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| Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi |
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.”
The Islamist terror group, Boko Haram, has routed Nigerian troops from four towns in Borno and Yobe states, both in Nigeria’s violence-plagued northeast that is the epicenter of the group’s activities.
Six days ago, insurgents belonging to Boko Haram took over the town of Gwoza after overwhelming Nigerian troops guarding the town. The Islamist sect’s fighters invaded the town in the middle of last week, massacring more than 100 residents, including a brother of the Emir of Gwoza as well as the chief imam of the town’s major mosque.
Security sources disclosed that the sect also killed or wounded numerous Nigerian soldiers during their initial assault and, days later, in a counter-offensive mounted by the Nigerian Army to try to wrest the town back from the stranglehold of the Islamists.
A top security source disclosed that Boko Haram had successfully beaten back three separate columns of Nigerian troops from Gwoza. “The most recent was a team of soldiers led by Lieutenant Colonel Agwu of the former Special Operations Battalion (SOB) now 234 Battalion,” the source told our correspondent.
SaharaReporters had earlier reported that Colonel Agwu was missing in action after his column made a hasty retreat in the face of an onslaught by a group of heavily armed insurgents. But our military source disclosed that Colonel Agwu was able to escape and to make it back alive to Maimalari Barracks in Maiduguri. “I understand he had to disguise as a woman to escape from the militants,” our security source revealed.
Apart from Gwoza, Boko Haram militants have also seized three towns in Yobe State, according to other security sources. Insurgents belonging to the sect have reportedly taken control of the towns of Buni Yadi, Buni Gari and Goniri, all in Gujba local government area of Yobe State.
Several of the militants have occupied camps abandoned by Nigerian troops as they fled from a series of fierce battles with insurgents, our security sources said.
Members of the sect have bombed Katako Bridge that links Buni Yadi with Damaturu, the Yobe State capital.
One source said the Nigerian Army was planning a broad strategy to mount a major military campaign to retake the towns recently seized by Boko Haram. “Our Cameroonian counterparts have been able to take back towns from Boko Haram. We’re planning seriously to do the same thing,” said the army officer. “We have the manpower, training and weapons to defeat Boko Haram,” he added.
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MAIDUGURI, August 9, 2014 (AFP) - Hundreds of people who escaped a Boko Haram attack on their town in Nigeria's restive north and fled to a nearby mountain said Saturday they were without any food.
"We are in distress. We need help," said Liman Ngosha, a farmer from the town of Gwoza.
"We have been starving for the past four days. We are surviving now on wild fruits," he told AFP by phone from the Mandara mountain.
Suspected Boko Haram gunmen attacked the town, some 135 kilometres (80 miles) from the state capital of Maiduguri, on Wednesday.
The raid left dozens dead and sent others fleeing to the mountain near the Cameroonian border.
Survivors said there were no soldiers to defend the town when the gunmen attacked before dawn.
"I cannot tell the exact number of people that were killed. Before I fled, over 100 corpses littered the streets of Gworza," Ngosha said.
The palace of the town's emir, the police headquarters and scores of other buildings were destroyed, residents said.
"Dozens of our people have been killed by the attackers. Some were slaughtered and many others shot with guns," resident James Mshelia told AFP.
Residents said the whereabouts of the Gwoza emir, Mohammad Idrissa Timta, was unknown. Timta succeeded his father, Mustapha Idrissa Timta, who was killed by Boko Haram insurgents in May.
"There is no military presence in Gwoza now," said Halima Jatau, one of the fleeing residents.
The attack on Gwoza came a few weeks after the insurgents took over Damboa, another town in the volatile state that is repeatedly attacked by the Islamist group.
Many Gworza residents who escaped the attack, including some who fled to the mountain, met in Maiduguri on Saturday with the state governor,
Kashim Shettima, who promised to discuss their plight with President Goodluck Jonathan.
"I share your pain and I know the difficulty that you are going through. I want to assure you that I will relay what is happening to the president and I will seek his support in the deployment of more soldiers to Gwoza," he said.
