COAS, Tukur Buratai, a Lt-General, is credited with leading the battle from the front
The military has continued to record significant victories in its bid to bring the Boko Haram insurgency to an end, with news that many terrorists have surrendered to troops.
Army spokesperson, Sani Usman, said in a press release that new strategies deployed by the military, which include relentless offensives and blocking of all known routes used by the terrorists by troops on the ground and pre-emptive air strikes by the Nigeria Air Force, have left the sect’s members with little choice.
“Many of the terrorists that willingly surrendered painted images of mass panic and hysteria among their erstwhile colleagues, who are feeling the noose tightening on their necks with the relentless efforts of troops and renewed vigour in operations inspired by the personal leadership of the Chief of Army Staff,” Usman said.
He said the suspects and their erstwhile colleagues might have been informed about the screening and de-radicalisation being done by the military and other security agents, which lead to the release of innocent suspects.
Usman also reiterated the military’s willingness to bring a quick end to the insurgency. He called on citizens not to relent in providing useful information in this regard.
President Muhammadu Buhari has been asked to reintroduce the War Against Indiscipline, WAI, campaign, which proved successful as the focal point of the military regime of 1983 to 1985 when he was head of state.
The call was made by Archbishop of the Jos Ecclesiastical province and Bishop of Maiduguri Diocese of the Anglican Communion, Emmanuel Kana Mani, who celebrated 25 years as a Bishop in Maiduguri.
Kana said the call is necessary because indiscipline and corruption have dragged the country backward despite the availability of relevant laws to deal with them.
“The degree of lawlessness in Nigeria is very high, thereby making our laws and codes of behavior a mere paper work, which has never seen the light of the day.
“War Against Indiscipline (WAI), against corruption must be fought by all. Corruption is man-made or man-driven,” the clergyman said.
“The ‘sacred cow’ syndrome must be totally eliminated. Nobody is above the law, therefore, let President Muhammadu Buhari intensify his fight against corruption while we assured the President of our prayer and support to sensitized Nigeria,” he stated further.
Kana, who said the story of insurgency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states can only be told better by the people of the states because they have experienced the crisis first-hand, emphasised the need for peaceful coexistence among the people of Maiduguri.
“Living in unity does not mean that we will all agree on everything. Yet, we must agree on our purpose in life to work together for God. Our outward expression of unity in diversity is to de-emphasize our differences and emphasize our togetherness,” he noted.
While calling on the media to remain unbiased in its reporting, he commended journalists for how they have covered the North east, particularly in the six years of the Boko Haram insurgency.
“The way and manner you gave reports throughout during the time of insurgents attacks is highly commendable. Continue to uphold the ethics of your noble profession and allow God to work in you for the desired changed we are all yearning for in this country,” Kana added.
The governor of Edo state, Adams Oshiomhole, has warned the newly installed Ogiamen of Benin Kingdom, Rich-Arisco Osemwengie, to stop parading himself as a traditional ruler or face criminal prosecution.
Osemwengie, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Edo State, was recently installed to fill the vacancy left by the disappearance of the erstwhile chief, Ogiamen Osarobo, whose family members say left his palace since 1998 and has not returned or been seen since then.
“We need to put our house in order. The Ogiamen we suddenly disappeared and we cannot trace him. If we do not put our house in order, who will renegotiate Ekiokpagha treaty?” spokesperson for the family, Monday Wehere, said, adding that the decision to appoint Osemwengie was borne out of the fact that Osarabo had no heir, as he could not bear a child before his mysterious disappearance.
“The whole of us have resolved that Osarobo cannot rule us again. He just disappeared. He has Master Degree in History. He left 1998. He has no child as at the time he left.”
However, in a swift reaction, the state government has failed to recognize the new chief and has vowed to take legal action should he continue to assume the role of Ogiamen.
“Government will invoke the relevant sections of the Traditional Rulers and Chieftaincy Law, 1979, which prohibit any person or group to proclaim self as a Chief or Traditional Ruler, a breach of which is a criminal offence,” the government said in a statement issued by the Secretary to the State Government, Julius Ihonvbere.
The statement also condemned the seeming disrespect shown by the popular Ogiamen family towards the Oba of Benin, who is the paramount ruler of the entire Benin Kingdom, and said it would not hesitate to sanction anyone found to disrespect the Oba or disturb the peace of other persons.
“Government condemns in strong terms, the disrespect the Ogiamien family has shown to HRM Omo N’ Oba N’Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba of Benin.
“Government will take steps to prevent any act which is capable to cause a breach of the peace,” the statement added.
The Ogiamen family is very famous in Benin Kingdom, more so that the Ogiamen Palace was reportedly the only building standing, following the British invasion in 1897, which resulted in Benin being burnt down.
