Tag Archives: BOMBINGS

“Stop claiming responsibility for our bombings” – Avengers tells NDGJM

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There are indications of hostilities within the camp of militant groups in the Niger Delta region.

This was as the Niger Delta Avengers berated the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, NDGJM, for claiming responsibility for most of the attacks carried out on pipeline in the region.

NDGJM has severally claimed responsibility for attack on pipeline installations across the oil rich region.

But Avengers spokesperson, Mudoch Agbinibo, in a series of tweets on its twitter handle @AgbinibiND, on Monday said NDGJM was making false claims.

Aginibo wrote: “Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, NDGJM group blowing up of 3-inch and 6- inch flow lines shouldn’t give you wings.

“NDGJM, why not try your hands on major pipelines if you can. NDGJM, stop claiming responsibilities for bombings carried out by wannabes and aggrieved youths that are not part of your group.

“The Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate (NDGJM) has been claiming responsibility lately in the region, but I want to tell you that most of the works are not done by the group.

“You might want to ask me how I got to know about this; we are insiders and we know ourselves. Most of the claims of bombing by NDGJM are done by wannabes or aggrieved community youths.

“The Trans Forcados Pipeline is one of such jobs they claimed responsibility but was not done by NDGJM.”

NDGJM over the weekend warned the Federal Government to prepare for another onslaught on oil facilities in the region in no distant time, stressing that it would not be a part of the ceasefire declared by sister militant groups.

Jonathan, Wife, Under Probe Over Alleged Link To Niger Delta Bombings

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The Nigerian presidency has ordered a discreet investigation of former president, Goodluck Jonathan, and his wife, Patience, over the spate of bombings of oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta.

A top government source, quoting intelligence reports, said that it had now been established that some of the oil installations bombed in the Niger Delta had actually been mined while President Jonathan was in power, just before the 2015 election, by some of the militants and operatives known to be very close to him.

“The mining was meant to be a “Plan B should they be removed from Aso Rock,” said the official, who requested not to be named because of the sensitive nature of the matter.

“The plan then was to cause confusion if the 2015 presidential election did not go as expected, in favour of the then incumbent.”

“However, when the former president surprisingly conceded the election to President Mohammadu Buhari, according to the source, there was both disappointment and confusion in the camp of those who had designed the plan, causing a suspension of the whole agenda.

“But by February this year, it was learnt, the plan was reopened as several of the backers were getting investigated on different corruption cases.

“Mr. Jonathan himself was concerned that himself and his wife could be prosecuted, including on money-laundering charges where investigators said evidence against the wife has already been amassed.

“It was at that point that the bombing activities under the banner of the Niger Delta Avengers started.

 “Even the former President himself had been reported while on a foreign trip as saying he knew he was under probe. This was after the plan to start the bombing had become fully operational according to intelligence reports.”

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http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/208788-presidency-begins-probe-jonathan-wife-alleged-link-niger-delta-bombings.html

Pipeline Bombings: Militant Group Announces 2 Weeks Ceasefire

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A militant group, Niger Delta Revolutionary Crusaders, NDRC, based in Bayelsa State, Wednesday, declared a two-week armistice within which it urged President Muhammadu Buhari to review his hard-line stance to consequential dialogue with militants and first-rate leaders of Niger Delta to prevent total devastation of crude oil export facilities.

This came as the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, accused ExxonMobil of telling lies about the bombing of its Qua Iboe 48-inch crude export pipeline on Monday evening. Spokesperson of the militant group, self-appointed Brig Gen Mudoch Agbinibo, stated: “ExxonMobil can deny and fool the general public about their Export Pipeline blown, yesterday (Monday). How long can they lie to their investors? Just in matter of days, the whole world will see the truth. Qua Iboe 48” crude oil export pipeline is down, so said the Avengers.”

NDRC, which recently blew up the Brass Creek Manifold, the largest in West Africa, situated in Peretorugbene, Ekeremor local government area, Bayelsa state, said: “With clear evaluation of the happenings and advice of well- meaning Nigerians and Niger Delta stakeholders, we hereby declare a two- week ceasefire for a sincere and proper dialogue.”

Spokesperson of the group, WOI Izon-Ebi, said in a statement: “We want the Federal Government to consult distinguished personalities, royal fathers and chiefs of the Niger Delta communities. Government should disassociate itself from negotiating with political jobbers in Abuja, but come down to the Niger Delta communities.”

