Tag Archives: BokoHaram

Boko Haram: U.S. Lawmakers Okay Five-year Strategy To Assist Nigeria

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The United States House of Representatives has passed a legislation directing the country’s Secretaries of State and Defence to jointly develop a five-year strategy to assist Nigeria in its fight against Boko Haram.

The measure is also aimed at providing assistance to members of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) and international partners offering support in counter-terrorism operations against the Boko Haram sect in the region.

According to reports, the legislation, passed by a voice vote, was introduced by Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (D-Florida) and Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine).

They expressed optimism that it would help combat Boko Haram specifically. The strategy is also aimed at addressing the crushing humanitarian and educational crises that Boko Haram had created.

“Boko Haram captured my attention and the headlines when the terrorist group kidnapped 276 Nigerian schoolgirls from their dormitory rooms 968 days ago. For most of the world, the Chibok girls symbolised the horror that is Boko Haram, but the damage its members have wrought goes far deeper,” Congresswoman Wilson, wa quoted as saying in a statement.

Collins, who authored and originally introduced the bill, averred that Boko Haram had pledged allegiance to ISIS and it continued to commit terrible acts of brutal violence against civilians in Nigeria as well as in Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic.

Collins, describing Wilson as a willing and able partner in the effort to pass the bipartisan legislation, explained that it requires a five-year strategy to pursue Boko Haram and it would bolster efforts of the U.S. throughout the region.

Any support from the United States will be welcomed by the Nigerian government, even though heightened counter-terrorism operations have decimated the terrorists, who still carry out suicide attacks on soft targets.

The military said few days ago that it has commenced final rescue operations in Sambisa Forest, a safe haven for the terrorists that have forced over two million persons out of their homes in their over seven years push for an Islamic State and an end to Western education in the region.

Boko Haram Terrorists’ Days Are Numbered, Army Says.

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At a press briefing in Maiduguri held on Wednesday, Major General Leo Irabor lauded the Nigerian Army for the progress it has made in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency.

 

“The troops of Operation Lafiya Dole have continued with the ongoing operations to clear the remnants of Boko Haram terrorists,” Mr. Irabor told reporters. “Since our last interaction, our troops have conducted many operations with immense successes.”

 

In his address to the press, Mr. Irabor summarized the past two months of the counterterrorist operation.

 

From 28 October to 1 November 2016, the military killed 37 Boko Haram terrorists during clearance operations in Golgore, Doksa, Ajigin, and the surrounding areas. Seven troops sustained injuries.

 

In Mallam Fatori, alongside the Nigeria-Niger border, troops killed 14 terrorists in a two-hour gun battle on 4 November. Unfortunately, 7 soldiers died while 3 others were wounded.

 

On 6 November in Kangarwa, 13 insurgents were killed. One Nigerian troop was killed in the battle, while 4 others were injured.

 

The major general also announced that in total, troops have rescued 5,235 people from Boko Haram insurgents.

 

On 5 November, soldiers dispatched to Chukungudu in the Lake Chad region rescued 85 captives and killed 5 terrorists. Troops observed that several Boko Haram fighters fled into Lake Chad.

 

On 19 November, troops in Ngoshe and Gara rescued 63 Boko Haram hostages, 40 of whom were women.

 

While Mr. Irabor said recent suicide bombings in Maiduguri were “sad and unfortunate,” he said the attacks demonstrated Boko Haram’s weakness, as only 2 CJTF personnel were killed in the attacks.

 

“The incidents are only indicative of a weakened and defeated Boko Haram. Their ignoble failure is destined to fail totally,” he said.

 

Mr. Irabor concluded the conference by calling upon civilians to remain “alert and security conscious.” He commemorated those who lost their lives to the terrorists, but assured Nigerians that Boko Haram’s “miserable days are numbered.”

Boko Haram overrunning Chibok communities, leaders cry out

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Weeks after they celebrated the release of 21 of their abducted daughters, the people of Chibok in Borno State say their communities are being overrun by suspected Boko Haram insurgents.

They said at least nine communities under Chibok local government area have been either attacked, sacked or burnt down by rampaging Boko Haram insurgents.

The federal government has said that talks are continuing with Boko Haram for the release of some 196 Chibok girls still in captivity.

But the recent upsurge of hostilities by Boko Haram within and around Borno State, has raised concerns about the prospect of such talks.

The chairman of Chibok local government area, Yaga Yarkawa, on Monday, told journalists in Maiduguri that the most attack on Chibok communities took place was in Thlaimaklama village.

He said hundreds of persons fled their homes as the insurgents torched houses, looted foodstuff and stole livestock.

“Chibok is now under Boko Haram siege,” he said.

“Contrary to claims by government and security operatives, Chibok is not safe. There has been series of renewed attacks on our communities. As I am talking to you now the villages of Kuburmbula, Tsilari, Kamdzilari, Kuburnvwu, Kautikari, Kwada, Buftari and Kakulmari have all been attacked, and burnt down completely in the past weeks.”