However, the installation of an Ogiamen is seen by the Benin Palace as tantamount to running a parallel monarchy, something which has caused tension in the Kingdom.
A bomb blast at the internally displaced persons camp in Yola, Adamawa State capital, has killed seven people and injured 20 others, including four officials of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, the relief agency has confirmed.
According to the agency’s spokesperson, Sani Datti, the bomb, which went off around 11am, was planted in a tent.
“Among the injured seven (7) were treated and discharged while thirteen (13) persons including four (4) NEMA officials are still receiving treatment at Federal Medical Center, Yola,” Datti said.
The bomb attack came as a surprise because the camp is not easy to get to as a result of its closeness to a military cantonment and presence of soldiers both on the way to the camp and at the entrance.
Also, it is the first place where refugees deported from Cameroun are processed before they are transported to Maiduguri or relocated in the state.
However, a security agent familiar with the camp explained that it is difficult to detect someone carrying explosives, especially with the influx of refugees from Cameroun.
“With the large number of people coming into the camp at once, someone can easily come in with explosives and you won’t know. For example, an old woman can use her old age to hide something underneath her and you may even be the one to help her alight from the vehicle, not bothering to check her,” the source, who did not want to be mentioned, told our reporter on phone.
Former governor of Niger state, Babangida Aliyu, is accused of stealing billions from the state
By Samuel Malik
Niger State governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, has announced the state government’s intention to probe the administration of former governor Babangida Aliyu over financial impropriety running into several billions of naira, including suspicious and fictitious contracts.
The governor in a broadcast on the state of affairs of the state, said the Financial Management Committee set up by the government to look into the financial records of the state uncovered questionable withdrawals and allocation of funds, most of which could not be accounted for.
Specifically, a review of the State and Local Government Joint Account by the committee, according to the governor, revealed that more than N70 billion was withdrawn from two bank accounts of the Government House by few people between 2007 and 2015.
“The operation of the joint Account was characterized by diversions and misapplications of huge funds especially those paid to Ward Development Projects and 10KM Roads Projects.
“For instance, out of the total sum of over N11Billion paid to the accounts of Ward Development Projects, the relevant officials of the Ministry of Local Government could not account for N2.86Billion, while N 613Million was spent on “ghost” vehicles and N675.50 million was said to be lent to Ministry of Finance where the funds cannot be traced. Similarly, the sum of N 498 Million purportedly spent on security cannot be traced to any security outfit or individual,” Bello stated.
The governor alleged that a conduit through which the state’s fund was syphoned is the 10KM Road Projects, where more than N1 billion was diverted and shared among Local Government Chairmen Forum, Government House and office of the Secretary to the State Government.
This, he said, led to contractors abandoning several road projects in the state.
Also, the past administration allegedly used special projects as a means of swindling the people of the state.
For example, a N233.3 million Solar Power Street Lightening contract was awarded and a down payment N174 million made, only for the contract to be revoked and re-awarded to another contractor at the cost of N792Million, which is twice the initial cost.
The Minna Modern Stadium project also proved to be bad business. The initial contract of N2.4 billion was reviewed to N1.8 billion after the government had paid N606M for design and preliminary works, which it later rejected without recovering the money spent.
Also, N1 billion naira taken from the stadium’s account for the purchase of shares in the North-South Power Company was not returned despite the state government later divesting from the company.
More questionable, the governor noted, was a loan of N2.96 billion taken in 2014 by the Ministry of Local Government despite it having a bank balance of N3 billion. It was discovered that the money was frittered away.
“Apart from the amount of N994M transferred to the Pilgrims Welfares Board, the Ministry officials could not account for N 203M while N 572M and N530M were paid into the accounts of Government House and SSG’s office respectively. These amounts were later on paid out in cash to PDP officials and other individuals. The vehicles for which N30M was purportedly spent are nowhere to be found,” the governor explained.
Another questionable transaction was in selling quoted shares by state by the State Development Company. More than N500 million generated from the sale of shares belonging to the government was allegedly not paid into the state’s account.
In 2014, the government of Babangida Aliyu reportedly set aside N1.06 billion for Ramadan while N897 million was spent on the purchase of Sallah rams.
A contract for digging of pit toilets was allegedly awarded at an astonishing N6 million each.
The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, on Thursday handed over to the Borno State government 551 Nigerian refugees who had been deported from Cameroon in the latest wave of displaced persons sent back home.
The refugees, who are all indigenes of Borno state, were handed over by the North east coordinator of NEMA, Mohammed Kanar to the Executive Secretary of BOSEMA, Alhaji Bulama Dawud at Njimtilo checkpoint, which is the entry point into Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
The returnees, it was gathered would be camped at the Gubio Road Housing Estate IDP camp set up by Borno State government.
