Religious freedom groups lament rising Nigerian persecution

Seven years after Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from a majority Christian school in Chibok, Nigeria, U.S. religious freedom advocates are lamenting escalating religious persecution in the African country.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom noted the growing number of abductions of students and other residents by terrorists and bandits copying Boko Haram’s tactics.

“Nigerians have waited too long for the violence to stop,” Tony Perkins, vice chair of the commission, said April 14. “Seven years since the outrageous abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls, copycats are still popping up all over, taking inspiration from Boko Haram and other extremist groups. It is the Nigerian people who pay the price.”

600 students kidnapped since December

The commission noted the kidnappings of 600 students between December 2020 and March, compounded by “ongoing attacks against Christian communities, Muslim congregations and houses of worship.”

Amnesty International said Wednesday that kidnappings have forced the closure of hundreds of schools because of safety concerns, and that hundreds of children have been “killed, raped, forced into ‘marriages’ or forced to join Boko Haram.”

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom estimates about 10.5 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 are out of school in Nigeria because of the closures and violence.

Various Nigerian government officials are “apathetic and negligent,” Commissioner Frederick A. Davie said.

“Nigerian officials at all levels, from the president (Muhammadu Buhari) and federal officials to local governors, police commissioners and courts need to do more to prevent growing insecurity and hold accountable those who perpetrate violent acts,” Davie said.

He urged the U.S. government to ensure progress in Nigeria by leveraging the U.S. State Department’s December 2020 designation of Nigeria as a country of particular concern.

‘No lessons have been learned from the Chibok tragedy’

Osai Ojigho, director of Amnesty International Nigeria, said the failure of Nigerian authorities “shows that no lessons have been learned from the Chibok tragedy. The authorities’ only response to schoolchildren being targeted by insurgents and gunmen is to close schools, which is increasingly putting the right to education at risk.”

Seven years after the Chibok kidnapping, about 100 of the abducted girls remain missing, although others have escaped or been released. Leah Sharibu, kidnapped from her school in Dapchi in 2018, still is being held for refusing to denounce her Christian faith, although 104 students were released to their families. Five girls were killed in the kidnapping conducted by the Islamic State West Africa Province.

A series of kidnappings early this year in northwest Nigeria, which resulted in the death of Christian student Benjamin Habila, were blamed on loosely organized bandits copying Boko Haram.

But many terrorist groups, including Boko Haram, Boko Haram faction of the Islamic State West Africa Province and militant Fulani herdsmen are active in Nigeria’s northeast and Middle Belt.

Open Doors’ 2021 World Watch List designates Nigeria as the ninth most dangerous country for Christians, compared to its number 12 ranking on the 2020 list. From November 2019 to October 2020, more than 3,530 Nigerian Christians were killed for their faith, Open Doors said in its report.

Christians are abducted and killed while going about their daily lives. In one of the most recent attacks, Christians blame militant Fulani herdsmen for kidnapping eight members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God from the church bus as it traveled from Kaduna to Kafanchan in late March, Morning Star News reported.

 

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NIGERIA: Insurgency and visa-on-arrival policy

Members of the Lassa vigilante group, in Borno state. Photo credit: Center on Conflict and Development

Boko Haram, ISIS, bandits, kidnapping, yahoo-yahoo boys did not come to Nigeria because of the implementation of visa on arrival policy.

The Nigerian government in March 2020 suspended its visa on arrival policy over fears of further spread of coronavirus. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation Boss Mustapha made the announcement at a media briefing on Wednesday, March 20, 2020.

Visa on arrival is not a bad policy in itself, but the concern is whether the country has developed the right capacity to implement it without undermining Nigeria’s national security and assets. It is unfair to place the emergence of Boko Haram on the implementation of the visa on arrival policy.

Nigeria’s visa policy was first presented by President Buhari on February 4 2020, at the Council chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The policy, according to Buhari, was announced to attract innovation, specialised skills and knowledge from abroad to complement local capacity in Nigeria. “The new visa policy provides an avenue to achieve African integration by the introduction of visas on arrival for short visits to Nigeria for holders of passports of African Union (AU) countries.”

The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, recently gave an unfair assessment by calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately proscribe the Miyetti Allah groups existing in the country as was done to IPOB as the first step to ending the raging herdsmen crisis in the country. The association also urged the federal government to review its open visa or visa arrival policy as it had allowed armed herders from West African countries easy access into the country.

There is no link between visa on arrival policy and the emergence of Boko Haram. Visa on arrival policy started in 2020 and Mohammed Yusuf founded the sect that became known as Boko Haram in 2002 in Maiduguri, the capital of the north-eastern state of Borno. He established a religious complex and school that attracted poor Muslim families from across Nigeria and neighbouring countries. ... Yusuf’s arrest elevated him to hero status.
 
