The Nigerian Air Force, NAF, says it carried out several air strikes on suspected Boko Haram terrorists’ locations on the outskirts of Tumbin Gini and Tumbin Kayewa, Northeastern Borno State, on Friday 16 September 2016.
A statement posted on the force’s social media page on Sunday said that the air strikes were in continuation of NAF’s efforts at finishing the remnants of the Boko Haram terrorists in the North East.
The statement added that “the air strikes were as a result of ground based intelligence and successive Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance reports obtained from several missions flown by NAF platforms.”
“A post-strike battle damage assessment of the the strikes revealed that the rendezvous was badly damaged with many casualties while those far from the vicinity could be seen scrambling to safety.”
The NAF said that the aircrafts involved in the operations were the NAF F-7Ni and the Alpha jets.
It added that the air operations have continued to make life difficult for the terrorists.
“This has enabled unhindered advance by the surface forces as part of the ongoing Operation GAMA AIKI,” the statement added.
Recall that the NAF had, in an earlier operation successfully conducted air strikes on Boko Haram camps at Tumbin Rego on 26 August which led to the death of many high ranking members of the group.
Below is the link to the video of the airstrikes as released by NAF.
After losing three children and her 40-year-old husband to a bomb blast at Saint Teresa’s Catholic Church Madala, Niger State, 33-year-old Chioma Dike says her only prayer is that her two surviving children be strong enough to forge ahead with her.
The whole family was in the church vicinity on Christmas day in 2011 when the explosion by the Boko Haram struck.
When she was told by medical practitioners that her only surviving son had a secondary missile, more like a nail, inside his head, Mrs. Dike hoped for help from government and well-meaning Nigerians to end the sufferings of the 11-year-old.
“Government gave us hope. They said they would treat us fully and in good hospitals,” she said.
However, five years after the blast, Mrs. Dike’s son still lives with the nail in his head.
“Most times he suffers headaches and becomes dizzy as a result of the problem,” she told PREMIUM TIMES.
“Even in July this year I took him from Suleja to the National Hospital in Abuja for a treatment which I had to pay for from the meagre income I receive through the trading business I am managing.
“One of the drugs cost N2, 800 for its singular purchase,” said Mrs. Dike in a telephone conversation with PREMIUM TIMES.
The sad story shared countless times by Mrs. Dike is similar to that of other victims of bomb explosion in Nigeria.
However, it was not meant to be so as the Federal Government established a fund to support the victims; or so it seems.
THE VICTIMS SUPPORT FUND
In its bid to assist victims of the Boko Haram insurgency and rebuild destroyed communities, the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan put in place a Victim’s Support Fund, VSF.
The committee supervising the VSF, led by Theophilus Danjuma, a retired Army General, organised a fund raising in 2015 to address the challenges of those directly affected by the insurgency.
Over N54 billion was pledged as donations to the VSF.
According to the Executive Director of the Fund, Solomon Ochoche, about half of the pledge has so far been redeemed.
“N28 billion has been redeemed out of N54 billion which was pledged,” he told PREMIUM TIMES.
While recounting the expenditure, Mr. Ochoche said N3.8 billion has been spent on projects for the welfare of various victims of terror in Nigeria since the establishment of the VSF in 2015.
Of that sum, N227 million was shared among 14 hospitals across North-East Nigeria for the care of civilians affected by bomb explosions, he said.
Another N35 million was given to two military hospitals for the same purpose.
When asked about treatment of victims of the various bomb explosions that happened in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, and neighbouring states, the director said their treatment was not initially part of the Fund’s mandate.
“At the beginning; the Victims Support Fund identified three areas of intervention; women economic empowerment, educational support for children and psycho-social support,” he said.
“Those were the areas identified and the needs in these areas are very broad. When we later identified the enormity of the needs of bomb blast victims; VSF decided to step in to help support the health challenges of the victims,” he added while explaining that the funds largest expenditure was a N2 billion donation to the Safe School Initiative in the North East.
Mr. Ochoche’s explanation appears to contradict the aim of setting up the fund as espoused by ex-President Jonathan while inaugurating the committee.
