Terrorism: UN Security Council To Multinational Joint Task Force - Prevent Boko Haram From Regrouping

---Calls on International Mommunity to Provide Urgent Humanitarian Assistance for the People Affected by the Crisis

The UN Security Council has tasked the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to prevent the destructive Boko Haram insurgents, recently dislodged from its safe haven in Sambisa Forest, from regrouping.

The task force was set up by Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and the Republic of Benin to tackle Boko Haram insurgents. The Security Council, in a Presidential Statement, reiterated that terrorism should be combated in all forms to prevent its spread.

“The Council urged the Multinational Joint Task Force participating countries to further enhance regional military cooperation and coordination. The Force should deny safe haven to Boko Haram, and facilitate the restoration of civilian security and the rule of law in areas liberated from the militant group.”

London-Paris Club loans: Our Governors should fear God and pay outstanding salaries and pensions (Photo)

The Federal Government has released N388.304 billion out of N522.74 billion to 35 states as refunds of over-deductions on London-Paris Club loans.

Topping the list of states with the hugest reimbursements are states controlled by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), contrary to their claims that they were being financially oppressed by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

IDPs: WE'RE GUIDED BY INTERNATIONAL BEST PRACTICE AND STANDARDS, SAYS PRESIDENT BUHARI

President Buhari with R-L:
United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees Flippo Grandi,
Mrs Angele Dikongue Antangana,
Mr Edward Kallon and Regional Rep. for
West Africa Mrs Liz Ahua at the State
House on 19th December, 2016.

Nigeria is guided by international best practice and standards in rehabilitating millions of internally displaced persons (IDPs) spawned by the Boko Haram insurgency, President Muhammadu Buhari has affirmed.

Speaking while receiving Mr Phillipo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Monday in State House, Abuja, President Buhari disclosed that Nigeria was making efforts to domesticate the Kampala Convention, which legally binds governments to protect the rights and wellbeing of people forced to flee their homes by conflict.

The President lauded the military, which he said has created a safe passage that has made it easier to help the displaced persons.

END OF BOKO HARAM IN SIGHT – PRESIDENT BUHARI

President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Dakar, Senegal assured the international community that the end of Boko Haram terrorists was in sight, even as he hailed the increased cooperation between Nigeria and its neighbours in the fight against terrorism.

Speaking at a Panel of Heads of State at the 3rd Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa, the President also assured the international community that the security situation in Nigeria had improved significantly.

‘‘About a month ago, I spoke with the President of Chad and I was pleased that a number of Chadians and Nigerians that were Boko Haram members are surrendering to him en-masse. The good news I have is that the end of the raining season has come in the North eastern region of Nigeria.

FG DELEGATION VISITS LIBERATED COMMUNITIES NOW IN IDP CAMP IN BAMA

*TEAM SENT FROM PRESIDENCY TO ASSESS CURRENT SITUATION OF RESCUED PERSONS AMID CONCERNS ABOUT MALNUTRITION

*NUTRITIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARED IN BORNO STATE

Determined to bring relief to recently rescued Boko Haram captives and to ensure their well-being in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in the Northeast, the Federal Government has conducted an on-the spot assessment at the camp in Bama .

At the visit, the delegation led by the Presidential Special Adviser on Social Investments, Mrs. Maryam Uwais restated government's firm commitment to bringing relief to the thousands of recently rescued Boko Haram captives currently hosted in the IDP camp in Bama, Borno State.

“We're here to see for ourselves the situation on the ground here,” she said.

The delegation, which included senior officials of the Borno State Government, officials of the National Emergency Management Agency, the State Emergency Management Agency, and representatives from the United Nations, was taken around the camp, home to 25,000 adults and children, by the Brigade Commander of the 21 Armoured Brigade, Bama, Colonel Adamu Garba Laka.

How Boko Haram kills seven police officers in Niger

The terrorist group Boko Haram has killed seven police officers in Niger Republic, the Interior Minister Mohamed Bazoum said on Saturday.

The terrorists attacked the village of N’Gagam near the Nigerian border on Friday evening, Bazoum said.

Urgence Diffa, which monitors the security and humanitarian situation in the area, reported that the attackers arrived in vehicles and opened fire on the police officers in the village.

Climate Change: FG raises alarm as River Niger drying up

THE Federal Government, yesterday, raised talarm over imminent drying up of River Niger due to climate change and dumping of industrial waste. 

The Auditor General of the Federation, AGoF, Mr. Samuel Tyonongo Ukura, raised the alarm during a meeting with the Edo State Auditor-General and members of the Edo State Public Accounts Committee in his office in Abuja. Ukura, however, assured that Nigeria was in the process of conducting an environmental audit of the River Niger to determine its level of dryness.

Kaduna Govt speaks on recent police actions, urges calm on petrol supply

The Kaduna State Government has not started enforcing the prohibition of begging and hawking. A government statement explained that the prohibition of begging law will not take effect until after 60 days. The statement added that it is the police that is currently undertaking arrests within Kaduna as part of security operations directed by the Inspector General of Police.