The Nigeria Visa Policy 2020 was intended to attract innovation, specialized skills and knowledge from abroad to complement locally available ones. NVP 2020 is a global visa system that will boost internal security because there is biometrics linked to online applications for each applicant. Chances of criminals beating the system are negligible. Biometrics is to be conducted at the port of entry which is a major boost to Nigeria’s national security. The Nigeria Visa Policy 2020 has security identity number which is like the national identification number, or national insurance number which helps to boost internal security which is used by the governments of many countries as a means of tracking their citizens, permanent residents, and temporary residents for the purposes of work, taxation, government benefits, health care, and other governmentally-related functions.

I wish to throw more light on the issue of visa on arrival as many people are not aware and usually get embarrassed about it. One cannot acquire a visa on arrival without a letter of approval from the delegation of national security in the country of your origin. So you need somebody to do this at least one or two weeks before your arrival. The Visa on Arrival policy will not compromise the country’s security, that this government together with the relevant stakeholders such as the Office of the National Security (ONS), International Police Organization (INTERPOL), and the Immigration Department will profile visitors to make sure that they do not have a questionable character before entering the country.

The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, has said that the visa policy took into consideration the specific needs of foreigners who would want to visit the country, without compromising the security of the country. The minister said the policy had followed a process that considered the security, economy and territorial integrity of the country, and would only be issued after due diligence with other security components of the country. “Especially, the new visa policy will be helpful to diaspora Nigerians by birth who can now use other passports to visit the country because some countries do not allow dual citizenship,’’ he added.

In a technical presentation, the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Muhammad Babandede, said the service had already put in place a technological hub, called the Migrants Information and Data Analysis (MIDAS), to ensure strict compliance with the conditions for the issuance of the visa. Babandede assured that issues of corruption or bribery will be controlled by the automated system while allaying fears of possible infiltration of the economy by criminals and terrorists.

He said the new policy has 79 categories, which include health, education, tourism etc, pointing out that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and Interpol also made inputs into the system, and would be carried along in the processing before approvals. The policy as not being a bad policy said they are concerned about the intelligence level of the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, to track those coming in with wrong intentions.

President Muhammadu Buhari last year in Abuja explained that the new Nigeria Visa Policy 2020 aims at attracting innovation, specialized skills and knowledge from abroad to complement local capacity. The President said, “The implementation of the Nigeria Visa Policy 2020 will support the attainment of a globally competitive economy for Nigeria by building on the efforts of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council.’’

With the official launch of the Nigeria Visa Policy (NVP) 2020 by President Buhari, here are some salient points to note:

• A greater part of 2019 was devoted to conceiving and enunciating the policy, with retreats, conferences and engagements with stakeholders by the Nigeria Immigration Service. These held in August, October, and December, in Lagos, Benin, and Abuja, respectively. It was, therefore, not a hasty decision.
• Visa on Arrival to be issued only at airports, not at land borders.
• There are three categories of visas: short visit, temporary, and permanent residence.
• From the previous six, there are now 79 classes of visa.
• There is Visa for Diaspora Nigerians by birth, with dual citizenship.
• Visa on Arrival is only for short visits, and there is little chance that visitors will come in to take jobs which should have been for Nigerians.
• The system is automated. No cash transaction, so the chances of corruption are reduced.
• NVP is part of a wider reform ‘NIS Border Strategy, 2019-2023.’
• It holds immense economic benefits for the country. 

As President Buhari said; “The Nigeria Visa Policy 2020 is intended to attract innovation, specialized skills and knowledge from abroad to complement locally available ones...it will support the attainment of a globally competitive economy for Nigeria by building on the efforts of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council. The policy is expected to improve the business environment, attract Foreign Direct Investment and boost tourism without compromising national security

 

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'We want to finish Boko Haram': Nigerians welcome new army chiefs

Residents of an internally displaced camp in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri have welcomed President Muhammadu Buhari's decision to replace the country's top military commanders as security issues mount.

"To be sincere, the outgoing service chiefs have tried their best but in some instances their best isn't enough at all, despite the fact that we are not security experts, but we know that they have failed." said Ummate Abubakar, an internally displaced person from the village of Monguno.

The Boko Haram insurgency and its deadly affiliate, the Islamic State in West Africa, has killed some 36,000 people and displaced millions since it waged its war for a caliphate in the northeast in 2009.

The group controlled vast swathes of the region in 2015 but were pushed back.

But Boko Haram still conducts deadly attacks and ambushes on civilians and the military.

"What we want is not to repel the Boko Haram but to kill them, not to repel them but to kill them, to finish them at once, not to repel them again," said Sunday Ishaya, an internally displaced person from the village of Monguno.

"We are repeating what all the time we do, that is the reason why we are not after them. We want somebody that will just degrade them, complete them, wipe them away."

Nigeria also faces criminal gangs in the northwest, who were blamed by authorities for the kidnapping of some 300 schoolboys in December.

While in the central regions farmers clash with cattle herders.

 

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CAMEROON: At least 14 killed in Boko Haram attack

At least 14 people have been killed in a Boko Haram attack in northern Cameroon,

The overnight attack took place in the town of Mozogo, in Cameroon's Far North region.

The jihadist group in recent days have staged several attacks in the same region despite the government's claims of success against them.

