ 2898 Pte Alao Samuel
13NA/ 69/ 2907 Pte Amadi Chukwudi
13NA/ 69/ 2898 Pte Allan Linus

The other seven soldiers also court-martialed but yet to be charged are:
93NA/ 36/ 1542 Cpl David Luhbut
97NA/ 45/ 7423 Cpl Muhammed Sani
03NA/ 53/ 816 Lcpl Stephen Clement
09NA/ 62/ 1648 Inama Samuel
09NA/ 64/ 5858 Iseh Ubong
10NA/ 65/ 6912 Ichocho Jeremiah
10NA/ 65/ 7343 Sabastine Gwaba

Courtesy:
Premium Times