“If after the two weeks of ceasefire, nothing meaningful happens, we have no option but to redirect our next phase of action to the exporting terminals to stop total export of our resources.

“We hereby call on Mr. President to do the needful by being sincere to himself and Nigerians to engage in meaningful dialogue to ensure a lasting peace in the Niger Delta and Nigeria in particular,” it added.

Credit: Vanguard

Death Toll In Pakistani Park Bombing Hits 71

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Grief enveloped Pakistan on Monday as the official death toll from a suicide bombing at a public park in Lahore rose to 69, with 341 people wounded.

But the local news media put the number of people killed at 71.

The Sunday’s suicide bombing was claimed by the Pakistani Taliban’s Jamaat-ur-Ahrar faction, which once declared loyalty to Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, saying it was targeting Christians.

The attack within the power base of the Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, was Jamaat-ur-Ahrar’s fifth bombing since December.

Reuters reports that at least 29 children enjoying an Easter weekend outing were among those killed when the suicide bomber struck in a busy park in the eastern city of Lahore. Pakistan is a majority-Muslim state but has a Christian population of more than two million.

Police investigators said a suicide bomber had detonated explosives in a vest during the evening rush hour on Sunday at Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, one of the largest public parks in this eastern city.

Prime Minister Sharif arrived in Lahore on Monday morning and visited Jinnah Hospital to show solidarity with the victims. He said he was deeply grieved and vowed to bring the culprits to justice.

Later, he met with senior government officials and pledged to eliminate terrorism, The New York Timesreports.

“Our resolve as a nation and as a government is getting stronger, and the cowardly enemy is trying for soft targets,” Sharif said during the meeting. “Our goal is not only to eliminate terror infrastructure but also the extremist mind-set, which is a threat to our way of life.”

A military spokesman, Lt. Gen. Asim Bajwa, said intelligence raids had been carried out in three cities in Punjab Province, of which Lahore is the capital, after the attack, and that a “number of terrorists and facilitators were arrested.” However, he gave no further details about the identities of those arrested or whether they were connected to Sunday’s bombing.

Source- punchng.com

Air Force Bomb Boko Haram Camp In Borno

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The Nigerian Air Force Alpha Jets have pummeled Boko Haram positions at their camp at Iza, Borno state which made the terrorist scamper into the Sambisa forest.

The air attacks were followed by a ground offensive by troops of 121 Task Force Battalion who consolidated on the gains of the air strikes to flush out the remnants of the insurgents and destroyed
their camps.

The Daily Post, citing a statement by Ayodele Famuyiwa, the air force spokesman, reports that the offensive was supported by the Mi-35 Helicopter gunships which provided close air support for the advancing troops.
Famuyiwa added that a Beechcraft aircraft also supported the operation with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
“The combined air and land operation against the Boko Haram sect was conducted during the early hours of yesterday – 8 March 2016.
“The fall of Iza and its liberation by own troops further attests to the recent gains recorded by the military in the combined efforts to rid the country of the menace posed by the religious sect,” the statement added.
In recent times, Nigerian security forces gave recorded strings of victories against Boko Haram fighters. On Thursday, March 3, troops attacked the spiritual power base of the insurgents at the Alagarno forest, Borno state.
In another raid, soldiers on a clearance operations of the remnants of Boko Haram insurgents at Kumshe in Borno state made startling discoveries of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) making factory, rockets and high claibre ammunitions.
Meanwhile, Geoffrey Onyeama, the minister of Foreign Affairs has clarified media reports quoting President Muhammadu Buhari as disclosing that Nigeria had joined the Islamic coalition against terror under the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Speaking on Monday, March 7, Onyeama said Nigeria’s membership of the coalition had nothing to do with giving Nigeria an Islamic identity, Daily Trust reports.
He explained that the objective of the coalition was to prove that terrorists were not representing Islam.

Cameroon Sees Surge In Bombings As Nigeria Chases Boko Haram

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Nigeria’s campaign to quash the Islamist militant group Boko Haram has triggered a surge of bombings in neighboring Cameroon, where the army says it’s making headway in stopping attacks on military targets.

Cameroon’s Far North region has been hit by as many as 19 militant attacks since the beginning of the year, mostly bombings by teenagers with explosive devices strapped to their bodies. At least 74 people were killed, in addition to almost 1,100 civilians who died in extremist violence since 2013, according to government data.

“Increased military pressure in Nigeria has forced militants across the border,” Malte Liewerscheidt, senior Africa analyst at Bath, England-based risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, said in e-mailed comments. “Boko Haram operates rear bases in remote border areas, which are supported by networks based on ethnic kinship in Cameroon’s Far North region. These factors enable Boko Haram to operate with a degree of impunity.”

