Presidency, Military Authorities Bar Soldiers From Escorting Politicians

The Federal Government has decided to stop the use of soldiers and other personnel of the Armed Forces as escorts by political office holders in the country.

A security source in the Presidency said the Federal Government would no longer allow soldiers to be in the entourage of governors and members of the National Assembly, among others.

The source said that the “men of the Armed Forces would henceforth serve the purpose for which they were recruited.”

It was stated that it was the position of the top security chiefs in the country that the Army was being saddled unnecessarily with responsibilities that could not be said to be essential.

It was further gathered that all soldiers in the escort of politicians would be withdrawn and deployed to duties in consonance with their statutory responsibilities of defending the territorial integrity of the country.

The source added that the security leadership was of the opinion that the deployment of the troops of the Nigerian Army in 32 out of the 36 states of the Federation had foisted the traditional responsibilities of the police on the Army.

He said, “A decision has been taken that there would be no more military escorts for politicians in the country.

“These involved governors, senators, and other persons who move about with soldiers in their entourage.

“The government is withdrawing all such troops because they are not essential services; they have to use the troops for their statutory services, they have to be used for the services for which they were recruited.

“Anything that has to do with policing should be handled by the police. You know that they have imposed a lot of police responsibilities on the Army and it is affecting performance.

“How can you apply for soldiers to be in your entourage, You use them and you end up vilifying them.

“These people are fighting in many fronts; they are supposed to be used for the purpose of defending the territorial integrity of the country.”

But the Director, Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen Olajide Laleye, said that the service had always ensured that soldiers were released to those who were constitutionally entitled to them.

He stated also that it was the duty of the Army to protect movement of people that could come under attack in operational areas

“Well, at no time in the past or in the present has the Nigerian army ever given soldiers to anybody apart from those constitutionally empowered to have them

“Like I said, I know that the military cannot be in the entourage of anybody that does not have the constitutional entitlement.

“It is our duty to provide escort to important personalities and indeed anybody if they could come under attack by the insurgents in line with the orders of the President.”

Source:
Punch Newspaper

Is this the Sudanese University Radicalising Nigerian Militants?

Security agencies are getting worried about the possible role of Sudanese universities in the radicalisation of Nigerians linked to Boko Haram.

The most recent example is that of Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche, who allegedly masterminded the April 14 Nyanya bombing which claimed 75 lives.

Ogwuche studied Arabic at Sudan’s International University of Africa, which has also trained over 1,000 Nigerians in the last 10 years.

“Increasingly, many Nigerians are travelling to Sudan for education ─ some of them sponsored by northern state governments. There is a serious cause for worry,” a top security chief told TheCable.

The official said there is yet no “concrete evidence” linking radicalism with the universities “but there are high possibilities that they are serving as recruitment points for al-Qaeda agents”.

A case in point is that of “Mujahid Abu Nasir”, believed to be the pseudonym of a top commander of al-Qaeda-linked Ansaru ─ a Nigerian militant group that broke away from Boko Haram but still works closely with the Abubakar Shekau-led insurgents.

Nasir  told an American newspaper last year that he also attended the university in Khartoum where he ─ like Ogwuche ─ studied Arabic.

In a very revealing interview, Nasir said he first attended an Islamic college in Kano, and then “for the zeal of seeking knowledge”, he went to Khartoum, Sudan, where “al-Qaeda propagators initiated me into the clique”.

He said the recruiters took him to the southern deserts of Algeria and then to Mauritania for a “rigorous training course” by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

AQIM has been linked to terror activities in Nigeria and Somalia.

Nasir said he trained directly under Abu Zeid, a key commander of AQIM who was eventually killed by French forces in northern Mali last year.

He said although five of them left Sudan for the AQIM training, two died in the process because of the rigour involved.

Nasir returned to Nigeria in 2008, spent some time “underground” in Lagos before launching out with the militants who say they want to impose Islamic law on Nigeria.

He also said there are thousands like him in Nigeria, some of whom he said were working in government, “some businessmen, some teachers”.

The International University of Africa was founded as the Islamic African Centre in 1977 but was upgraded to a university in 1992.

It has six faculties: Sharia, engineering, medicine, education, economics and political science, and arts.

It  is owned by the government of Sudan, a country once classified by the US as a sponsor of international terrorism.

Osama bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaeda, was resident in the country for five years in the 1990s. He set up construction and trading companies there, and built bridges and roads all over the country.