“Our gathering here today is to kick-start the process of providing succour to our people who have been directly affected one way or the other by acts of terrorism in the country,” Mr. Jonathan had said.
VICTIMS UNIONISE
To ensure a more cohesive push for government attention, some of the victims of the various explosions formed the Bomb Blast Victims Association of Nigeria, BVAN.
The Chairman of the association, Kayode Olatunji, said the most fortunate of those affected by the bomb blasts were only assisted by government during the early stages of the incidents.
“Every member of the BVAN will tell you, like it was the case with me, that they only got help for a while at the hospital,” said Mr. Olatunji.
Mr. Olatunji who was affected by the April 8, 2011 bomb explosion at the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, office in Suleja explained that he still has some treatments pending for his eyes, ears and bones.
Scene of bomb blast in Nyanya, Abuja, in 2014
“I was treated with assistance from government at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Gwagwalada, Abuja for four months and two weeks, after which I was made to fully continue the treatment, since help no longer came from government,” he said.
“One of my ears is still down; my left eye requires a cornea transplant while my right eye has been affected with cataract; all as a result of the incident,” Mr. Olatunji told PREMIUM TIMES.
He said he still goes for treatment at the UTH in Gwagwalada and another hospital managed by the Evangelical Church of west Africa (ECWA), in Kano, with whatever funds he is personally able to come up with.
Mr. Olatunji also told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr. Ochoche had stated that money under the care of the fund was not meant for them.
“All efforts to get funds from the VSF to help our members have failed,” he said. “Professor Ochoche asked us to find ways of getting government to listen to our problems, as funds under his care was not meant for us.”
MORE VICTIMS LAMENT
Like Mrs. Dike, other victims of bomb explosions also lament their situation.
Favour Duke, whose husband was killed in the June 25, 2014 bomb blast at Emab plaza, said she joined BVAN so that she might be assisted with a job to feed her seven-year-old daughter.
“My husband was the bread winner of the family. We were practically comfortable with what he provided,” the Banking and Finance graduate told PREMIUM TIMES.
“However since he died it has been one problem or the other. A couple of months back my daughter took ill and almost died. It took the grace of God with the assistance of the church I attend to provide over N200, 000 needed for her medication.”
“Even the house we live in has been due for the renewal of its rent, for almost two years now. The only reason we are still able to remain here is that the house currently has legal issues. Any time they demand that it should be demolished or sealed, I don’t know where to go to,” she said.
Mrs. Dike said her effort to start a day-care business was frustrated by the construction of a bridge around their house, which made it impossible for people to take their children to her home.
“I live from day to day, anxious about what the next challenge might be,” she told PREMIUM TIMES.
Another victim, Monica Solomon, narrated her experience after surviving the May 1, 2014 explosion in Nyanya, Abuja.
Mrs. Solomon, 38, sustained severe burns which affected both her hands and legs.
After initial reluctance, she narrated her ordeal.
“I had gotten off that morning to go to work as usual. I boarded a bike from my house to the bus stop at Nyanya. After getting there I stood under the bridge, awaiting a taxi to take me to work.
“There was a vehicle in front of me, but I never knew that the vehicle was loaded with a bomb. I had turned and decided to move to a different spot after I saw a man, whose appearance I didn’t like.
“Suddenly I heard a loud sound and lost consciousness. When I woke up, I was covered with the heat of fire.
“They brought a police van that carried us to the Asokoro District Hospital, from where we were transferred to Garki, because the authorities at Asokoro said there was no bed.
“The same complaint was made, also at Garki District Hospital and we were taken to that of Wuse, where I was kept for two weeks before I was taken to Teaching Hospital at Gwagwalada.”
At Gwagwalada Teaching Hospital, Mrs. Solomon said she was faced with an entirely new policy, from that which obtained at Wuse hospital, where her medical bills were fully paid for.
At that point of her narration, her husband, Adebosun Solomon, who was present during the interview, interjected.
Mr. Solomon said even at the Wuse hospital, he had to foot some of the bills.