According to the mayor of Mozogo, Boukar Medjewe, local residents started fleeing to a nearby forest as soon as they heard that the attackers were approaching the town.

A suicide bomber who hid among the fleeing civilians is reported to have detonated explosives killing 11 people on the spot, before gunmen shot dead three others.

According to the UN Refugee Agency, violence committed by Boko Haram has affected some 26 million people in the Lake Chad region and displaced 2.6 million others.

 

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Turkey condemns Boko Haram terrorist attack in Nigeria

Dec. 24 terrorist attack killed 7 people in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state

 

Turkey on Saturday condemned the terrorist attack carried out by Boko Haram terrorists on Dec. 24 in the town of Pemi in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state, killing seven people.

“We are deeply saddened by the news that at least seven people lost their lives in a terrorist attack organized by the terrorist organization Boko Haram,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

Describing the attack as “heinous”, the ministry said: “We extend our sincere condolences to the families of those who lost their lives, friendly and brotherly people and Government of Nigeria and wish a speedy recovery to the injured.”

More than 30,000 people have been killed and nearly 3 million displaced in a decade of Boko Haram violence in Nigeria, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

According to the UN Refugee Agency, violence by Boko Haram has affected 26 million people in the Lake Chad region and displaced 2.6 million others.

 

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Nigerian states close schools after students kidnapped in Katsina

Police at the school in Kankara. Many students tried to flee when gunmen stormed it

More states in northern Nigeria have ordered all schools to close following last week's kidnapping of hundreds of pupils in Katsina state.

Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara and Jigawa have followed Katsina in closing schools following Friday's attack.

The Islamist militant group Boko Haram has said it was behind the raid.

More than 300 children are still missing, raising fears for the safety of other schools, especially those in remote areas.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Union of Teachers has threatened a nationwide strike unless the government urgently improves the security situation.

The union said pupils and teachers were now being actively targeted by gunmen and kidnappers. It said the attack was a sad reminder of previous raids - dozens of girls from Chibok, in northern Borno state, are still missing six years after they were abducted by jihadists.

Nigerian authorities say have been in contact with the kidnappers in the latest incident, but there are no details of the discussions.

The governor of Katsina state, Aminu Bello Masari, said on Twitter late on Monday: "Talks are ongoing to ensure [the pupils'] safety and return to their respective families."

The jihadist group issued its claim of responsibility in a four-minute recording.

 

Kankara town is in a remote area in north-western Nigeria

However, security and local sources cited by AFP news agency said Boko Haram had recruited three local gangs to carry out the attack.

One source said the children had been taken across the border into Zamfara state and divided among different gangs "for safe keeping". Some of the gangs had since been in touch with authorities over the release of the students.

Boko Haram has previously targeted schools because of its opposition to Western education, which it believes corrupts the values of Muslims. The group's name translates as "Western education is forbidden".

Witnesses said the armed men came to the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara town at about 21:30 on Friday and that many students jumped the school fence and fled when they heard gunshots.

Many were tracked by the gunmen who tricked them into believing that they were security personnel, students who escaped said. Once the students were rounded up they were marched into the forest by the armed men.

 

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NIGERIA: Boko Haram claims abduction of students in northern Nigeria

Parents of the missing Government Science secondary school students wait for news on their children in Kankara , Nigeria, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Rebels from the Boko Haram extremist group claimed responsibility Tuesday for abducting hundreds of boys from a school in Nigeria's northern Katsina State last week in one of the largest such attacks in years, raising fears of a growing wave of violence in the region. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

 

Rebels from the Boko Haram extremist group claimed responsibility Tuesday for abducting hundreds of boys from a school in Nigeria’s northern Katsina State last week in one of the largest such attacks in years, raising fears of a growing wave of violence in the region.

More than 330 students remain missing from the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara after gunmen with assault rifles attacked their school Friday night, although scores of others managed to escape.

People inspect a wall and metal door broken by rebels from Boko Haram who kidnapped Government Science Secondary School students in Kankara, Nigeria, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Rebels from the Boko Haram extremist group claimed responsibility Tuesday for abducting hundreds of boys from a school in Nigeria's northern Katsina State last week in one of the largest such attacks in years, raising fears of a growing wave of violence in the region. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

The government and the attackers are negotiating the fate of the boys, according to Garba Shehu, a spokesman for Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.

“The kidnappers had made contact and discussions were already on, pertaining to the safety and return” of the children to their homes, said Shehu on Twitter during talks with Katsina Gov. Aminu Masari. Neither official said whether the negotiations are with Boko Haram or another group.

Parents of the missing Government Science secondary school students wait for news on their children in Kankara , Nigeria, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Rebels from the Boko Haram extremist group claimed responsibility Tuesday for abducting hundreds of boys from a school in Nigeria's northern Katsina State last week in one of the largest such attacks in years, raising fears of a growing wave of violence in the region. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Masari said security agencies “deployed for rescue operations have also informed us that they have located their position.”