Following his election last year, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the army of Africa’s biggest economy to wipe out Boko Haram. The group has since lost territory in the northeast but continues to carry out bombings and hit-and-run attacks.

Cameroon, the world’s fifth-biggest cocoa producer, is situated on the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea and has sub-Saharan Africa’s fourth-largest proven gas reserves totaling 4.8 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The Cameroonian government says it’s defeating the insurgents with the help of a joint military task force set up in August to combat a surge in cross-border attacks. The 8,700-member force will consist of soldiers from Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad, and Niger, countries which have all been targeted by the militants. France and China have pledged to donate weapons and vehicles.

The task force has a mandate to operate in several countries and “has been doing so with great success, as seen by the tactical changes Boko Haram has been obliged to make,” army spokesman Didier Badjeck said by phone from Yaounde, the capital. “They have been forced to adopt guerrilla tactics and suicide bombings.”

Credit: Bloomberg

Turkey Police HQ Hit By Deadly Bomb Blast

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A woman and a baby are reported to be among the dead. Rescuers are searching through the rubble at the scene in Cinar district, Diyarbakir province.
The bomb was detonated at the entrance of the police complex, officials say. The blast also damaged nearby residential buildings.
The attackers then reportedly fired rockets at the headquarters.
Diyarbakir province has seen violent clashes between PKK separatists and the Turkish army in recent months.
Last year, the city of Diyarbakir and a number of other areas in the south-east were put under curfew
as part of a security crackdown.

This followed a bomb blast that left 16 soldiers dead and a rebel ambush that killed 14 police officers – both incidents in the east.
A ceasefire between the army and the PKK collapsed in July, and Turkish jets have since bombed PKK bases in northern Iraq and the army launched a ground operation there.
Turkey is also part of a US-led coalition that has been carrying out air strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq and Syria.
However, Ankara has been accused of hitting mostly PKK targets, angering Kurds who are themselves fighting IS in the two countries.

Officials blamed the blast on Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) militants, who are active in the mainly Kurdish province.
No group has so far said it carried out the attack.

Police Set To Arraign 5 Over Nyanya, Kuje Bombings

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The Nigeria Police Force are set to arraign five suspects over the October 2, 2015 twin bombings in Kuje and Nyanya areas of Abuja.

Speaking in his office at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, on Wednesday, the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, said “after careful and discreet investigations into the recent bombings that took place in some parts of Abuja, the Nigeria Police Force will on October 22, 2015 take the suspects to the Federal High Court, Abuja for prosecution”.

Force spokesperson, Olabisi Kolawole, quoted Mr. Arase as saying “the five suspects were arrested at Karamajiji Village, behind National Military Cemetery along Airport Road, Abuja and dangerous bombing tools which include I-pad, Laptop and Phone believed to be used as materials for making bombs were recovered”.

The Police chief reportedly said “the arrest of the suspects was made possible by the proactive nature of the newly formed Intelligence Response Team, also warned Nigerians to avoid the temptation of picking 1-pad, phones or laptops not kept by them, as terrorists now use these items in manufacturing bombs, knowing its attractions and needs to the people.”

Credit: PremiumTimes

Barack Obama Lays Wreath At The US Embassy Bombing Memorial

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US President Barack Obama on Saturday laid a wreath at the Kenyan capital’s Memorial Park in memory of those killed in the 1998 embassy bombing.

He placed the wreath on a holder in front of a wall engraved with the names of the dead and stood for a moment in silence.

Around a dozen survivors and National Security Advisor Susan Rice also attended.

The scene was quiet except for the sound of a fountain just behind Obama and the distant sound of an assembled crowd of well wishers who were kept back by police.

The US missions in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, were hit by near simultaneous car bombings on August 7, 1998.

The twin bombings, claimed by Al-Qaeda, killed a total of 224 people and injured some 5,000 — almost all of them Kenyans and Tanzanians.

Obama is currently making his first visit to Kenya, his father’s birthplace, since becoming president.

– Source – www.vanguardngr.com

How Mastermind Of Jos, Zaria Bombings Was Nabbed– Military

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The Nigerian military has explained how the suspected mastermind of the Jos and Zaria bombings was arrested. The defence headquarters had earlier tweeted that the unnamed suspect was taken into custody in Gombe after organising the two attacks that killed 70 people between Sunday and Tuesday.