But the attraction of Sudan is not mainly religious ─ according to a father whose son is also studying in that country.

“They have a stable education system. There are no strikes, the campuses are conducive to learning, and the fees are far cheaper than what Nigerian, European or American universities are charging,” he told TheCable. “And their standards are quite high.”

The annual tuition fee is $400 for economics and political science, and sharia; $500 for education and arts; $2500 for engineering; and $5000 for medicine.

Source:
The Cable

Boko Haram Kills 34 in Fresh Attacks in Bornu State

TERRORISTS have raided three villages and killed those they accused of being anti-Boko Haram vigilantes in Borno State, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation.

While the BBC reported that more than 30 people were killed in the early hours of Friday, other sources put the casualty figure at 34.

Residents from two of the villages that came under attack said militants had arrived in a convoy and gathered the men of the community together.

They accused them of being members of vigilante groups and killed them all, one villager from Moforo in Marte district who escaped across the border to Cameroon told the BBC Hausa Service.

They then burnt down all the shops in the market, leaving the villagers destitute, he said.

Correspondents say that most villages have formed vigilante groups to try to protect their communities from militant attacks.

A resident of Kimba village in Biu district said the villagers contacted the security forces to alert them to their attack, but were told it was not an area under military control so they could not be helped.

The military has not commented on the allegation.

A local Mallam Umar Kimba told Saturday Tribune in Maiduguri, on Friday, that everybody in the village had fled to seek refuge in Sabon Gari while others fled to Mandara, Girau and Biu. According to him, the attackers,who came on motorcycles on Thursday night started firing sporadically before setting the town ablaze.

He added that, as they were firing, they were calling on youths in the village to come out and join in the jihad against the government of infidel and corrupt politicians. “When nobody went out to meet them they started burning the houses and those who hide in their houses started coming out and running to safe heaven, but the attackers fired at the people. I left Sabon Gari this morning but we have taken the wounded to hospital in Biu before I left.”

He also said what baffled them was that, there were military formation around that area but wondered how the insurgents managed to bypass all the military and attacked the village.

“They did not touch the house of the village head and security operatives came only when they had burnt everything and chased everybody out of the village.” he said.

About 25 men were killed in Moforo, another eight men in Kimbi. It is not known if there were casualties from a raid early on Friday on Kabrihu village near the Sambisa forest.

Source:
Nigerian Tribune

Nigerian Army Claims Discovery Of Facility For Rocket Launchers In Kano

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) says it has uncovered a rocket launcher production facility in Kano State.
According to Director of Defence Information, Major-General Chris Olukolade, the facility was discovered at Dorayi District in Kumbotso Local Government Area of the state, after a cordon-and-search exercise.

“The discovery followed the arrest of a prominent member of the terrorist group,” Olukolade said, adding that locally-made anti-aircraft gun and mortar accessories and rocket-propelled grenade tubes and launcher along with accessories were recovered.
“Also seized were three AK47 rifles and hundreds of rounds of assorted ammunitions, as well as drilling machines and other fabricating equipment.”

Olukolade urged the public to always report suspicious persons to security agencies in their localities to prevent unwholesome act by terrorists.

Source:
SR

Bomb Scare in Kubwa, Abuja Cause Panic

The Police in Kubwa, one of the most populated  satellite towns in Abuja, yesterday afternoon, foiled a bomb attack by suspected Boko Haram members as residents, market women scampered for safety.

A Volkswagon Golf car filled with gas cylinders and jerrycans of petrol was said to have been parked near ElRufai Bus Stop by Channel 8 Junction in Kubwa around 7 AM yesterday morning, Vanguard learnt.
According to eye witnesses, many residents and passersby took to their heels upon noticing the car which they suspected could have been parked to bomb the area. Eventually the area was cordoned off by the police anti-bomb squad  invited by the Chief Imam of Kubwa Central Mosque,  Sheikh Abdulmumini Ahmad Khalid and other residents of the area.

The Spokesperson for the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Police Command, DSP Altine Daniel told newsmen later, however, that no explosive device was found in the said car. She said the vehicle had been towed by the police of the Kubwa Division, noting that the owner of the vehicle could be a cylinder seller who left the vehicle there after it might have developed a fault.

Daniel further addd that the Commissioner of Police for the FCT, Joseph Mbu had ordered all abandoned vehicles in the area to be scanned.  The Divisional Police Officer, DPO, of the police Zonal Command Headquarters, Phase 4, Agabi Godiri said that normalcy had returned to the area.