On Saturday, police fired shots at a group of about 300 Gworza residents who had gathered in central
Maiduguri to protest the Boko Haram attack, injuring a 26-year-old man.
The head of the state police, Lawan Tanko, later apologised to the protesters saying that the policeman who fired the shot that injured the man had been identified and would be tried and punished accordingly.
President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday in Abuja said that the nation would confront its present security challenges with “ all our national endowment ”.
Jonathan, who was represented by the Minister of Defence, Lt. Gen. Aliyu Gusau (Rtd) said this at the graduation ceremony of Course 22 Participants of the National Defence College (NDC).
“We have made some gains against the adversary, we face an unspeakable evil and we must confront it with all our national endowment .
“And as government we will not compromise our sovereignty and territorial integrity of Nigeria.
“And we will not allow the authority of Nigerian state to be challenged.
Education is a human right which is
invaluable transformational value and is the bases of our development progress.
“We shall not give up that right for some faceless, misguided, self-styled using the means of terror,” he said.
Jonathan called on the populace to close ranks with government to end to insurgency saying: “there is no
challenge that can divide the collective will of the Nigerian .
“May I also use this opportunity to assure all Nigerians that we are committed to bringing back the
Chibok girls alive . ”
He called on the Armed Forces, intelligence and security agencies in the expanded security approach was crucial and urged them to take proactive measures in the discharge of their responsibilities .
“On the part of the government, we are committed to improving institutional capacity, platform and equipment , human and resources endowment of our security agencies to meet these challenges .
“Let me use this opportunity to salute the gallantry of men and women of the armed forces , the police , intelligence and the security agencies and emergency services for their loyal and patriotic service to the nation,
“My heart goes to all the service men that had paid the supreme sacrifice, so that other Nigerians may continue to live in peace and security.
“I wish to convey my personal sympathy to Nigerians, who had in one way or the other suffered human and material loss on account of terrorism, ” he said.
Earlier in his welcome address, Commandant of the NDC, Rear Admiral Patrick Agholor , said that the
graduation of Course 22 marked the end of another successful academic journey at the NDC.
Agholor said during 44- weeks duration of the course, the participants received series of lecture on a wide range of subjects.
“I therefore, implore you to use the learning experiences, skills and values acquired here as enablers to drive your creativity and innovativeness to
meet challenges, you will face.
“I urge you, therefore, to prepare your minds and be ready to discharge your duties and responsibilities with utmost professionalism, ” he said.
The best graduating participant, Col. Joseph Chima, attributed the success of the participants to hard work.
“It was a very intense course and to have gone through it and top the class was challenging, ” he said.
Col. Cosmas Alhassan a foreign participants from Ghana who emerged as the best foreign participant said the course was educative . He said the knowledge he acquired would come handy in the discharge of duties in Ghana.
On Tuesday June 3, 2014, the Niger State government dislodged members of a radical and controversial Islamic group, the Nibrassiya Huda Islamic sect, from Lapai, in Lapai Local Government Area of the state. The sect’s camp had been situated inside a forest on the outskirts of the town. In that raid, which was carried out by the military, no fewer than 240 members were dislodged.
The sect, led by Sheik Mohammed Abubakar, had become a menace to the public and the traditional institution of the town. Members of the sect had been accused of disturbing public peace by attacking people who did not share their views. Their members viewed other Muslim adherents as largely misguided and treated them with no regard. Indeed, the Etsu Lapai, Alhaji Umar Bago Tafida, had accused the leader of the sect of teaching and propagating wrong doctrines that have no root in Islam.
Before routing the sect from the location, the state government had, in May 13 this year, revoked the Certificate of Occupancy of the land on which the camp was situated and gave an eviction notice of two weeks to the sect.
This is not the first time the government of Niger state is taking proactive measures to stem religion extremism. In 2010, the government took a preemptive initiative against the Darul Islam group, led by Amrul Bashir Abdullahi, settled on the outskirts of the state. Earlier in
2009, the Niger State government had set up an interreligious body to promote peace and friendly living among the adherents of the various religions in the state.