Most of the villages bordering Damboa and Sambia forest parts of the state.

He said the latest attack took place at the weekend in Thlaimaklama village where the insurgents carted away farm products in 15 vehicles, after setting ablaze three vehicles and several numbers of houses without any confrontation from the military.

He said the insurgents came at the peak of the harvest period, and loaded their vehicles with the fresh harvests from the villagers’ farms.

“I have no doubt that the insurgents are in control of Kuburmbula, Tsilari, Kamdzilari, Kuburnvwu, Kautikari, Kwada, Buftari, Klaima and Kakulmari villages,” he said.

Confirming the development in Chibok, a leader of the vigilante group in Chibok, Commander Aboku said, “The Boko Haram terrorists have been on the move destroying every community they enter”.

He added that the fluid nature of their movement makes it difficult for them to confront them.

Mr. Abogu however said that the vigilante were able to kill two of the insurgents and recovered two AK47 rifles and a Hilux vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft gun.

He called on the military to move into the area and collaborate with the local vigilante who have better understanding of the difficult terrain.

We’ll Reduce Boko Haram To Nothing Despite Leadership Change – DHQ

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The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has said that the military was not in the least bit perturbed about the latest change of leadership in Boko Haram.

 

Wednesday, the BBC reported that Islamic State had named a new leader, Abu Musab al-Barnawi, for Boko Haram. Al-Barnawi, who was once the spokesman for the insurgent group, has replaced Abubakar Shekau. According to BBC, al-Barnawi was featured in the latest issue of an ISIS magazine. The magazine made no reference to Shekau. But DHQ spokesman, Brig-Gen. Rabe Abubakar, said wednesday that the military was not interested in what happens in what he described as “nearly dead” Boko Haram terrorists, including a change of leadership or alliance with ISIS.

 

Abubakar said that the military was singularly focused on the complete destruction of the terror group, irrespective of leadership and administrative changes. He said: “The leadership change in Boko Haram, as purportedly stated, does not in any way bother us, as the group is nearly dead in Nigeria and other countries within the Lake Chad Basin. “So whether there is a change in leadership or not, we are sure of total annihilation of the group. “Our focus is to clear them from their hideouts which we have been doing through the ongoing Operation Crackdown and Operation Gama Aiki with the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF).

 

“It’s (leadership change) not anything to us and we will continue to reduce them to nothing.”

 

Abubakar said the military has been capturing members of the terror sect on “a daily basis, so the change is not anything to us”. He said the military was certain that Boko Haram was “in disarray and collapsing”. “So they are trying to behave like a dying person who will hold on to any thing in his desperation to stay alive. People should not take them seriously, as they no longer pose a threat. We dismiss this change of leadership as child’s play,” he added.

 

Shekau was last seen in a Boko Haram propaganda video in March 2015, one of many footages released in his years of leading a brutal campaign against Nigeria. In one of the videos, Shekau pledged allegiance to ISIS, which was originally based in Syria and Iraq. ISIS has several offshoots now in other countries, including Libya. Al-Barnawi, who has been named as Boko Haram’s new leader, is something of a mystery. When he appeared in a Boko Haram video in January 2015 as the group’s spokesman, he wore a turban and his face was blurred out and it was filmed as a sit-down studio interview.

 

Unlike former leader, Shekau, his delivery in the Hausa language was considered and softly spoken.
Shekau was often filmed in the open, surrounded by fighters, loudly proclaiming his threats, victories and giving rambling ideological lectures. However, al-Barnawi pulled no punches, warning that towns which resisted Boko Haram in its mission to create an Islamic state would be flattened.

 

He also spoke of being against democracy and foreign education. In his most recent magazine interview, he again objected to the name Boko Haram, by which local people call the group, as it means “Western education is forbidden” in Hausa. He maintained ISIS was still strong in the region and promised to continue fighting West African governments.

 

But as the identity of the head of Boko Haram was revealed, the Nigerian Army said yesterday that its troops with the assistance of civilian vigilantes, on routine checks, identified and arrested a high profile member of the sect. Army spokesman, Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman, said in statement: “On Tuesday, 2nd August 2016, at about 8.30 a.m., troops of Operation Lafiya Dole with the assistance of vigilantes, on routine checks, identified and arrested a high profile suspected Boko Haram terrorist, Mohammed Mohammed Zauro, at Sabon Gari, Damboa Local Government Area, Borno State.

 

Preliminary investigation shows that the suspected terrorist kingpin was arrested as he was trying to flee to Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, from Sambisa forest. “The troops recovered a Gionee brand of mobile phone handset and a fake SAIE/JIBWIS identification card to perfect his escape and the sum of N7,900.” Usman said the troops also intercepted another suspected Boko Haram terrorist, Lawal Aboi, along Damboa-Bale Road.

 

“According to him, he was on his way to voluntarily surrender to the troops in Damboa because he was tired of fighting for no just cause. Both suspects are being further interrogated,” the army spokesman said.