According to Samuel Aruwan who is the Special Assistant to the Governor Media and Publicity: “The Kaduna State Government has not directed the police to enforce the begging law, which is not due to come into force yet. Malam Nasir El-Rufai has repeatedly stated that rehabilitation opportunities would be offered for the disabled. The State Executive Council has just approved a Disability Policy, which is a necessary precursor to the drafting of any bill or other measures to promote the rights of the disabled.

Operation to recover the Chibok girls is alive and ongoing

The Nigerian Military says operation to recover the Chibok girls is alive and still ongoing but added that it will not be in a hurry to rescue the secondary schoolgirls in Chibok who were abducted in April 2014.

The Acting Director, Defence Information, Military Headquarters, Abuja, Col. Rabe Abubakar, who said this at a press conference in Lagos on Thursday, noted that while it was of utmost concern to the military to rescue the girls, the operation required demanded adequate patience and planning.

Col. Rabe Abubakar added that recent efforts by the military in the rescue of over 200 women and children held captive by Boko Haram proved that the military was on course in recovering the girls.

He said, “The issue of the low morale of the Nigerian military men has now become a thing of the past. The operation to recover the Chibok girls is alive and still ongoing. We have continued to make rescue efforts, and we will do all within our powers to bring the girls.

MUHAMMADU BUHARI URGES WORLD LEADERS TO DISMANTLE SAFE HAVENS FOR PROCEEDS OF CORRUPTION

President Muhammadu Buhari Monday in New York called on the international community to urgently redouble its efforts to strengthen mechanisms for dismantling safe havens for proceeds of corruption.


Addressing world leaders at the 70th General Assembly of the United Nations, President Buhari also urged his counterparts to do more to return stolen funds and assets to their countries of origin.


Observing that corruption, cross-border financial crimes, cyber crimes and human trafficking are major challenges of the 21st century which the international community must work collectively to overcome, President Buhari reaffirmed his administration's determination to frontally confront the twin evils of corruption and illicit financial outflows.

Boko Haram and Refugee situations of the Displaced Persons

As the Islamist Boko Haram terrorists ceaselessly continue their jihadise attacks, killing and kidnapping of the innocent Nigerians living in the North Eastern parts of the country, many have been displaced and their conditions worrisome.

Nigerian government is neither committed to fighting the insurgents to any stand still nor ready to put an end to the kidnapping and rescue the kidnapped by the sect nor pay any attention to those displaced.


Photos: NIGERIAN REFUGEES that escaped from Northern Terror to Niger and Cameroon:

Pius Adesanmi: No Wonder Rere dey Run

Aso Rock Villa. Living Room of the President’s private residence. Israeli, American, French, Chinese, Cambodian, Somalian, Sudanese, and Ghanaian security operatives protecting the Nigerian president are in the background. They try to make themselves unobtrusive. Also in the background, chanting Quranic hymns on mats imported from Chad, are marabouts from Niger, Senegal, and Gambia. At the centre of the living room, some distance away from all the foreign intelligence and spiritual protectors of the President, the usual suspects gather, wearing gloomy faces: President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Tony Anenih, Baba Iyabo, Ayo Oritsejafor, Mohammed Adoke, Doyin Okupe, Reuben Abati, and other inconsequential AGIPs. Nobody is talking. Soft music oozes from a central entertainment system. An old school Yoruba tune probably supplied by Doyin Okupe and Reuben Abati:

Insurgence, religion, extremism and the challenges of the Nigerian Army in the fight against Boko Harram - by: Comrade Jasper Azuatalam

The origin of Boko Harram

In 1995, the group was said to be operating under the name Shabaab, Muslim Youth Organization with Mallam Lawal as the leader. Members were taught and encouraged to deepen their knowledge in Islam and become devout Muslims. When Lawal left to continue his education, Mohammed Yusuf took over leadership of the group. Yusuf’s leadership allegedly opened the group to political influence and popularity. The group was originally established at Ibn Taymiyyah mosque, which was named after Boko Haram's spiritual head.

Yusuf officially founded the group in 2002 in the city of Maiduguri with the aim of establishing a Shari'a government in Borno State under then-Senator Ali Modu Sheriff. He established a religious complex that included a mosque and a school where many poor families from across Nigeria and from neighboring countries enrolled their children. He started wooing the poor and feeble with his philanthropy and began to teach inciting sermons.

How Osama’s Al-Qaeda group back Boko Haram — France president

After the Paris summit on security situation in West Africa, French President Francois Hollande said Saturday that Nigeria’s Boko Haram had “established links” to  Osama’s Al-Qaeda group and urged countries in the region to devise a common strategy to combat its threat.

Speaking at during the  summit in Paris with Nigeria and neighbouring countries, Hollande said: “Boko Haram has become a major threat for all of west Africa and now for central Africa. Its links to AQMI (Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) and other terrorist organisations have been established.”

CHIBOK!!! You Need To Understand That Jonathan Can't Go There

Poor Ebele Jonathan! All his demoralized people can see is the fact that he tucked his tail between his legs, did 440 away from Chibok, and ran into the comforting arms of Papa Francois Hollande in Paris. Now the people are saying that even the second arm of our conjugal diarchy, President Mrs Patience Jonathan, seems to be displaying a more robust testicular fortitude than our man who thought discretion was the better part of valour.