The Daily Nigerian said it received an audio message from Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau claiming the abduction, although there has been no independent verification of its authenticity.

People work past an empty hostel of missing Government Science Secondary School students in Kankara, Nigeria, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Rebels from the Boko Haram extremist group claimed responsibility Tuesday for abducting hundreds of boys from a school in Nigeria's northern Katsina State last week in one of the largest such attacks in years, raising fears of a growing wave of violence in the region. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

The Islamic extremist group has carried out mass abduction of students before. The most serious took place in April 2014, when more than 270 schoolgirls were taken from their dormitory at the Government Secondary School in Chibok in northeastern Borno State. About 100 of the girls are still missing.

In February 2014, 59 boys were killed during a Boko Haram attack on the Federal Government College Buni Yadi in Yobe State.

In the audio message about Friday’s attack, Shekau said his group abducted the schoolboys because Western education is against the tenets of Islam.

Parents of the missing Government Science secondary school students wait for news on their children in Kankara , Nigeria, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Rebels from the Boko Haram extremist group claimed responsibility Tuesday for abducting hundreds of boys from a school in Nigeria's northern Katsina State last week in one of the largest such attacks in years, raising fears of a growing wave of violence in the region. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

More than 600 students attend the school. Many were able to escape during a gunfight between the attackers and the police, according to state police spokesman Gambo Isah.

Students corroborated this account with various news agencies, saying many of them were also rounded up and forced to walk to a nearby forest, where some were also able to flee.

Several armed groups operate in northern Nigeria, where Katsina State is located. It was originally believed that the attackers were bandits, who sometimes work with Boko Haram.

People travel past Government Science Secondary School in Kankara, Nigeria, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Rebels from the Boko Haram extremist group claimed responsibility Tuesday for abducting hundreds of boys from the school in Nigeria's northern Katsina State last week in one of the largest such attacks in years, raising fears of a growing wave of violence in the region. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Bandits have operated in the northwest region for some time, and kidnappings have increased in recent years. Amnesty International says that more than 1,100 people were killed in the first six months of 2020 in violence related to attacks by bandits.

A joint rescue operation was launched Saturday by Nigeria’s police, air force and army after the military engaged in gunfights with bandits after locating their hideout in the Zango/Paula forest.

Police officers drive past the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara, Nigeria, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Rebels from the Boko Haram extremist group claimed responsibility Tuesday for abducting hundreds of boys from a school in Nigeria's northern Katsina State last week in one of the largest such attacks in years, raising fears of a growing wave of violence in the region. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

If Boko Haram is proven to be behind the abduction, it could mean a new wave of religious extremism is on the rise in Nigeria. For more than 10 years, the group has engaged in a bloody campaign for introducing strict Islamic rule, but it has been mainly active in northeast Nigeria, not in the northwest, where Katsina State is located. Thousands have been killed and more than a million people displaced by the violence.

Nnamdi Obasi of the International Crisis Group said a shift of Boko Haram’s activities to the northwest would have serious security implications because it could partner with other armed criminal groups known to carry out attacks and collect payments from households and markets.

Parents of the missing Government Science secondary school students wait for news on their children in Kankara , Nigeria, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Rebels from the Boko Haram extremist group claimed responsibility Tuesday for abducting hundreds of boys from a school in Nigeria's northern Katsina State last week in one of the largest such attacks in years, raising fears of a growing wave of violence in the region. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

“They are Iike mini-armies that are able to carry out operations in defiance of the security forces, and it is worrisome,” Obasi told The Associated Press.

The local armed groups have no religious ideology, however, and Obasi said Boko Haram’s movement into the northwest would create “a risk of convergence between criminal groups and jihadist groups. The trajectories are very disturbing.”

Because the northwest is more homogeneously Islam than the northeast, there are more potential recruits for radicalism.

Two women walk past the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara, Nigeria, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Rebels from the Boko Haram extremist group claimed responsibility Tuesday for abducting hundreds of boys from a school in Nigeria's northern Katsina State last week in one of the largest such attacks in years, raising fears of a growing wave of violence in the region. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Friday’s abduction has become a rallying cry for Nigerians fed up with growing violence, with #BringBackOurBoys trending on Twitter as people express their frustrations. A similar #BringBackOurGirls became an international rallying cry for the Chibok girls.

“Before now, it has been bandits and kidnappers terrorizing our state, but little has been done to address the situation,” said Mallam Saidu Funtua, a member of a local civil society organization in Katsina State.

He added that “the abduction of students was the height of it all. It is unacceptable and the government has to do more” to protect students and residents.

The attack was a major setback for education in Katsina, which was beginning to make progress in enrollment, he said, adding: “Our people will be discouraged in sending their kids to school.”

Kankara villager Lawal Muhammed said the attack left most residents terrified and traumatized.

“We have never experienced this kind of thing before,” he said. “We want the government to do more in protecting our children, especially now that schools would be resuming after the COVID-19 break.”

The abductions also come as Boko Haram and the Nigerian military may be investigated for war crimes in the rebels’ insurgency, which has lasted more than a decade.

