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

Arise Nigerians, Unite Against Insecurity, Terrorism and Insurgency!

Written by: Don Okereke

Agreed Nigeria has never been the most peaceful country in the world but the current spate of insecurity, terrorism and insurgency is unprecedented in the annals of this country. What started like a child's play has metamorphosed into one of the world's deadliest terrorist organizations. Prior to now, the concept of suicide bombing was alien to Nigeria, now it is becoming voguish even to females (mothers and potential mothers!) One is amazed how Nigeria snowballed to this ignoble position within a short period of time.

Britain 'To Send Tornado Reconnaissance Jets to Nigeria' To Find Abducted Chibok Girls

The RAF is sending three warplanes to help locate the Nigerian schoolgirls taken by an Islamist terror group, it has been reported.

Four months ago Boko Haram, which is fighting to reinstate a medieval Islamic caliphate in religiously mixed Nigeria, abducted more than 200 schoolgirls from the village of Chibok and they remain missing.

Four MASSOB Members Feared Dead As Commanders Battle Uwazuruike

Four people were feared dead yesterday and scores injured when the commanders of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) ‘toppled’ the embattled leader of the group, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike and took over the national headquarters of the movement at Okwe in Onuimo Local Government Area of Imo State.

Lebanese Businessman Kidnapped By Gunmen in Ibadan

THE General Manager of Black Horse Industries Limited, Mr. S. Sakalawi, has been kidnapped by unknown gunmen in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

The Lebanese was seized and whisked away by three gunmen, who stormed the factory premises located along Old Lagos Road, Podo area of Ibadan at about 9:30p.m last Tuesday, according to reliable sources.

United States Donates High Tech Bomb Disposal Robot, Equipments to Nigeria Police

The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr James Entwistle, has donated a bomb disposal robot and other equipment to the Nigerian Police and assured that his country would continue to support it in the war against insurgency in the country.

British Extremists Fighting For 'The Islamic State' (ISIS) Are The 'Most Vicious and Vociferous' - Expert Says

British extremists are among the "most vicious and vociferous fighters" in Islamic State (Isis) ranks in Syria and Iraq, a jihadism expert has said.
Sunni Muslims from the UK are taking part in the conflicts "in every way", according to Shiraz Maher from King's College London's International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation.

Mutiny Attracts Death Sentence, Chief of Army Staff Warns Soldiers

THE Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Kenneth Minimah, on Tuesday, warned  that any soldier or officer convicted of mutiny would be court marshalled and sentenced to death.

Boko Haram: Nigerian Soldiers 'Mutiny Over Insufficient Weapons'

A group of soldiers in north-eastern Nigeria is refusing to fight Islamist Boko Haram militants until they receive better equipment, one of the mutineers has told the BBC.

The soldier, who requested anonymity, said at least 40 of his colleagues would refuse orders to deploy.

A defence ministry spokesman said the incident was being investigated.

Boko Haram Suspect Arrested Near Lagos Airport Confesses He Was Sent To Bomb Murtala Mohammed Int'l Airport

The Boko Haram suspect who was arrested at National Airport Management Authority (NAMA) annex in Lagos yesterday, confessed last night that he was sent along with other Boko Haram members to Lagos to bomb various parts of the city.

The physically challenged 22-year-old suspect who was caught with canisters around his neck, in his confession, told security operatives that his two other colleagues were assigned the task of bombing Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), as well as the densely populated Lagos Island and Apapa areas of the megacity.

A Security source, who spoke exclusively to THISDAY, said the suspect (name withheld) had confessed that he alongside several others were recruited from Niger Republic and were trained extensively before their deployment.

The suspect said the plot to bomb Lagos would not be simultaneously done, a clear deviation from the planned simultaneous attacks last year March, when the sect tried to bomb various designated places across the state at the same time.

According to him, the attempt by the
physically-challenged suspect was the first attempt to bomb Lagos after the twin bomb blasts in Apapa two months ago that claimed no fewer than five persons including the suicide bomber.

A security official, who spoke to THISDAY on the strict condition of anonymity, said the attempt would have been successful but for the inability of the explosives to detonate when they were supposed to.

He said: “He was caught because when he tried to set off the explosives, there was a hitch. He ran back to an obscure place to check it out and fix it.

His suspicious movement and the frustration evident on his face aroused the suspicion of security operatives attached to NAMA.”
Also speaking, another source from the state security department said already, investigations had kicked off in full gear to round up other suspects who were said to have been deployed to wreak havoc in the state.

The suspect was arrested at the NAMA annex facility, known as CENTREX, about 300 meters from the international terminal of the airport, opposite the airport cathedral.

THISDAY learnt that the suspect was making frantic phone calls, and looked frustrated and restless. His mannerism and slovenly conduct aroused the suspicion of security personnel who were watching him and subsequently arrested him.

He was taken to the MMIA police station at Beesam junction. Shortly after his arrest, the police had initially pleaded for more time to undertake the investigation to confirm the identity and mission of the suspect.

The police also said that the suspected explosive device found on the suspect would be examined and confirmed later, adding that it would be hasty to describe it as an explosive.

