Boko Haram militants have seized the north-eastern Nigerian town of Chibok, from where they kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls in April.
Militants attacked and took control of the town, in Borno state, on Thursday evening, residents who escaped told the BBC.
Boko Haram has repeatedly targeted villages around Chibok over recent months.
The group says it is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria.
The schoolgirl kidnappings in Chibok caused worldwide outrage and sparked a social media campaign. Changed tactics
A senator for Borno state, Ali Ndume, told the BBC Hausa service that security forces posted in Chibok, a relatively small, mainly Christian town, ran away when the insurgents attacked.
Residents told the Sahara Reporters news website that the militants headed to the centre of Chibok and declared that they were taking it over as part of their caliphate.
BBC
Related stories: Video - The state of Nigerian governance and Boko Haram
The fake ceasefire with Boko Haram
Friday, November 14, 2014
U.S. responds to Nigeria's allegations with evidence showing aid and support given to Nigerian military
The United States has faulted the claim by the Nigerian government that it is standing in the way of the Nigerian military’s quest to procure weapons to strengthen its war against the extremist Boko Haram sect.
Answering questions during a press briefing, the U.S. Department of State spokesperson, Jen Paski, said Wednesday the American government has been supporting the Nigerian military in the area of intelligence sharing, training of soldiers and other measures in combating the insurgency.
On Monday, the Nigerian Ambassador to the U.S., Ade Adefuye, had accused the U.S. of letting Nigeria down in its hour of need by refusing to help the country procure weapon to combat Boko Haram.
“We find it difficult to understand how and why in spite of the U.S. presence in Nigeria with their sophisticated military technology, Boko Haram should be expanding and becoming more deadly,” he said. He said the U.S. was standing in the way of the Nigerian military procuring lethal equipment that would have helped the country end the deadly insurgency mounted against Nigeria by Boko Haram.
Dismissing the claims that the Nigerian military were involved in human rights violations, Mr. Adefuye also flayed the U.S. government for the manner it’s sharing intelligence with the Nigerian military, arguing that despite the claim by the Americans that things have improved in that aspect, “it is still there”.
However, during Wednesday’s briefing in Washington, the Department of State spokesperson said the U.S. has actually increased its support for the Nigerian military, especially in the last six months.
She said her government has improved intelligence sharing with the Nigerian military and has actually approved and sold some military equipment to the Nigerian military.
“Let me just lay out the facts of our assistance. Over the past six months, the United States has started sharing intelligence with Nigeria, began training a new army battalion and held numerous high-level discussions with Nigerian authorities on additional measures to best address the Boko Haram threat.
“We have also provided and approved sales of military equipment to its armed forces. These decisions are made, of course, after careful scrutiny to ensure they conform with United States law,” she said in response to a question about Ambassador Adefuye’s claims.
She explained that the U.S. refused to sell some Cobra attack helicopters to the Nigerian armed forces early this year because it was concerned the military had no capacity to operate and maintain it.
Ms Paski said there were also concerns over the protection of civilians during military operations.
“We shared those concerns with Nigeria before this decision and subsequent to it,” she said.
She said that the Nigerian military has however purchased helicopters from other sources and that the U.S. government did not prevent such purchases.
“Nigeria has purchased helicopters that originated in countries other than the United States, and nothing in our decision prevents Nigeria from obtaining weapons and equipment from other sources.
“We’ll continue to look for ways to deepen our cooperation with Nigeria to help it acquire the systems and skills needed to restore peace and security. But obviously, we’ve provided a great deal of assistance over the past several months.”
Ms Paski said the U.S. would continue to urge the Nigerian military to investigate allegation of abuses by soldiers and to do more in the area of training the country’s security forces to improve its effectiveness.
“We wouldn’t be raising that concern if we didn’t feel and others didn’t feel that they were warranted,” she said.
Premium Times
Related stories: U.S.A. blocks Nigeria from buying military helicopters from Israel
The fake ceasefire with Boko Haram
Answering questions during a press briefing, the U.S. Department of State spokesperson, Jen Paski, said Wednesday the American government has been supporting the Nigerian military in the area of intelligence sharing, training of soldiers and other measures in combating the insurgency.
On Monday, the Nigerian Ambassador to the U.S., Ade Adefuye, had accused the U.S. of letting Nigeria down in its hour of need by refusing to help the country procure weapon to combat Boko Haram.
“We find it difficult to understand how and why in spite of the U.S. presence in Nigeria with their sophisticated military technology, Boko Haram should be expanding and becoming more deadly,” he said. He said the U.S. was standing in the way of the Nigerian military procuring lethal equipment that would have helped the country end the deadly insurgency mounted against Nigeria by Boko Haram.