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor last week said a probe has found enough evidence to merit opening a full-scale inquiry into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity by Boko Haram extremists as well as into charges that Nigerian government forces have also perpetrated abuses.

Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said there is a “reasonable basis to believe” Boko Haram and splinter groups linked to it committed crimes including murder, rape, sexual slavery and torture, as well as intentionally targeting schools and places of worship and using child soldiers. While a vast majority of the criminality in the conflict has been carried out by Boko Haram, prosecutors also found grounds to believe members of Nigeria’s security forces had committed crimes, she said.

Amnesty International last week released a report saying at least 10,000 civilians have died in Nigerian military custody since 2011 after being detained in connection with the Boko Haram insurgency in northern Nigeria.

 

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NIGERIA: More than 300 students still missing after a Nigerian school was raided

The Government Science secondary school in Kankara district was attacked by armed gunmen on Friday.

Parents gather at the school on Sunday following the abductions.

Abuja, Nigeria: Some 337 students are still unaccounted for after gunmen attacked a school in northern Nigeria over the weekend, a government official told CNN on Monday.

Local police said a large number of attackers riding motorbikes ambushed the all-boys Government Science Secondary School in Kankara late Friday, in a possible kidnapping-for-ransom attempt.

The apparent kidnappers are making a demand via a teacher at school, Abdu Labaran, the director general of media for the governor of Nigeria's Katsina state, said Monday.

"The abductors of the Kankara students have contacted a teacher and asked him to tell the government to stop the helicopter surveillance. They have not asked for ransom," said Labaran, who added that the military had deployed in the area to search for the boys.

He said that at least 446 students had been handed over to their parents, but they have been unable to reach scores of families to confirm the safety of students because of bad phone connectivity.

The United Nations strongly condemned the abductions on Sunday, and called for the "immediate and unconditional release" of the children.

There have been varying estimates of the number of children that were kidnapped from the school late on Friday. Government officials said it was difficult to accurately track the numbers as some children ran away during the attack, while others escaped and made their way back to villages and the school over the weekend.

Garba Shehu, a spokesman for Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, told CNN via text message on Monday that some of the students had been interviewed by military officers.

"Some of the returning students debriefed by the military disclosed that ten of their colleagues were taken by the bandits, but this still needs to be verified," he wrote, adding that there could still be others unaccounted for.

"The forests and neighboring villages are being searched and parents are being contacted for information about their children."

A school official told CNN that at least three of his students escaped their abductors and returned to the school on Sunday. He said they had not eaten and that they had bruised and swollen legs from hours of trekking. CNN is not naming the school official to protect his safety.

"They commanded the crowd like a herdsman herd the sheep," Hassan Abdul-Bashir, a 13-year-old student at the school, told CNN on Saturday. He said the gunmen were asking students for money, ransacking their lockers and taking some of their belongings. "They shot the policeman guarding our school. I saw them driving many students."

Several more students were rescued on Monday, according to Labaran.

"Fifteen students were rescued today by military in their search and rescue operations, while the police rescued another person and a third came back to parents' house himself," he said Monday.

Musa Adamu, a senior secondary student at the school, said he and many of his roommates jumped out of the windows when they heard the gunshots on Friday. "We headed to the fence and climbed on it and jumped down," the 18-year-old told CNN. "The gun shots sound got louder, we ran in different directions ... into the forest. Most of us had no shoes on, and we kept running until we got tired and the sound of the gunshots fainted."

Nigerian authorities said the motive for the attack is unclear, but added the area has seen kidnappings for ransom attacks in the past.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged the Nigerian authorities to "bring those responsible for this act to justice."

"The Secretary-General reaffirms the solidarity and support of the United Nations to the government and people of Nigeria in their fight against terrorism, violent extremism and organized crime," his spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, said in a statement Sunday.

 

SOURCE: CNN

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A Nigerian massacre: The Cheat Sheet

Men gather during a mass burial at Zabarmari, in the Jere local government area of Borno State, in northeast Nigeria, on Nov. 29 after a militant attack. (Ahmed Kingimi/Reuters)

The massacre on 29 November of at least 43 farm labourers outside Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri has shocked even this war-numbed country. The migrant workers were all decapitated or had their throats slit by Abubakar Shekau’s faction of Boko Haram.

It was punishment, the jihadists said, for the passing of information to the army by farmers tired of the insurgents’ extortion. In a staggeringly tone-deaf comment, a senior government official blamed the farmers for not seeking military clearance before heading to the fields.

In the ensuing uproar, there have been demands for President Muhammadu Buhari to resign – even from within his northern powerbase. Northern social media has also attacked his more general failure to #SecureNorth – a reference to the wider banditry roiling the region.

Nigeria’s powerful governors are backing calls to hire private military companies, like South Africa’s STTEP.

“Nigeria has made no visible headway despite sinking billions of dollars to prosecute the war,” Idayat Hassan of the Centre for Democracy and Development told The New Humanitarian. “We, the citizens, are just helpless onlookers.”