A police officer, however, described the device found on the suspect as locally made explosives.

Reacting to the incident, the General Manager, Public Affairs of NAMA, Supo Atobatele, said the suspect was within the vicinity of the airport making phone calls along the Airport Road when the agency’s security personnel accosted him.

He said his incoherent explanation aroused further suspicion, especially with the suspicious looking canisters on his person.
“The attention of NAMA has been drawn to insinuations that a suspected suicide bomber was arrested at one of the agency’s facilities at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Monday.

“The basic truth however is that the said suspect was on the ground making phone calls along the Airport Road close to CENTREX, an annex office of NAMA when the agency’s security personnel accosted him.

“His incoherent explanation exposed him to the security personnel who later found on him some devices suspected to be explosives. He was subsequently handed over to the Airport Police Command for further investigation.

“The Managing Director, Ibrahim Abdulsalam, in reaction, commended the security personnel for their vigilance and prompt arrest of the suspect,” Atobatele said in a statement.

The suspect who wore brown shorts and a white T-shirt was prevented from speaking to reporters about his mission to the airport.
But another policeman told THISDAY that the suspect was not willing to talk initially, having concealed his age but later said that his father was from Kano while his mother was from Cameroon and that he lived in Nasarawa quarters in Kano.

Yet, another senior security official with one of the aviation agencies told THISDAY that enquiries had revealed that the suspect was from Niger Republic, arrived Lagos on Sunday
and was asking people for the location of the airport before he was arrested.
The official alleged that the suspect was on a mission and was sent by somebody, dismissing the initial statement from the police that he was a lunatic.

“I don’t think that the suspect is a lunatic. If the police say that he is a lunatic let them prove that he is one.
“From my own assessment, the suspect was on a mission; he was sent by somebody, but the police have not given us more information.
I went to see him and the young man spoke both in English and in Hausa. The police said they should be given time to investigate the suspected devices, so let me give them time,” the official said.

Source:
ThisDay Newspaper

Convicted Boko Haram Terrorist - Kabiru Sokoto Promises To Name Sect's Sponsors If Granted Presidential Pardon

Barring any last minute change of plans, Convicted Boko Haram terrorist, Kabiru Umar aka Kabiru Sokoto, according to reports is set to start unveiling names and organisations of alleged sponsors of the dreaded Islamic sect.

Boko Haram Kills 10, Raze Homes, Military Camp and Police Station In Fresh Attack

Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - Suspected Boko Haram gunmen killed 10 people who had fled their homes to escape repeated attacks by the insurgents, after hunting them down in a nearby village, witnesses said on Monday.

Nigeria's Economy At Risk Due To Stigmatization and Discrimination From Ebola –LCCI

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, has expressed fear that Nigeria’s economy may be at risk going by the stigmatisation the Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, has put on the country. It also said that the current international isolation and unwarranted discrimination against the Nigerians travelling abroad might impact the economy of the country negatively.

The LCCI in a statement yesterday by the President, Alhaji Remi Bello, urged the business community to support the current efforts by governments aimed at controlling the spread of the deadly disease in the country. “There is currently the risk of international
isolation, stigmatisation and unwarranted discriminatory practices against the citizens travelling
outside our shores. This has grave consequences for the economy and the citizens,” Bello said. The chamber
has commended the governments on the measures taken so far to contain the spread of the disease.

Although it regretted the outbreak of EVD in the country, saying the incident was avoidable but for the failure of the country's system which could not stop the Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer, the carrier of the virus, from gaining entry into the country.

"Nevertheless, we note with satisfaction the measures taken so far by the federal and state governments to contain the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease in the
country,” the chamber stated.

Bello, therefore, appealed to the private sector and the citizenry to also, in demonstration of their support for nationwide initiatives being undertaking to curb the spread of the disease, comply with protective measures as advised by the health authorities.

“We urge the business community and the entire citizenry to support the current efforts at containment of the disease. Given the way it came to Nigeria, current scope of the spread and the containment strategies, we are confident that before long, the situation would be fully brought under control.

“We urge all citizens to comply with protective measures as advised by the health authorities with regard to body contacts, general hygiene and making prompt reports of suspected cases,” he said. According to him, as the containment measures progress, the imperative of discretion in information management needs to be underscored just as care should be taken not to escalate the Ebola crisis beyond the reality of its occurrence. He noted that the Ebola hype had created a disproportionate panic, anxiety and scare, projecting the country as endemic Ebola zone.

Source:

Nigeria's First Lady - Mrs Patience Jonathan Donates Relief Materials To Boko Haram Victims

The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has donated three truck loads of relief materials to displaced victims of Boko Haram in Borno and Gombe states. The Minister of State for Power, Mohammed Wakil, who represented Mrs Jonathan, visited several camps of displaced people on Saturday.

Boko Haram Will End When Federal Govt.Wants - Rotimi Amaechi, Rivers Governor

Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi at the weekend said the war against Boko Haram insurgents will not stop unless the Federal Government is ready to tackle it sincerely.