Dismissing the claims that the Nigerian military were involved in human rights violations, Mr. Adefuye also flayed the U.S. government for the manner it’s sharing intelligence with the Nigerian military, arguing that despite the claim by the Americans that things have improved in that aspect, “it is still there”.
However, during Wednesday’s briefing in Washington, the Department of State spokesperson said the U.S. has actually increased its support for the Nigerian military, especially in the last six months.
She said her government has improved intelligence sharing with the Nigerian military and has actually approved and sold some military equipment to the Nigerian military.
“Let me just lay out the facts of our assistance. Over the past six months, the United States has started sharing intelligence with Nigeria, began training a new army battalion and held numerous high-level discussions with Nigerian authorities on additional measures to best address the Boko Haram threat.
“We have also provided and approved sales of military equipment to its armed forces. These decisions are made, of course, after careful scrutiny to ensure they conform with United States law,” she said in response to a question about Ambassador Adefuye’s claims.
She explained that the U.S. refused to sell some Cobra attack helicopters to the Nigerian armed forces early this year because it was concerned the military had no capacity to operate and maintain it.
Ms Paski said there were also concerns over the protection of civilians during military operations.
“We shared those concerns with Nigeria before this decision and subsequent to it,” she said.
She said that the Nigerian military has however purchased helicopters from other sources and that the U.S. government did not prevent such purchases.
“Nigeria has purchased helicopters that originated in countries other than the United States, and nothing in our decision prevents Nigeria from obtaining weapons and equipment from other sources.
“We’ll continue to look for ways to deepen our cooperation with Nigeria to help it acquire the systems and skills needed to restore peace and security. But obviously, we’ve provided a great deal of assistance over the past several months.”
Ms Paski said the U.S. would continue to urge the Nigerian military to investigate allegation of abuses by soldiers and to do more in the area of training the country’s security forces to improve its effectiveness.
“We wouldn’t be raising that concern if we didn’t feel and others didn’t feel that they were warranted,” she said.
Premium Times
Related stories: U.S.A. blocks Nigeria from buying military helicopters from Israel
The fake ceasefire with Boko Haram
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Central Bank of Nigeria issues new 100 Naira digital note
FRONT
BACK
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has unveiled the first digital N100 paper note, to commemorate Nigeria’s Centenary. The new note was unveiled at the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting, in a presentation by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
The new note which has features for the visually impaired will be officially issued into circulation on Friday December 19, 2014. The unveiling is part of the series of activities lined up for the eventual injection of the new note into circulation.
On Wednesday, November 19, the new note will be sent to banknote equipment manufacturers and other machine suppliers to enable them adapt to machines and authentication devices.
On November 26, there will be a publication of the new N100 bank note to be sent by the CBN to commercial banks, chamber of commerce, Nigeria Police force, cash in transit companies etc.
On Wednesday December 3, leaflets on the N100 bank note will be sent to 1,000 Point Of Sales (POS) in the country, including a reminder about adapting machines and devices. While on Wednesday, December 17, a film showing how to check the new hundred naira bank note will go live on the CBN YouTube channel.
Explaining the features of the new banknote, Mr. Emefiele said the new note was designed with enhanced security to offer robust resistance against counterfeiting. “We have produced a banknote which is the first of its kind, but most importantly it has been designed and produced with most advanced technologies in the world,” he said.
He noted that in the process of producing the new note, the following was taken into consideration: “Durability, to make it tolerant in tropics and in doing that we introduced a two sided interglow barriers, both at the front and the back. We also made the note attractive for public acceptance. Emphasis was also placed on our rich cultural heritage. The note has a transformational character”.
Explaining the features he said on the front side of the note is a public authentication features, window micro-optics, showing the national flag and numeral100 indicating the value of the denomination and the attainment of the centenary period.
The second is a spark feature of a rolling manilla bar which was the instrument used during the slave trade era. A portrait of Chief Obafemi Awolowo is retained both in the ink, that is the interglow level, as a portrait and also in a paper as a shadow image.
“We made provision on the front for the visually impaired individuals in our midst by having a raised and embossed line,” he said.
At the back side, the CBN introduced a feature called Quick Response Code, QRC. It is a feature that highlights and sources all the information about the centenary. “This makes the note the first digital banknote in the world,” he said.
The QRC is an application found on the smart phone or Ipad. Once the barcode on the back of the note is scanned it shows the President’s face and then comes up with all information on Nigeria’s history. President Goodluck Jonathan thanked the CBN for unveiling the note.
The Coordinating Minister of Economy and minister of finance, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, said introducing the note was a smart move and the feature of the QRC is educative. But she went on to ask how much it will cost to print the notes. The President said this will be discussed when the memo is presented.
Premium Times
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Female suicide bomber attacks College in Kontagora, Nigeria
A female suicide bomber blew herself up on Wednesday at a college in Kontagora in Nigeria's central Niger State, close to the capital Abuja, a police spokesman said.