Source:
Vanguard Newspaper

Corruption Stalls Nigeria’s war Against Boko Haram –United States

The United States Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights, Sarah Sewall, has said that corruption is hindering Nigeria’s efforts at ending   insurgency in the North-East.

Sewall, who appeared before a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, alongside a Pentagon top Africa official, Amanda Dory, added that the military must overcome entrenched corruption and incompetence for it to rescue the over 200 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram on April 14.

She said that despite Nigeria’s $5.8bn security budget for 2014, “corruption prevents supplies as basic as bullets and transport vehicles from reaching the front lines of the struggle against Boko Haram.”

Sewall, according to the New York Times, also told the committee that morale was low and that desertions were common among soldiers in the 7th Army Division fighting the insurgents.

She sidestepped a question from one lawmaker asking for an update on the abducted girls’ location and welfare, saying, “Given time, I am hopeful that we will make progress.”

Sewall had on May 13 clarified the level of involvement of US personnel in the rescue of the abducted girls, saying it   would not be combative.

She told select journalists   in Abuja that it was up to Nigeria to accept or reject the prisoners exchange offer made by Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau.

In her testimony, Dory said that Pentagon believed that the girls might have been dispersed into multiple smaller groups.

“They may or may not all be in Nigeria,” she added, stressing that Nigerian military’s heavy-handed tactics with Boko Haram risked “further harming and alienating local populations.”

The Chairman of the Committee, Ed Royce, said being trained by the global terrorist sect meant greater terror for Nigerians, and greater challenges for the security forces.

The committee’s hearing on the menace of insurgents was tagged: “Boko Haram – The Growing Threat To Schoolgirls, Nigeria And Beyond.”

Washington had on Wednesday said that 80 US troops were currently in Chad to support the growing international effort to   rescue the abducted schoolgirls.

The military personnel are not ground troops. They are mostly Air Force crew members, maintenance specialists and security officers for unarmed Predator surveillance drones .

“These personnel will support the operation of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft for missions over northern Nigeria and the surrounding area,” the White House said in a statement formally notifying the US Congress about the deployment.

Culled From:
Punch Newspaper

United Nations Security Council Brands Boko Haram a Terror Group, Slam Sanctions on Sect

The U.N. Security Council has officially declared Boko Haram a terrorist group linked to al-Qaida on Thursday and imposed sanctions against the Islamist extremists who have carried out a wave of deadly attacks and the recent abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls in Nigeria.
U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power welcomed the council's action, calling it "an important step in support of the government of Nigeria's efforts to defeat Boko Haram and hold its murderous leadership accountable for atrocities."
Nigeria, which is serving a two-year term on the council, asked the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against al-Qaida to add Boko Haram to the list of al-Qaida-linked organizations subject to an arms embargo and asset freeze.

The 14 other council members had until 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) on Thursday to object and none did. The group was then added to the U.N. sanctions list under the name Jama'atu Ahlus-Sunna Lidda'Awati Wal Jihad, with Boko Haram as an alias.
Quinlan said there's "very clear evidence" that Boko Haram members have trained with al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, particularly in developing improvised explosive devices "one of the main weapons of modern-day terrorism and particularly al-Qaida." There is also evidence that a significant number of Boko Haram members have fought alongside al-Qaida affiliates in Mali, he said.
Quinlan said Boko Haram's current leader, Abubakar Shekau, also made "very, very strong statements of ... terrorist solidarity with al-Qaida in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia" and other places in November 2012.

Before Boko Haram's addition, the al-Qaida sanctions list included 62 entities and groups, and 213 individuals who are also subject to travel bans.
Quinlan said it's hard to say what the practical impact of sanctions against Boko Haram will be. One possible problem in tracking their finances, he said, is that large parts of the group work in the jungle and probably use cash rather than "substantial or sophisticated financial arrangements for banking but you never know."
He urged all 193 U.N. member states to focus on Boko Haram as a violent al-Qaida related group, ensure that it is included in any national terrorist lists, and check their own country's financial and arms dealings to ensure that the organization isn't getting money or weapons.

Nigeria's U.N. Ambassador, Joy Ogwu said Wednesday "the important thing is to attack the problem, and that is terrorism."