“A day after the visit of the Minister, Bala Mohammed, I was made to pay for a cream that was to be applied on my wife’s hand. The Hospital authorities at Wuse actually said they had the cream, but added that the person holding the keys to the place where the cream was kept, was not around.
“The cream was N2,500. They also asked me to pay for an injection whose single dosage cost N3,500 and my wife had six of that injection at the time,” he said.
“Even the promise of feeding my wife for free was practically impossible, as we had to buy the kind of food that was good for my wife.”
According to Mr. Solomon they began to fully foot the bills for every treatment when they arrived Gwagwalada Hospital.
He added that the situation got so bad that his wife’s hands started stinking before he was advised to take her home and apply alternative or traditional methods of treatment which were more affordable.
“Even now though the wounds have practically healed from the outside, the problem is still not over. Every evening from 7 p.m., we will not sleep. Her hand will become very itchy,” he said.
According to Mrs. Solomon, all she has prayed for, since the incident is that some help will come to put her hands back in good shape, so that she can find another job and help her civil servant husband.
She explained that months after the explosion, her employer, Dumo Casino, a transport agency where she had worked for 21 years, laid her off with a severance pay of only N150, 000.
Her husband stated that he had to visit the company’s office several times, before they released the money in two instalments of N50,000 and N100,000 respectively.
WE CAN’T EXTEND MANDATE
While many bomb victims continue to live in pain and helplessness, the VSF, which still has over N24 billion of unspent funds said it cannot do more.
“It is not possible for the VSF to cater for all the people affected by these terror,” Mr. Ochoche told PREMIUM TIMES.
The official said his agency had identified and provided funds for 14 hospitals to treat the victims.
When told that the identified hospitals often referred the victims to other hospitals not among the 14, Mr. Ochoche said his agency could no longer assist such victims.
“If they go to hospitals that we have asked them to go to and they are referred to other hospitals, I am sorry but we cannot take responsibility for that. It is the hospitals that will know how to sort themselves out.”
When asked how his agency planned to spend its remaining N24.2 billion, the VSF official said the funds are spent based on the determination of the committee’s short, medium and long term budgeting objectives.
“You cannot just spend the money like that,” he said. “The expenses have to be determined by the committee and then after I have drafted the budget based on the short medium and long term needs, they will have to approve it before any expenses are made.”
FirstNation Airways has resumed flight operations in Nigeria on Sunday evening, one month after it suspended flights to enable the aircraft fleet undergo engine maintenance.
NAN reports the airline made the announcement through its Twitter account which stated that it would resume flights by 4 p.m. on Sunday 18th September 2016.
The airline announced the suspension of its flights on August 17 few days after another airline, Aero contractors made a similar announcement.
The development created panic in the aviation sector as there were speculations that the companies were closing shop due to the current economic challenges facing the country.
However, Chimara Imediegwu, the Director of Flight Operations, dispelled the rumuor that the airline was folding up, explaining that it voluntarily grounded the aircraft to await the arrival of a team to carry out routine maintenance on some of its aircraft.
He said “the FirstNation management planned well ahead and kept the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority ,NCAA, informed of the progress of the maintenance of its aircraft.
“The airline planned this maintenance action well ahead. We notified passengers and flights are currently loaded online, effective Sept. 15.
“This will ensure that passengers continue to enjoy safe and reliable services that the airline is reputed for.”
Recall that another airline, Arik Air, resumed operations on Sept. 14, after suspending its flight operations for 24 hours over issues relating to aircraft insurance renewal.
Investigators sort through debris in search of evidence in front of St. Vincent de Paul Church, on W. 23rd St. between Sixth and Seventh Aves., following the explosion late Saturday. Photo: JASON SZENES/EPA
At least 29 people were injured by the explosion which rocked the Chelsea neighbourhood of Manhattan, New York, Saturday night.
The blast, believed to be a terrorist act, was suspected to have come from a homemade improvised device.
The New York Times reported that Mayor Bill de Blasio, who described the incident as “an intentional act”, said “Whatever the cause, New Yorkers will not be intimidated”.