SOURCE: The New Humanitarian

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Boko Haram: Allah said we should kill – Shekau’s faction invites bandits in Nigeria

By Wale Odunsi 

 

The Abubakar Shekau faction of Boko Haram, Jama’atu Ahlussunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jihad, has invited bandits to join them.

The sect made the call in a new video.

The faction wooed armed groups terrorising the North West and North Central.

 

The regions have been under unabated attacks by bandits who kill, rape, injure the people, burn houses and rustle cattle, sheep, etc.

The insurgents specifically urged outlaws in Zamfara and Niger States, to partner with Boko Haram.

The footage shows four masked men speaking in English, Hausa, Fulfulde and French, HumAngle reports.

 

One of them said “brothers in Lake Chad, my brothers in Cameroon, my brothers in Sambisa, my brothers in Niger State, my brothers in Zamfara State…to strive harder for the sake of Allah”.

 

He said everything being done “is for the cause of Allah, and I encourage you to keep doing it. Strive harder, because Allah instructed us in the Holy Quran to strive harder for His cause.”

“You feel we kill. You feel we destroy. Allah has instructed us to kill everyone that is unbelieving,” the speaker declared.

 

He added that they were fine “and we hope you are also in a good state of health. We thank God who put us on this path, in this time, to promote His words and institute His law”.

The insurgent said his “second message” was to the people of Nigeria, Cameroon, and the whole world.

 

“We call you to join us to institute Sharia globally. When you come, we will accept you according to (Shari’ah) law, and we (will) worship Allah as He commands us.”

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NIGERIA: Widows of soldiers protest release of repentant Boko Haram terrorists

Wants them punished like other criminals

Boko Haram members 

By Kingsley Omonobi – Abuja 

Widows of slain military officers and soldiers particularly those fighting the war against terrorism have protested the continuous release of murderous Boko Haram terrorists on the grounds that they have repented. 
National Vice President of Military Widows Association, Mrs Edith Opesanmi who spoke on their behalf during the seminar by the ‘Support Our Troops Foundation’ in Abuja, faulted the decision of the federal government in releasing the so-called repentant criminals who are responsible for the death of so many gallant officers and soldiers as well as helpless innocent Nigerians.

Opesanmi said this during an interview with The on the sidelines of the maiden lecture of Support Our Troops Foundation in Abuja on Wednesday. Emphasizing that the terrorists were not better than other criminals like armed robbers and kidnappers who are being made to pay for their crimes, Opesanmi who is the widow of the late Col. Johnson Opesanmi, said terrorists should not be given preferential treatment.

Her words, “They (terrorists) should face justice. You know they are involved in the killing and maiming of soldiers. So, whenever they are arrested, they should be punished like any other criminal.

 “We widows feel bad about it. Our husbands go to fight these terrorists and keep dying. The number of widows is increasing daily. Some of these widows are young ladies. Admitting that the Federal Government may be trying to replicate the amnesty programme of the Niger Delta militants, she said both situations were not the same noting that after all, the amnesty programme did not stop militancy. In his contribution, a former Director at the Department of State Services, Barr. Mike Ejiofor disagreed with the timing of the release of so-called repentant terrorists especially when the war on terror is still ongoing.

“For me, the programme is not well-timed. You cannot be releasing Boko Haram suspects when the war is still ongoing. “Ideally, it is after the war has been fought and won that you can release those ones that have been rehabilitated and deradicalized,” he said. It will be recalled that more than 2,000 so-called repentant Boko Haram terrorists who murdered, raped, publicly executed both Muslims and Christians, castrated soldiers, burnt military locations and carried out suicide bombings in places of worship have been released back into the society through a programme, Operation Safe Corridor. There is a general belief that most of the insecurity being peddled in different parts of the country including kidnapping, banditry, cattle rustling and other robbery activities may be perpetrated by some of the so-called repentant Boko Haram criminals.

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Young boy executes Nigerian Christian prisoner in horrifying ISIS video after declaring: 'We won't stop until we take revenge for all the blood that was spilled'

By SOPHIE TANNO FOR MAILONLINE

A video has emerged purportedly showing the execution of a Nigerian Christian by a young boy from an ISIS-affiliated terror group. 

The horrific footage, released by ISIS's Amaq 'news agency', shows a child of around eight years old carrying out the execution in an unidentified outdoor area of Borno, Nigeria. 

The child in the video warns other Christians: 'We won't stop until we take revenge for all the blood that was spilled.'

A still from a video clip released by ISIS's Amaq 'news agency', showing a child of around eight years old carrying out the execution of a Nigerian Christian 

An image taken from the distressing footage has been shared online by SITE Intelligence Group, an organisation which tracks the activity of jihadist groups. 

Director of SITE Intelligence Group, Rita Katz, said of the video: 'There is no end to ISIS's immorality.' 

According to Katz, the video was taken in Borno in north-eastern Nigeria and the boy is from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terror organisation. 

While ISIS has ramped up its attacks on Christians in recent years, Katz added that the video was also a 'throwback' to the terror group's days of children conducting gruesome executions. 