The spokesperson for the Army, Sani Usman, has given further details on the arrest:

“Please recall that on Sunday 5th July 2015, suspected Boko Haram terrorists carried out coordinated bomb and gun attacks on worshippers at Ýan Taya mosque, Dillimi Street, off Bauchi Road, Jos where the holy month of Ramadan tafsir was holding, and Shagalinku Restaurant, along Bauchi Road, Jos, Plateau State which led to death of over 48 persons, injuring several other persons and destruction of property.

“Similarly, the terrorists carried out another bomb attack on hapless workers undergoing verification exercise at Sabon Gari Local Government Secretariat, Zaria Kaduna State which resulted in the death of over 25 people including a two-year-old child and destruction of property.

“Consequently, security cordon was established in the general areas especially along Bauchi, Gombe and the North Eastern part of the country by troops of 3 Division and Special Task Force, as well as the Department of State Services. This culminated in the successful arrest of the mastermind of the heinous terrorist acts and two of his accomplices at a checkpoint in Dadin Kowa, Gombe State. The terrorist kingpin and his colleagues who disguised in a trailer while trying to evade checks were fished out by troops of Nigerian Army.

“The arrested terrorists are currently being processed for further action and would soon face the full wrath of the law.

“The general public are hereby please requested to be more vigilant, security conscious and report any suspicious persons, movements, and facilities to the security agencies.”

Credit: premiumtimesng

Military Captures Jos, Zaria Bombings Mastermind At Gombe Checkpoint

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The Nigerian Military has announced the arrest of the mastermind of the deadly bombings that rocked Jos and Zaria on Sunday and Tuesday respectfully. The announcement was made via the twitter handle of the Defence headquarters.

The tweets reads: “Troops have arrested a mastermind of the Jos and Zaria bombing at a checkpoint in Gombe following an operation by a combined team of the military and the DSS.

It will be recalled that the twin bomb explosions in Jos on Sunday and the Tuesday’s explosion in Zaria left over 60 people dead with many injured.

Credit: sunnewsonline

Jos Explosions: Angry Protesters Torch Two Churches – Police

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The Plateau State Police Commissioner, Nasiru Oki, has said two churches were on Monday set ablaze by angry persons protesting bomb explosion at a mosque Sunday night in Jos.

The police boss made the disclosure Monday evening at the police headquarters in Jos, the state capital.

While briefing journalists on the police’s investigations, Mr. Oki said no arrest had been made so far.

He also noted that no life was lost in the church incidents but property allegedly worth millions of naira, were destroyed.

Mr. Oki also said that 42 people were killed in the twin bomb explosions on Sunday – 20 in the first blast at a restaurant and 22 others in the second at a mosque.

50 people were hospitalized for various degree of injuries and are being treated in hospitals within Jos, he added.

He also presented an undetonated locally-made device recovered from the first scene and quoting police bomb experts, Mr. Oki said the according to police bomb experts, the device was capable of destroying a complex.

Cities In Sambisa Forest and Myths of Booby-Traps By Dr. Peregrino Brimah

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With shallow graves of unveiled bones, rivers of shed blood, wounded homes and don’t-ask-for-my-dad babies of the living martyr mothers of Sambisa, it is a tale that will never be untold. Nigeria’s bloody six years; the never ending cold days and treacherous nights of 2010-2015. The long and short of this tale is that Jonathan and his Army chiefs lied to us. We were duped, fooled, defrauded and betrayed.

Boko Haram were never ghosts as Jonathan claimed. They were never an enemy he and the Nigerian Army could not pinpoint. As we now know from videos of Sambisa and numbers of liberated abductees, Boko Haram established cities and towns in Sambisa.
Far from being ghosts, they were a brazen nation hiding in clear aerial sight.
Nigerian air force jets and drones over the years took pictures and shot videos of inhabited expanses with camps that included buildings and hundreds of vehicles with human activity rivalling Nigeria’s fairly populated cities. The entire global intelligence departments saw these densely populated fossil fuel powered towns in Sambisa holding hundreds of Nigerian prisoners and realized Nigeria was in a mess too big for them to amend without sacking the country’s lying military and civilian ‘leadership.’ In disgust they resigned from helping to “bring back our girls” and did the best they should: denied Jonathan guns Boko Haram confidently relied on.