A second device was said to have been found while no suspect was arrested immediately. But police authorities vowed to get to the root of the matter.
New York City is host of a UN meeting and Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari is scheduled to address the UN Assembly.
Following intense pressure by the Bring Back Our Girls campaigners and other civil society organizations, the Federal Government has given a detailed explanation of the efforts made to secure the release of Chibok girls, who were kidnapped by the Boko Haram in April 2014.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said at a press conference in Abuja on Friday that President Muhammadu Buhari, on assumption of office, directed security agencies to locate and ensure safe rescue of the girls.
Mohammed said that the Department of State Services, DSS, on July 17, 2015 began negotiations with the insurgents, who demanded that their fighters in detention be released.
He noted that the negotiation stalled due to the division in the Boko Haram group.
He however assured Nigerians that the government is committed to the release of the girls.
“Officers and men have sacrificed their time and energy, and some have already paid the supreme price since the abduction of the Chibok girls, fighting for the safe release of the girls,” the minister stated.
“Many friendly countries and organisations have equally been very forthcoming in providing their human and technological resources to assist in the process. They are still doing so. We cannot, as a nation, ignore these sacrifices.
“The government and its security agencies remain committed to ensuring that the Chibok girls are safely released in fulfillment of the presidential mandate.
“Let me emphasize that government appreciates the resilience of Nigerians in the fight against insurgency and terrorism, and will continue to call on fellow Nigerians to hold that much is ahead and therefore support Mr. President’s resolve on this matter,” he concluded.
The families of insurgents currently been rehabilitated by the Borno State Government grew on Friday as 566 Boko Haram orphans and widows were handed over to the State by the military in Maiduguri.
The handing over was done by the General Officer Commanding the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri, Victor Ezugwu, a Brigadier General, at a newly opened rehabilitation and reintegration center in Maiduguri
They include 355 babies, 149 breastfeeding mothers and 62 under-aged children evacuated from Boko Haram camps during clearance operations the Nigerian Army.
Governor Kashim Shettima reiterated that his administration will continue to cater for the children and families of the insurgents in order to break the Boko Haram cycle of violence as a way of securing the future of the state.
He said: “Our ultimate aim in taking custody of families of insurgents is to cut the cycle of violence so as to secure the future of Borno State.
“Our aim is to give education to the children of the insurgents so that these children will grow to despise the values and doctrines their parents lived and preached.
The governor vowed that “The children will not be trained with any element of hate for their parents, they won’t even be told about the ways of their parents so that they don’t grow with deflated self-esteem.
“These children will be raised like every other child, they will be raised to love and not to hate like their parents wished for them.
“They will be trained to save lives and contribute to building and growing communities not to take lives and destroy communities like their parents would wish. This is why we are determined to take care of these children.
“I am speaking in English knowing that they don’t hear what I am saying because we don’t want them to have low self-esteem. We will train them to have big dreams and to pursue their dreams of becoming productive citizens.”
He expressed optimism that some of the children will become future leaders and renowned professionals.
“They will insha Allah, contribute to nation building and part of the future of Borno State. We must love and care for each other,” he maintained
He urged the people of the state not to discriminate against the families of the insurgents as most of them were innocent of the crimes committed by their spouses.
The governor said: “In our societies, a lot of women neither know what their husbands do nor do they have control over their husbands.
“Our security forces do thorough investigation in ensuring that anyone freed is proven innocent of violent activities.
“As for the children, they are innocent little souls who have got absolutely nothing to do with the sins of their fathers.
“They didn’t determine their parents, they were brought to life without any prior knowledge of the violence their parents perpetuate.
“I have seen some people criticise us on the social media but I think whoever criticizes what we are doing should be forgiven for making expression out of ignorance on the basis of what we are doing,” governor Shettima explained.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, has said that the country’s power generation has increased from 3,810 megawatts on September 8 to 4,285.90 megawatts on Friday.
The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that the power generation record was reported in the website of “Nigerian Electricity System Operator’’.