ISIS has routinely used young children, dubbed 'cubs of the Caliphate', to carry out the killings of prisoners in propaganda videos.

The Islamic State's West Africa branch was formed after a faction broke away from Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram in 2016. 

Soldiers stationed in Nigeria's restive northeast have been fighting Boko Haram's decade-long campaign of violence. Jihadis Boko Haram and its IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province faction have recently stepped up attacks on military and civilian targets in Nigeria

Last month, eleven Christian hostages were reportedly killed by ISWAP terrorists in Borno on Christmas Day. 

A video released last month showed 13 hostages, 10 believed to be Christian and three Muslim. ISWAP claimed they spared the lives of two of the Muslims 

The terror group said they killed the captives to avenge for the killing of their leaders Abu bakr al-Baghdadi and Abul-Hasan Al-Muhajir in Iraq and Syria.  

Eleven Christian hostages were killed by Islamic State terrorists in Nigeria on Christmas Day. This still is from a video clip released by Islamic State West African Province on December 25

President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the killings, and urged Nigerians not to allow themselves to be divided by religion. 'We should, under no circumstance, let the terrorists divide us by turning Christians against Muslims because these barbaric killers don't represent Islam and millions of other law-abiding Muslims around the world,' he said in a statement at the time. 

Jihadis Boko Haram and its IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province faction have recently stepped up attacks on military and civilian targets in Nigeria. 

Boko Haram killed seven people on Christmas Eve in a raid on a Christian village near the town of Chibok in northeast Nigeria's Borno state. 

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Nigeria acquires helicopter gunships to fight Boko Haram, bandits, others – Official

Nigerian Air Force Helicopter.

President Muhammadu Buhari held a crucial security meeting with his military chiefs and other heads of security agencies on Friday.

At the end of the meeting, an attendee told journalists that they “critically looked at everything ” and “are satisfied with the progress” being made to tackle the security challenges.

The Chief of Air Staff, Sadigue Abubakar, also told journalists at the State House in Abuja that the air force had acquired two helicopter gunships as part of the equipment to tackle the criminals including armed bandits in the North West.

“Some of the equipment we are acquiring have started arriving. For the Nigerian Air Force, two helicopter gunships have arrived on the 15th of January and we are now in the process of putting them together which will add to whatever we have,” he said.

Nigeria is battling with various forms of armed gangs and criminals across the country. These include the Boko Haram terrorists in the North-east, armed bandits in the North-west and armed kidnappers across the country.

At least 30 people were killed a couple of days ago and about 100 kidnapped when armed bandits attacked an emir’s convoy in Kaduna.

Friday’s security meeting is the first in 2020, the air chief said.

Read the full briefing by the air chief below.

“You recall that we had a meeting on the 30th December 2019 and today we held another one. The whole essence of the meeting is to critically evaluate what the armed forces of Nigeria, as well as other security and intelligence agencies, are doing with regard to ensuring that the territorial integrity of Nigeria is not undermined by any individual or group of individuals.

“We also looked at the emerging situations in some of our areas particularly acts of banditry in some of the North Western states and other parts of the country and we have critically looked at everything and we are satisfied with the progress we are making, we are satisfied with the support of the federal government is giving the armed forces and other security agencies in terms of procurement of platforms. Substantial number of these equipment are expected by the end of February. Some of the equipment we are acquiring have started arriving. For the Nigerian Air Force, two helicopter gunships have arrived on the 15th of January and we are now in the process of putting them together which will add to whatever we have.

“We are equally expecting other equipment like I said that are meant for the armed forces of Nigeria which we are hoping to get by the end of February. I am sure you are also familiar with the equipment acquisition by the Nigerian Police Force. I am sure you are also aware of the policy on community policing that was approved by Mr. President and it is going to be funded. The whole idea is to ensure that Nigeria is secured and Nigerians can go about pursuing their legitimate aspirations without any hindrance.

“I think basically that is what this meeting is all about and what we want to do here is to reassure Nigerians that the armed forces of Nigeria and indeed security and intelligence agencies in Nigeria are going to continue to work round the clock to ensure that our country is secured and to ensure that nobody undermines the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of Nigeria.

“We are going to keep a very close watch on what is going on and with the equipment that we are getting. Definitely, the challenges we are facing in some of the theatres of operation particularly the North-east will be addressed adequately.

“We are doing everything with the other sister countries in the Lake Chad Basin working together to ensure that the Boko Haram terrorism is brought substantially to an end as quickly as possible.

“I think our appeal is for all Nigerians and other stakeholders to join hands with the armed forces of Nigeria and other security and intelligence agencies to ensure that our country is secured rather than looking at other methods that are likely going to negate the national policy and community policing policy that the Federal Government has approved.

“What we expect is for all stakeholders, local government, state government, other stakeholders to join hands with us, let us work together to ensure that our country is secured.”

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Bomb blast on crowded bridge in Borno kills 30 people

30 people were killed in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno after an improvised explosive device detonated on a bridge.