The last three decades have witnessed a proliferation of religious sects and groups in Nigeria. Many of them have extremist orientation, including a propensity to violence.
The most problematic of these sects in Northern was the “Nigerian Taliban” which many think transmuted into the Boko Haram sect.
A review of the evolution of the Boko Haram sect and other violent religious movements shows that they pass through several phases, usually marked by radical and messianic doctrines. They may not initially espouse violence but as they become strong and institutionalised with a large and fanatical following, their leaders begin to take on the image of a messiah, called to create a world
without the social ills of corruption, drunkenness and prostitution. The bulk of those who flock to such groups are usually the dispossessed, the disturbed, those in trouble, those in states of hopelessness, those who seek a world free from the frustrations of ordinary life, and those in search of quick solutions to challenging problems. That is why many have linked the rise of Boko Haram, especially its capacity to recruit
persons, including teenagers, to the relatively severe level of poverty in Northeastern Nigeria.
Terrorist organisations capitalise on an environment in which their ideology resonates and smart, competent individuals are then motivated to act either with or on behalf of the organisation because they consider their grievances legitimate.
The likelihood of ideological resonance is greater when members of a community are desperate for justice, social agency, human dignity, a sense of belonging, or positive identity as they live in a variety of depressingly negative or outrageous social conditions.
Their intense outrage or hatred of a specific entity, because of their actions, translates into suicidal opposition to prevailing conditions and systems of authority. The extent to which the early apprehension of the emerging extremist groups in Niger State has saved Nigeria from housing additional terror groups may be a subject of speculation. But it is clear that preemptive measures are central to addressing the challenge of terror. There is always a need for
intelligence backed by prompt action.
Terrorism cannot be addressed by means of hard power alone. That is why several individuals and groups have called for a variety of strategies, including dialogue with the sect.
There is a need to improve conditions of life and mount campaigns to win the hearts and minds of the people and communities in those areas.
Such moves are important elements of soft power strategies. Dealing with terrorism requires preemptive measures like those taken by the Niger State government and more. We believe that if the Boko Haram had been apprehended as a small religious sect before it blossomed, it would not have become the Frankenstein monster that it is today.
We call on state governments to collaborate with the security agencies in intelligence gathering and in taking preemptive action against ‘shadow’ economies in their states. These may
be underground, covert, or illegal businesses that trade in small arms and light weapons, hard drugs, or religious groups that propagate hatred, violence and other destructive values. These provide the infrastructure for terrorist organisations to operate in.
Such economies make financing easy for terrorist groups and render their detection difficult.
The U.S. State Department was forced to suspend operations at its embassy in Libya because of "freewheeling militia violence" there, Secretary of State John Kerry said today.
Kerry, who spoke to reporters before a meeting with the Turkish and Qatari foreign ministers about Gaza , made
the comments after the State Department announced it evacuated its staff in Tripoli.
He blamed the "freewheeling militia violence," caused by Jihadist groups which have only grown in power since
the ouster of former president Muammar Gaddafi, for creating an environment in which the diplomatic
activities at the Libya embassy had to be suspended.
"A lot of the violence is around our embassy but not on the embassy, but nevertheless it presents a very real
risk to our personnel," Kerry said.
As a result, embassy personnel were transported in vehicles escorted by U.S. military guards and helicopters to Tunisia and dispersed throughout the
region from there.
Kerry insisted the special envoy to the region, David Satterfield, would continue to engage with his British
counterpart, and that the U.S. embassy personnel would return as soon as the situation stabilized.
But he stressed the need for Libyans to engage in a peaceful political process in order to permanently change the tide of violence in the violence-ridden nation.
"We're very, very hopeful that those people will recognize that the current course of violence will only bring chaos and possibly a return of difficulties," said Kerry.
The State Department also issued a travel warning for Libya and urged Americans there to leave.
The groups in Tripoli have been fighting for weeks, with dozens killed and wounded on all sides.
The withdrawal comes two years after a deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi.