TCN said the total output by power generation companies had been transferred to the 11 distribution companies across the country.
Electricity generation in the country has been stable in the last two months, rising from about 2, 983 megawatts to over 4, 000 megawatts.
Although power has improved, many parts of the country have remained with poor supply owing to problems with the distribution companies, including provision of pre-payment meters.
Acting Chairman of Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, Anthony Akah, recently disclosed that no fewer than four million electricity consumers in the country were awaiting supply of the meters.
Mr. Akah said that although the commission had improved on metering system, unavailability of meter manufacturing companies was hindering the maximum provision of the product to Nigerians.
He said the commission would sanction any distribution company which failed to comply with directives relating to the distribution of meters.
The Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ in the South East zone, has condemned what it called the unlawful and unwarranted arrest and detention of Journalists by men of the Ebonyi State Police Command for alleged ties with members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB.
It would be recalled that the Ebonyi State correspondent of New Telegraph Newspaper, Uchenna Inya was reportedly detained by the police, following a tip off that he was doing a report on the 17th anniversary of the MASSOB in the state.
Though the said report was not published, yet Inya was allegedly detained for more than five hours with his phone and working tools taken from him, before he was later released.
National Vice President of the NUJ in the South East zone, Chris Isiguzo, on Friday condemned the actions of the police.
He stressed that the arrest and detention of journalists does not conform to the principles of true democracy as is being practiced in the country.
He said the police should not see Journalists as enemies but allies in the fight against criminality and social vices.
Isiguzo also appealed to journalists to ensure that their operations are within the ambit of the law and to present their reports accurately and objectively.
He said journalists must eschew rancor and infighting among themselves so as not to give those outside the scope of journalism the leverage to molest them.
The governors addressed a press conference after their meeting on Friday
The Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, have urged the federal government to treat the resurgence of polio as a matter of national emergency.
Chairman of the forum, Abdulaziz Yari spoke to State House correspondents after an emergency meeting on Friday at the Presidential Villa.
He also said the forum agreed to activate the states task force on polio or the primary health care to be led by the deputy governors.
“Governors are also committed to pay their counterpart funding to meet their obligation to polio eradication” Yari said.
The governor of Zamfara State also stated that the forum will support all the plans by the federal government to reflate the economy in view of the economic recession.
On Lassa Fever, he said “we are going to engage with the Minister of health so that urgent attention will be given to Lassa Fever.”
Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun and Minister of Budget and Planning, Udoma Udo-Udoma
The Minister of Budget and Planning, Udo Udoma, and his Finance counterpart, Kemi Adeosun, on Friday explained the various strategies being adopted by the federal government to stabilise the country’s economy.
Udo-Udoma, who appeared as a guest on a television breakfast programme, explained that the country needs money so as to raise more money
“Foreign currency shortage is responsible for where we are today.
“What we need to recharge the economy, is foreign currency,” he stated.
Udo-Udoma however pointed out that his ministry has come up with a fiscal stimulus plan which they had been developing over the last month.
Other plans through which the ministry intends to raise money include “asset sales, concessioning and advance payment from licensing rounds”, all aimed at raising between 10 to 15 billion dollars.
The minister also asked for more patience and understanding of Nigerians, as according to him everything is being done to ease their pains.
“I want Nigerians to be patient, we are on top of the Job, we know what to do but it takes time,” he appealed.
Meanwhile, Kemi Adeosun, Minister of finance has intimated that the federal government is set to inject an additional 350 billion naira (1.1 billion dollars) into the economy and raise 1 billion dollars from Eurobonds by mid-December to ease the recession.
Adeosun told journalists in Abuja that the additional funding, on top of the initial 420 billion naira released in May, is primarily for capital expenditure projects that would also involve support from local banks and transaction partners.
She noted that Nigeria plans to borrow a total of 1.8 trillion naira at home and abroad to fund an expected budget deficit of 2.2 trillion naira.
According to her, the government has approved borrowing from the African Development Bank, China, Japan and World Bank with rates of 1.25 percent and a 20-year maturity, in order to revive the crashed economy.