The bomb went off as the woman was trying to enter the college's library, a witness said.
"The female suicide bomber blew herself up before reaching her target," the police spokesman told Reuters by telephone.
Reuters
Related story: 46 students dead by suicide bomb blast during school assembly
The bomb went off as the woman was trying to enter the college's library, a witness said.
"The female suicide bomber blew herself up before reaching her target," the police spokesman told Reuters by telephone.
Reuters
Related story: 46 students dead by suicide bomb blast during school assembly
The fake ceasefire with Boko Haram
Nigerians were ecstatic on October 17 when the federal government announced a ceasefire deal with Boko Haram. If it had been true, years of ruthless killing of several thousand citizens would have been halted - suddenly - and the over-200 Chibok girls kidnapped seven months ago would have been freed.
Sadly, Boko Haram held out for no longer than half-a-dozen hours before unleashing an attack on Abadam Village in Borno State, killing a resident. Very early the following day, eight people were mowed down in Dzur Village, also in Borno, consequently extinguishing whatever hopes anyone nursed of a ceasefire.
So, within a day of the ceasefire announcement, delirious Nigerians had become crestfallen and had started asking: "Was there really a ceasefire?"
It was not until another two weeks, though, that the leader of the group, Abubakar Shekau, dealt the coup de grace to a peace deal that had quickly gained international traction.
"We have not made ceasefire with anyone. What is our business with negotiation? We did not negotiate with anyone... It's a lie; it's a lie. We will not negotiate," he said in a video released on October 31.
Who duped whom?
I feel little pity for President Goodluck Jonathan over the ceasefire debacle. For a whopping 18 days after Boko Haram struck in Chibok, Jonathan did not believe that an abduction of more than 200 girls indeed took place. He thought it was all a ruse - a propaganda by opponents of his re-election ambition.
And he neither saw the need to visit Chibok nor invite the grieving parents to Abuja. It took the pleading of a 17-year-old, Malala Yousafzai, for Jonathan to agree to meet with parents of the abducted girls "within 24 hours".
So if Jonathan's peace-deal effort is now being misconstrued as a lie, well, it's a taste of his own medicine. But in fairness to him, ceasefire negotiations were ongoing. Just with the wrong Boko Haram representatives.
In July and August, "Boko Haram commanders" wrote letters to the president of Chad, Idriss Deby Itno, himself a former rebel leader and well-decorated military officer, asking him to broker a ceasefire with Lagos.
It is a mystery what Alex Badeh, an air chief marshal and chief of defence staff, and Mike Omeri, coordinator of the National Information Centre (set up strictly to disseminate information relating to the insurgency) were thinking on October 17 when they gathered journalists together to tell them Boko Haram had announced a ceasefire.
"Already, the terrorists have announced a ceasefire in furtherance of their desire for peace," Omeri said gleefully. "In this regard, the government of Nigeria has, in similar vein, declared a ceasefire."
Exactly 10 days later, Aminu Wali, minister of foreign affairs, assured journalists that the ceasefire was intact.
"Boko Haram are saying that those ones [attacks] were done by other rogues and criminals," he said after meeting with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.
It was therefore shocking to hear Godswill Akpabio, governor of Akwa Ibom State and one of Jonathan's staunchest allies, blame the media for the post-ceasefire confusion. Tragic. Uncharitable. To be sure, Akpabio was speaking for the government and for Sambo Dasuki, the president's national security adviser (NSA).
"The NSA was of the opinion that high level contact with the Republic of Chad was made ... and of course, no agreement has been reached yet. It is just that the press probably misunderstood what was reported. The discussions are ongoing," he said.
According to journalist Ahmad Salkida, who has a close understanding of Boko Haram and its ideology, Danladi Ahmadu - the man who supposedly represented Boko Haram in the negotiations - would never have been chosen into the Shura (ruling council) of the terrorists because the name "Danladi" (meaning "born on a Sunday" - Christians' holy day) is "filthy" to the sect's Islamic orientations.
In short, it is clear that the government communicated with a powerless negotiator and most likely an impostor.
The announcement of what has turned out to be a phantom ceasefire is a gaffe Nigeria must learn from, especially the media and the military. The media must be discharging its reportorial responsibilities with stiffer scrutiny.
Clearly, it is not enough for the government to declare that "terrorists have announced a ceasefire". Who announced it on behalf of the terrorists? Where was it announced? How, too? And what was proof that it was the decision of the Boko Haram hierarchy - not just a minority? Those were unanswered questions that should have been raised to temper the public optimism that followed the announcement.
With Nigeria's main opposition party consistently haranguing and pillorying Jonathan for failing to halt Boko Haram, the president's men were desperate to polish his image ahead of the 2015 poll. The faintest hint of a ceasefire would work magic; it had to be announced to the media at once - even if prematurely. Looking back, the media was duped, and so were the people, in turn.