According to the sanctions committee, Boko Haram is responsible for attacks and kidnappings in Nigeria and Cameroon and has also been active in Chad and Niger.
At a summit in Paris on Saturday aimed at hammering out a plan to rescue the 276 girls, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said Boko Haram was acting "clearly as an al-Qaida operation." He only reluctantly accepted outside help after years of insisting that Boko Haram was a local problem.
French President Francois Hollande told the summit that Boko Haram is armed with weapons that came from Libya following the ouster of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, and the training took place in Mali before the ouster of its al-Qaida linked Islamist leaders. As for the money, Hollande said its origins were murky.

Source:
The Buffalo News

Breaking News: Nigerian Military Sights Abducted Chibok School Girls in 3 Boko Haram Camps

Nigeria’s Special Forces from the Army’s 7th Division have sighted and narrowed the search for the more than 250 abducted Chibok schoolgirls to three camps operated by the extremist Boko Haram sect north of Kukawa at the western corridors of the Lake Chad, senior military and administration officials have said.

“It has been a most difficult but heroic breakthrough,” one senior military official said in Abuja.
That claim was supported by another senior commander from the Army’s 7th Division, the military formation created to deal with the insurgency in the Northeast. The 7th Division is headquartered in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

The breakthrough comes at a critical moment for the Nigerian military that has faced cutting criticism over its handling of the kidnapping of the girls more than a month ago.

Nigerian military officials coordinating the search and other officials in Abuja said Boko Haram insurgents split the girls into batches and held them at their camps in Madayi, Dogon Chuku and Meri, all around the Sector 3 operational division of the Nigerian military detachment confronting the group’s deadly campaign.

Another source said there is a fourth camp at Kangarwa, also in Borno State. That claim could not be independently verified.
“Our team first sighted the girls on April 26 and we have been following their movement with the terrorists ever since,” one of our sources said.
“That’s why we just shake our heads when people insinuate that the military is lethargic in the search for the girls.”
The location of the abducted girls – north east of Kukawa – opens a new insight into the logistic orientation of Boko Haram, responsible for thousands of deaths in a five-year long insurgency.
But the details established by the military shows that while the world’s attention is focused on the Sambisa forest reserves, about 330 kilometres south of Maiduguri, the terrorists mapped a complex mission that began at Chibok, and veered north east of Sambisa, before heading to west of Bama and east of Konduga.
With the sighting, officials fear that Boko Haram militants may be seeking to create new options of escape all the way to Lo-gone-Et Chari in Cameroon to its Southeast, Lake Chad to its east and Diffa in Niger Republic to its north, providing a multiple escape options in the event of hostile ground operations against it.

Notwithstanding the sighting, the government is said not to be considering the use of force against the extremists, a choice informed by concerns for the safety of the students.
But with growing local and international pressure, a likely option may be for the authorities to enter into talks with the group, whose leader, Abubakar Shekau, in a May 12 video broadcast, called for dialogue and “prisoner” swap with the government.
The government has ruled out that option in the open but know Defence spokesperson, Chris Olukolade, a Major General, told PREMIUM TIMES he would not comment on the ongoing rescue operation.
“You don’t expect me to tell you that the girls have been sighted or have not been sighted,” Mr. Olukolade said. “I will only say our team are working hard and taking note of every information provided to ensure that our girls are rescued without delay.”
Civic leader Shehu Sani who fired a letter to the Sultan of Sokoto and leader of Nigeria’s Muslim, however told PREMIUM TIMES that what must be done urgently is for the Sultan to summon all the influential Islamic clerics with credibility in the north and use them to reach out to the insurgents to release the girls.

Source:
Premium Times

Hundreds Killed in Jos, Plateau State Multiple Explosion

There was a loud explosion in Jos, the Plateau State capital at about 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
The explosion, believed to have been caused by a bomb, occurred around the ever busy Jos Main Market, between Railway Terminus and the temporary site of the Jos University Teaching Hospital.
The explosion was followed by a thick smoke and is believed to have affected many shops and commercial vehicles. It is not known whether anyone was killed or injured.

The explosion has however created tension in the area with cars colliding as drivers scampered for safety.
Ambulance and other safety providers were seen rushing to the area.
The cause of the explosion and casualty is yet to be ascertained.

UPDATE:
Another explosion sounded at about 3:20 PM around the same area just as our reporter was filing report of the first explosion to his editors.
The Commander of the Special Task Force, STF, on Jos crisis, Major General Dave Enetie, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria but did not give casualty figure.