The bomb detonated at roughly 5 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) on a crowded bridge in the market town of Gamboru that leads into neighboring Cameroon.

Witnesses in the market town said more than 35 injured people were taken to the local hospital following the attack.

“It is an unfortunate day for us to witness this frustrating and devastating incident in our community,” an eyewitness said.

“I just heard a loud sound of explosions, before I realized I saw many of our friends and colleagues were killed,” Said added.

A military spokesman said he would provide comment later in the evening.

Two sources with the Civilian Joint Task Force, a group of citizens formed to fight Boko Haram, confirmed the attack and the early death toll estimates.

No group immediately took responsibility. Both Boko Haram and the regional offshoot of Islamic State, known as ISWAP, are active in the area.

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Boko Haram abducts 18 in Cameroon’s Far North region

BY BANKOLE

Several security sources on Friday said eighteen civilians have been kidnapped by the terror group Boko Haram in raids in Cameroon’s Far North region.

Sources said the terrorists stormed several localities of the region, looted foodstuffs, and abducted 18 men and women.
According to local authorities, the Cameroon army is conducting a rescue mission to secure the safe release of the hostages.

The Army also said that on Thursday, Boko Haram killed 4 civilians in the Far North region.

About 2,000 Cameroonians have been killed since Boko Haram since 2014, according to security reports.

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Boko Haram: 22 health workers killed, 60 health facilities destroyed in Yobe

By Shehu Usman

Dr. Hauwa Larai Goni, Director Public Health at the Yobe State Ministry of Health, has disclosed that a total of 22 health workers lost their lives with 60 health facilities destroyed during the peak of Boko Haram insurgency.

The director made the disclosure at a one day workshop on improving access to healthcare services in post conflicts setting leads to building a resilient health system in Yobe state held on Tuesday in Damaturu.

She added that, over 300 health were also displaced during the period.

“A total of 90 health workers were attacked, 22 were killed, over 300 were displaced while 60 facilities were completely destroyed during the insurgency”, Goni said.

She noted that curfews, ban on motorcycles and GSM services cut-off for 6 months among others hindered access to healthcare delivery in the state.

The Director, however, pointed out that responsive policies, resources flow, developing institutional and individual capacities, livelihood support as well as community coercion were some the resilience and recovery methods adopted in reversing the ugly trend.

The State Deputy Governor, who is also the Chairman of the Task Force on Immunization and Primary Healthcare, Idi Barde Guban, represented by Alhaji Baba Ali, said the activities of the insurgents have resulted in the destruction of 1098 of public buildings and private properties including healthcare facilities in the state.

The workshop has a theme: “improving access to healthcare services in post-conflict setting: a case of Yobe State health system resilience.”

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Boko Haram takes over Mife in Chibok, troops kill 4 in Gwoza

By Maina Maina

Nigerian troops on Thursday killed three suspected Boko Haram fighters, recovered arms and ammunition along Gwoza area in Borno State.

A statement from Col. Ado Isa, Deputy Director Army Public Relations on Friday said the insurgents were neutralise following credible information from some patriotic Nigerians about terrorists movement along Banki Road Junction, Pulka in Gwoza general area.

The statement reads: ” troops of Special Response Area (SRA) Pulka under the Nigerian Army Super Camp Gwoza, in collaboration with Civilian Joint Task Force conducted a successful night ambush on Thursday 3rd October 2019, which resulted in the neutralization of 3 terrorists, recovery of 2 AK 47 Rifles and 2 motor cycles. Uncomfirmed number of terrorists were reportedly wounded during the ambush.

“There is no casualty on the Nigerian Army or Civilian JTF.

“Items recovered by troops include 2 X AK 47 rifles and 2 X bicycles.

“Similarly, at about 2250 hours on 3rd October 2019, in what seems like a reprisal attack to avenge the lost of their members in the ambush conducted by the troops, some marauders/criminals woefully attacked the Delta Company Location of the SRA at Pulka.

“Consequently, troops swiftly responded by effectively repelling the attack, one bandit lost his life and one Ak 47 rifle was recovered. No casualty was recorded by the Civ JTF or the troops.

“The Acting General Officer Commanding 7 Division and Commander Sector 1 Operation LAFIYA DOLE Brigadier General AK Ibrahim was in SRA Pulka where he interacted with the troops, commended them for the successes so far and urged them to remain committed and unwavering in the struggle to end the insurgency soon, ” the statement said.

Meanwhile, Boko Haram are reportedly attacking Mife, a village under Chibok local government of Borno State with villagers scampering for safe heaven in the area.

A resident, who spoke with one of his uncles in Maiduguri said that, soldiers have abandoned their base leaving the insurgents to have a field day.

According to a message sent to our correspondent via text, the Uncle, Malam Chiroma told DAILY POST that the attackers arrived at about 8:00pm and began to set the village ablaze after forcing the soldiers to take their leave.

"Our people are currently in the bush seeking refuge, and we need your prayers. They are everywhere and burning the village down." The text reads.

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