Was it booby traps or booby towns he meant?
And as we free the hundreds of pregnant, irreversibly abused, violated and abandoned Nigerian women from the cities of Sambisa and kill all the escaping male youth also imprisoned there, not being able to tell which male is ours or forcibly conscripted to theirs after abandoning them so long, we ask Jonathan, Ihejirika, Minimah and Badeh, where are the booby-traps you spoke of when you refused to bring back our girls and denied our brave and determined ex-servicemen, vigilantes, hunters and Civilian-JTF the permission to go into the cities of Sambisa and rescue our Chibok princesses?

Dr. Peregrino Brimah

http://ENDS.ng [Every Nigerian Do Something]
Email: drbrimah@ends.ng Twitter: @EveryNigerian
Views expressed are solely that of author and does not represent views of www.omojuwa.com nor its associates

Death Toll In Maiduguri Blasts Rises To 100

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The death toll from last Saturday’s triple suicide bomb blasts in Maiduguri, capital of Borno State has risen to over 100, it has emerged.

Borno State Police Commissioner, Clement Adado told journalists on Saturday following the attack, that only 54 people were killed. Howeve, Vanguard’s sources and hospital mortuary attendance, yesterday, revealed that more than hundred people were confirmed dead.

A source at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital told Vanguard that most of the injured ones brought to the hospital did not survive as they died while receiving treatment yesterday morning. Also at the Umaru Shehu Hospital in Bulumkutu ward of the metropolis, no fewer than seven people died while receiving treatment. At the State Specialists Hospital, a source claimed that more than 20 dead bodies were brought in from the Monday market attack, while scores of the injured died as a result of excessive bleeding yesterday.

Sources at the Borno express motor park revealed that the male suicide bomber who was in his early 20s attempted to enter the mosque at the BOC motor dealers section, but when he was accosted by someone that it was not yet time for prayer, he quickly turned back to attract dealers as he pretended to be a customer after which he detonated the explosives, killing four dealers and other customers nearby.

Other reports said that “the death toll of the bomb attack has risen with additional five dead and dozens admitted at the emergency ward out patient department of the university of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital UMTH as against the earlier death toll of Saturday which stood at 17.

At State Specialists Hospital Maiduguri, an attendant who does not want her name in print told Vanguard that “due to the gravity of injuries of some victims brought into the hospital yesterday (Saturday) and coupled with the excessive bleeding by the victims, scores could not make it overnight.

“Many passed away this morning (yesterday) before the doctor on duty conducted routine checks while another victim is also critically lying on bed and if extra care is not taken, he may not survive. Many have however been discharged yesterday and today (Sunday) after treatment”.

She added that “already there is a standing order on free treatment of all victims by the state government. We treat them and government takes care of the bills as usual. We have enough drugs and doctors except that it is weekend and only those on call duty will be available. We did not call any doctor on special call because we have doctors on call duty over the weekend. We even learnt that the governor may be visiting the victims still on bed in the hospital.”

Military Has Destroyed Boko Haram Structure – Chief of Air Force

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Nigerian Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, has told the Senate Committee on Air Force that military operations in the North east has totally destroyed Boko Haram stronghold by damaging its command and control in the area.

Amosu stated this when he appeared before the committee for the 2015 budget defence.

Amosu commended the collaborative efforts of the neighbouring countries of Chad, Cameroun, Benin Republic and Niger in the fight against the insurgents in the North East.

According to him, the bilateral cooperation between Nigerian soldiers and those countries gave the nation’s security forces a lot of boost because they had blocked the terrorists from escaping to the neighbouring countries.

His words: “On the 15th of February, we were in Lagos to harmonize equipment with the ammunition system. It was very clear that we were commencing a major offensive, which was very quick for me to release information that we are going to storm the North East, that we are going to storm the Sambisa Forest.

“Since the 15th, if you notice, there has not been any major offensive from the Boko Haram terrorists. It is very clear that by our efforts, we have been able to disrupt their communication lines. The command and control is substantially damaged.

“Again, their ability to plan is not there. We have also been able to destroy their training stations. So, the issue of regeneration is out of it. We are lucky again to have our neighbours who have agreed to work with us.

“That has given us huge comfort because when they cannot run away to the neighbouring countries, we are sure that we are going to contain them here, and it will be easy to take them down. So far, we are happy and satisfied with what is going on.

“And I am happy to announce to you that we are getting a lot of cooperation from the citizens. We are getting valuable intelligence from the citizens. We just want to encourage them to keep it up because this is our country and we have no other country to go to.

“These are people coming from outside the country to attempt to destabilize our country.

“I want to use this opportunity to acknowledge fully the support of Mr. President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.