How Cameroon, Chad, Niger became a den of terrorists: Boko Haram get cross-border assistance for their operations

Take a very close look, if you have the heart, at the gory pictures of the wreckage at Nyanya Mass Transit Park, Abuja rocked by bomb blast in the early morning of Monday, April 14, 2014. About 100 people were killed, over 200 others sustained injuries, many maimed, burnt beyond recognition while nearly 18 high capacity buses, several smaller commercial vehicles and cars filled with passengers ready to leave, all destroyed in the explosion planned and mindlessly executed by Boko Haram Islamist insurgents.

Immediately following on the heels of the Nyanya deadly blast about 234 female students of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, were abducted by the Boko Haram sect after sitting for the West African School Certificate (WASC) examinations. This has caused international outrage as USA, Britain and other western European countries have pledged to assist Nigeria in efforts to rescue the abducted school girls.

Boko Haram: World Power Are Interested In Our Downfall - President Jonathan

The Nigerian President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan has again re-stated his position on the increasing attacks by the Islamist Terrorist, Boko Haram, saying that that the world powers are the brain behind the dreaded group.

President Jonathan made the disclosure during the 7th presidential media chat. This is not the first time the president will be making the allegations that with the level of the Boko Harm operations and the kind of sophisticated weapons in their cares, they are getting more than domestic backing but also foreign sponsors too.

According to the president: “Were are receiving an unfair share of the global terror.”

President Jonathan said while trying to blame external [foreign] forces targeting the destruction of Africa’s largest economy [Nigeria]. He argued that because of Nigeria’s size and economy, many world forces are interested in its downfall.

TERRORISTS: THE PAMPERED CHILDREN OF THE NORTH NIGERIA

by Emmanuel Chigozie Osuchukwu

Nigeria is presently in a dangerous impasse and there are many who believe that the country is on the throes of disintegration. If the mindless insurgency and bloodletting ravaging particularly the Northern part of the country is not enough evidence, the ongoing national conference is a clear indication that all is not well. The primary question is how Nigeria got to this dreadful position – to a point where it is safer to live in Afghanistan, Iraq or Somalia. Thanks to a new phenomenon called Boko Haram. Then we ask again, who or what is Boko Haram? I can only at this point say that it is a faceless organisation that we are unsure who they really are except that they are predominantly people drawn from the Northern part of Nigeria, with a clear proclivity towards Islamic fundamentalism and a violent disapproval of mainstream Nigerian, albeit western values. We could also say a sort of rebels without cause.


There is nothing really surprising about the emergence of Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria. Many commentators saw it coming and many were condemned for ever predicting that Nigeria will come to such a state. Hence today the Nigerian press is full of comments such as: ‘serves the North right’; ‘they should have seen it coming’; ‘they brought it on themselves’ etc. It is not that such commentators are not appalled by the wanton killing of innocent women and children or grieve over the senseless killing of now mostly Northern Nigerian youths who could easily have become tomorrow’s doctors, lawyers, teachers and footballers. But many Nigerians have grown up to believe that the North somehow does not disapprove of senseless killing of innocent lives and we have strong reasons stretching over many decades to assume so. The only surprise is that those who should have anticipated it are the very ones expressing surprise and blaming others for the pitiable state of particularly Northern Nigeria and the country generally. Some supposedly knowledgeable Northern opinions have gone as far as accusing the federal government of President Jonathan of masterminding the ongoing killings in the north. But let us put Boko Haram and the problem of the North in its true perspective.

Punch: I was chased out of Sudan when I raised the alarm about Boko Haram – Ambassador Bola Dada

Ambassador Bola Dada shares his experiences in international affairs as a former diplomat with ADEOLA BALOGUN and JESUSEGUN ALAGBE

When did you retire and how are you spending your time now?

I retired from the federal civil service in June 2009, and since my retirement, I have been working in the farm. I am a farmer as well as a consultant. I consult for people on oil and gas and on any business connected to any of the countries where I worked before. I provide information and materials to anybody who is interested in businesses in such countries like Iran, which is the last country I was posted to. I am now into snail farming.

Apart from Iran, where else did you serve?

Fulani Herdsmen Targeting FCT - Army Raises The Alarm, Distress call saves community as troops continue onslaught on terrorists

The Nigerian Army  yesterday raises alarm that the herdsmen that have been attacking and killing innocent people in some states in the north are targeting the Fedral Capital Territory, Abuja, the seat of the government. 

The Military cautions the populace against identifying with them. Fulani herdsmen, who have been operating under the cover of the night, according to the military, were hired by some unscrupulous faceless people to unleash terror on the populace.

The terrorists have killed about 2, 000 innocent people in the last few weeks. Security forces have been dispatching troops to Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau states at the directive of President Goodluck Jonathan. Some top officers that were sent to Benue on fact-finding mission were said to have written a damning report that showed that the herdsmen were coming into the country from the neighbouring countries to attack, kill and destroy.