Source:
Leadership Newspaper

BokoHaram: The 2015 Election & Oil Prospecting Licence Connection, Permutations

Caveat:

This essay is apolitical; there is no intent to malign any individual, group or section of the country. The ensuing analysis is aimed at reconciling the cloaked purpose of the Boko Haram phenomenon and to proffer solutions. It is only when we can precisely connect the dots; identify the real bone of contention that we can prescribe tailored solutions.

President Jonathan Cancels Planned Visit To Chibok

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has cancelled his first visit to the village from which more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted by Islamist rebel group Boko Haram a month ago due to security fears, senior government sources said on Friday.

Jonathan will instead fly directly from the capital Abuja to Paris on Friday for a regional summit to discuss the Boko Haram insurgency and wider insecurity and will not now make a stop in the northeastern village of Chibok, said one of the sources.

"The president was planning to go but security advised otherwise on the visit," said the source of the last-minute decision to cancel the Chibok part of the trip.

Some Nigerians have criticized the government's initial response to the plight of the girls, who were abducted on April 14, and U.S. officials this week said the government had done too little to adapt to the threat posed by Boko Haram.

Jonathan asked France last week to arrange a security summit with neighbors Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin, and officials from the United States, Britain and the European Union to discuss a coordinated response. The summit will take place on Saturday.

Source:
Reuters

President Jonathan Set To Visit Chibok

Barely one month after more than 200 Chibok school girls were abducted by the Boko Haram, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan will this Friday, 16/05/2014, visit the north-eastern town of Chibok in Bornu State.

Nothing was seen of the girls for almost a month after they were taken from Chibok by Boko Haram militants. But on Monday the group released a video showing more than 100 of them and offering an exchange for prisoners.
The president has come under pressure over his government's failure to rescue the girls, but has ruled out a swap.
On Thursday, relatives of the girls called for their unconditional release.
But the UK's Africa Minister Mark Simmonds said Mr Jonathan had "made it very clear that there will be no negotiation" at a meeting on Wednesday.
A video emerged on Monday showing about 130 of the girls wearing hijabs and reciting Koranic verses.

After visiting Chibok, President Jonathan will continue to Paris to take part in a summit convened by French President Francois Hollande to discuss Boko Haram.
The presidents of Nigeria's neighbours - Benin, Cameroon, Niger and Chad - are scheduled to attend the summit on Saturday, which will also include representatives from the UK, US and EU.
A statement said delegates at the meeting will "discuss fresh strategies for dealing with the security threat posed by Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in west and Central Africa".

'Troubling atrocities'
Meanwhile, US officials on Thursday criticised the speed of Nigeria's response to the threat from Boko Haram.
Alice Friend, director for African affairs at the US defence department, said its security forces had been "slow to adapt with new strategies and new tactics".
She also said the US was unable to offer aid to Nigeria's military because of "troubling" atrocities perpetrated by some units during operations against Boko Haram.
"We cannot ignore that Nigeria can be an extremely challenging partner to work with," Ms Friend said.

BBC

Nigerian Army To Investigate Soldiers Mutiny In Maiduguri

The Nigerian Army says it will investigate the mutiny on Wednesday in Maiduguri by soldiers attached to the newly created 7th battalion of the Nigerian Army.
A statement by spokesman Major General Chris Olukolade said the inquiry will be on “the circumstances surrounding the conduct of soldiers who fired some shots while the General Officer Commanding was addressing troops in Maimalari cantonment Maiduguri.”

According to the Defence spokesman, Wednesday’s incident occurred when the corpses of four soldiers who died in an ambush while returning from patrol duties in Chibok were being conveyed to the morgue.  He however assured that there is currently calm in the cantonment and normal operations continuing.

Recall that some soldiers seconded to the 7th Division, which was established only two months ago for the war against Boko Haram, fired shots into the air at the barracks as they were being addressed by Major General Ahmed Mohammed, their commanding officer who was appointed in February. 

Soldiers are said to be complaining about management issues relating to the implementation of the state of emergency.  Among the issues, they say their commanders have neither provided the appropriate equipment to combat the better-armed Boko Haram militants nor devised a troop-rotation system.

Source:
SR

Suspected Nyanya Bombing Mastermind, Aminu Ogwuche, Arrested In Sudan

A suspected mastermind of the Nyanya bomb blasts, Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche, who was on Tuesday declared wanted by the Department of State Services, DSS, and subsequently placed on the international police (Interpol) red alert, has been arrested in faraway Sudan.

The first Nyanya bombing of April 14 left no fewer than 100 people dead and scores more injured. The second killed over 30 and wounded scores of people.