More than 5,000 Nigerian refugees deported from Cameroon are still being expected to arrive Nigeria through Adamawa State in the coming weeks.
The information officer of NEMA in the North east, AbdulKadir Ibrahim, said that about 600 refugees were deported back to Borno earlier in August.
Former military administrator of Kaduna State, Hameed Ali, a retired Colonel, has resumed duty as the new Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, two weeks after he was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Upon resumption, Ali had a meeting with management of the Service where he told them what the President expects of him.
“The mandate he has given me are three basic things: go to Customs, reform Customs, restructure Customs and increase the revenue generation, simple. I don’t think that is ambiguous, I don’t think that is cumbersome. It is precise and I believe that is what all of you are here to do,” he said, according to a statement issued by Customs spokesperson, Wale Adeniyi.
There had been speculation about why Ali did not resume immediately he was appointed, with some saying he had wanted to get the assurance from the President that he would operate as sole administrator and report directly to him, rather the Minister of Finance, as was the practice.
At the meeting, the new CG told the management that his mission was to rebuild and strengthen the Customs and that he could only achieve that with the support of every staff.
Born in Dass local government in Bauchi state on January 15, 1955, Ali graduated from the Nigeria Defence Academy in 1977 and seven years, he proceeded to the Sam Houston State University in the U.S., where he graduated in 1988.
He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Criminology.
Ali served as military administrator of Kaduna State between 1996 and 1998. Before then he had been appointments include General Staff Officer II, Military Police Headquarters, 1981-1982, General Staff Officer II, 1 Mechanised Div, Kaduna, 1992, and Commander, Special Investigation Bureau, Apapa, Lagos 1994-1996.
The National Examination Council, NECO, has announced only 16 per cent of nearly a million students had credits in English and Mathematics in the June/July 2015 results.
The NECO Registrar, Abdulrashid Garba, revealed this while confirming the release of exams results on Thursday at body’s national headquarters in Minna, Niger State.
Despite the poor result, Garba admitted an improved performance in contrast with the previous year, adding that 68.56 per cent of candidates got more than five credits this year.
He said the 2015 result was an improvement from 2014 when 52.29 got above five credits and noted that a candidate population of 969,491sat for the examination out of the 969,991 registered.
The examination body’s registrar also revealed that 0.11 per cent cases of malpractice were recorded and that the results of candidates involved have been cancelled.
“The 2015 examinations result was released within 60 days after the final paper. This shows a great success achieved by the council.
“Lists of schools which were involved in examination malpractice have been blacklisted and the results of students who wrote in such centres have been cancelled,” he said.
Garba advised candidates who participated in the two-month long examination to access their results on the website of NECO.
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, Gabriel Olonisakin, a Lieutenant General
Chiefs of Defence Staff of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, are meeting in Dakar, capital of Senegal, to discuss security challenges affecting the West African sub-region and how to tackle them.
The meeting, the 35th edition, will see the security chiefs deliberate on ECOWAS Standby Force, ESF, and the Peace Support Operations Division, PSOD, the ECOWAS Mission in Guinea Bissau, with attention paid to the exit strategy and implementation of the Defence and Security Sector Reform Programme, DSSRP, in the country
The Nigerian delegation which is led by the country’s Chief of Defence Staff, Gabriel Olonisakin, include Chief of Naval Staff, Ibok-Ete Ibas, a Vice Admiral, and Chief of Training and Operations at Defence Headquarters, Shehu Yusuf, a Major General.
The Nigerian contingent is expected to brief the meeting on how the country has responded to the challenge posed by Boko Haram, especially the role of the multinational force.
A statement by Defence spokesperson, Rabe Abubakar, a Colonel, recalled that “Gen Olonisakin attended similar meeting some days back in Mali where regional efforts to curb terrorism and insurgency were extensively discussed.
“With increased regional and continental awareness of the evil of the terrorism and related crimes in the West African Sub Region, the perpetrators of evils will have it rough with regional forces,” Rabe said.
61 senior officers of flag ranks – 28 Rear Admirals and 33 Commodores will be transfered from their current unit of duty following the approval of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-EteIbas.
In a statement by the Director Naval Information, Commodore Kabir Aliyu, the Navy said the redeployed senior officers would resume at their new units from the third week of September 2015.
The statement said: “Rear Admiral SU Chinweuba, formerly Admiral Superintendent Naval Dockyard Lagos, resumes as Chief of Naval Engineering, Naval Headquarters while Rear Admiral PA Agba, formerly Chief of Logistics has been appointed Chief of Naval Transformation.
“Read Admiral J.A. Ajani has been moved from Defence Headquarters to Naval Doctrine and Assessment Centre as Admiral Superintendent while Rear Admiral SI Alade, formerly Chief of Naval Transformation, moves to the National Defence College as Commandant,” the statement further said.