The coordinator of the National Information Centre and director-general of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr Mike Omeri, made the arrest known yesterday during a media briefing on the efforts to rescue the abducted Chibok girls.

“Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche has been arrested for his involvement in the Nyanya bombing of April 14. The efforts of the Interpol and the Nigeria Police have led to his arrest in Sudan,” he said.

The deputy director, DSS, Marylin Ogar, in her remarks stated that the suspect had been apprehended in the Sudan and that efforts were being made to bring him back to the country to face justice.

The UK-born Ogwuche, a former lance corporal in the Nigerian Army with Service No. SVC 95/ 104 alongside Rufai Abubakar Tsiga allegedly masterminded the April 14 Nyanya bomb blast.

According to security sources, Ogwuche, the son of a retired colonel in the Nigerian Army, Agene Ogwuche, served in the intelligence unit of the Nigerian Army at Child Avenue, Arakan Barracks in Lagos, between 2001 and 2006. Following his deployment to the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, in 2006, Ogwuche deserted the army.

He was arrested on November 12, 2011, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on his arrival from the United Kingdom for suspected involvement in terrorism-related activities but was released to his father on October 15, 2012, following intense pressure from human rights activists who alleged rights’ violation.

An indigene of Orokam, Ogbadibo LGA, Benue State, Ogwuche studied Arabic Language at the International University of Africa, Sudan.

The SSS had earlier announced a N25 million reward for anyone with information on the wanted suspect.

Meanwhile, LEADERSHIP could not confirm whether Col. Abubakar Sadiq Ogwuche (rtd), the chief security officer of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, is the biological father or a relation of the suspected terrorist.

When our correspondent visited Col. Ogwuche’s office at ABU, he could not meet him. He was said to have travelled to Kaduna for an undisclosed reason.

Several efforts to contact him, including placing many calls to his GSM telephone number, did not yield positive results.

Though Col. Oguche could not also respond to text messages sent to his GSM number as at the time of filing this report, associates told LEADERSHIP that the suspected bomber is a biological son of the ABU’s chief security officer.

“I can confirm to you that Aminu is his son; there is nothing to hide there,” said a source. The management of the ABU kept mum during our correspondent’s inquiry.

LEADERSHIP also learnt that the suspected terrorist’s mother is a Fulani.

Source:
Leadership Newspaper

'Mutinous' Nigerian Troops 'fire at their GOC'

Soldiers from the newly formed 7th Division of the Nigerian Army today mutinied in their barracks against Major General Abubakar Mohammed, their General Officer Commanding.
Maj-Gen Ahmed Mohammed escaped unhurt after soldiers shot at his car at the Maimalari barracks, the sources said.
The soldiers blamed him for the killing of their colleagues in an ambush by suspected Boko Haram militants.

'Internal matter'
Army spokesman Maj-Gen Chris Olukolade described the incident in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, as an internal matter and said there was no need for public concern.
But the shooting shows that morale within the army is low as it battles Boko Haram, says BBC Nigeria analyst Naziru Mikailu.

The Islamist group has stepped up its insurgency, despite a year of emergency rule in Borno and its neighbouring state of Adamawa and Yobe.
President Jonathan has asked parliament to extend the emergency for another six months.
According to sources who were inside the Maimalari barracks, the soldiers accused Maj-Gen Mohammed of putting their lives and the lives of their families at risk by failing to ensure that they were well-equipped to tackle Boko Haram.
They also alleged that the military top brass had failed to give them a promised special allowance for fighting on the front line, they told the BBC Hausa service.
Colleagues of the protesting soldiers were killed in an ambush while driving back on Tuesday from Chibok town, from where Boko Haram abducted the schoolgirls a month ago.

Jonathan Rules Out Freeing Detained Boko Haram Members

Meanwhile, Nigeria's president has ruled out freeing Boko Haram prisoners in exchange for the release of more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls.
A government minister had earlier said authorities were ready to negotiate with Boko Haram, but President Goodluck Jonathan insisted on Wednesday that this was out of the question.
"He made it very clear that there will be no negotiation with Boko Haram that involves a swap of abducted schoolgirls for prisoners," said British Africa Minister Mark Simmonds after meeting Mr Jonathan in the capital, Abuja, to discuss an international rescue mission for the girls.
Their kidnapping in Borno state on 14 April has caused international outrage, and foreign teams of experts are in the country to assist the security forces in tracking them down.

Source:
The BBC, SR