Salkida warned early on that "the government is more interested in shadows and bubbles than in substance". Few paid attention, it seems.
And so we are back to square one, having to deal with the disastrous strategy of the Nigerian military which has extended and broadened the conflict rather than curbed it.
Aljazeera
Related stories: Boko Haram agrees to ceasefire
Boko Haram kidnap more women after Nigerian government announce ceasefire
Sadly, Boko Haram held out for no longer than half-a-dozen hours before unleashing an attack on Abadam Village in Borno State, killing a resident. Very early the following day, eight people were mowed down in Dzur Village, also in Borno, consequently extinguishing whatever hopes anyone nursed of a ceasefire.
So, within a day of the ceasefire announcement, delirious Nigerians had become crestfallen and had started asking: "Was there really a ceasefire?"
It was not until another two weeks, though, that the leader of the group, Abubakar Shekau, dealt the coup de grace to a peace deal that had quickly gained international traction.
"We have not made ceasefire with anyone. What is our business with negotiation? We did not negotiate with anyone... It's a lie; it's a lie. We will not negotiate," he said in a video released on October 31.
Who duped whom?
I feel little pity for President Goodluck Jonathan over the ceasefire debacle. For a whopping 18 days after Boko Haram struck in Chibok, Jonathan did not believe that an abduction of more than 200 girls indeed took place. He thought it was all a ruse - a propaganda by opponents of his re-election ambition.
And he neither saw the need to visit Chibok nor invite the grieving parents to Abuja. It took the pleading of a 17-year-old, Malala Yousafzai, for Jonathan to agree to meet with parents of the abducted girls "within 24 hours".
So if Jonathan's peace-deal effort is now being misconstrued as a lie, well, it's a taste of his own medicine. But in fairness to him, ceasefire negotiations were ongoing. Just with the wrong Boko Haram representatives.
In July and August, "Boko Haram commanders" wrote letters to the president of Chad, Idriss Deby Itno, himself a former rebel leader and well-decorated military officer, asking him to broker a ceasefire with Lagos.
It is a mystery what Alex Badeh, an air chief marshal and chief of defence staff, and Mike Omeri, coordinator of the National Information Centre (set up strictly to disseminate information relating to the insurgency) were thinking on October 17 when they gathered journalists together to tell them Boko Haram had announced a ceasefire.
"Already, the terrorists have announced a ceasefire in furtherance of their desire for peace," Omeri said gleefully. "In this regard, the government of Nigeria has, in similar vein, declared a ceasefire."
Exactly 10 days later, Aminu Wali, minister of foreign affairs, assured journalists that the ceasefire was intact.
"Boko Haram are saying that those ones [attacks] were done by other rogues and criminals," he said after meeting with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.
It was therefore shocking to hear Godswill Akpabio, governor of Akwa Ibom State and one of Jonathan's staunchest allies, blame the media for the post-ceasefire confusion. Tragic. Uncharitable. To be sure, Akpabio was speaking for the government and for Sambo Dasuki, the president's national security adviser (NSA).
"The NSA was of the opinion that high level contact with the Republic of Chad was made ... and of course, no agreement has been reached yet. It is just that the press probably misunderstood what was reported. The discussions are ongoing," he said.
According to journalist Ahmad Salkida, who has a close understanding of Boko Haram and its ideology, Danladi Ahmadu - the man who supposedly represented Boko Haram in the negotiations - would never have been chosen into the Shura (ruling council) of the terrorists because the name "Danladi" (meaning "born on a Sunday" - Christians' holy day) is "filthy" to the sect's Islamic orientations.
In short, it is clear that the government communicated with a powerless negotiator and most likely an impostor.
The announcement of what has turned out to be a phantom ceasefire is a gaffe Nigeria must learn from, especially the media and the military. The media must be discharging its reportorial responsibilities with stiffer scrutiny.
Clearly, it is not enough for the government to declare that "terrorists have announced a ceasefire". Who announced it on behalf of the terrorists? Where was it announced? How, too? And what was proof that it was the decision of the Boko Haram hierarchy - not just a minority? Those were unanswered questions that should have been raised to temper the public optimism that followed the announcement.
With Nigeria's main opposition party consistently haranguing and pillorying Jonathan for failing to halt Boko Haram, the president's men were desperate to polish his image ahead of the 2015 poll. The faintest hint of a ceasefire would work magic; it had to be announced to the media at once - even if prematurely. Looking back, the media was duped, and so were the people, in turn.
Salkida warned early on that "the government is more interested in shadows and bubbles than in substance". Few paid attention, it seems.
And so we are back to square one, having to deal with the disastrous strategy of the Nigerian military which has extended and broadened the conflict rather than curbed it.
Aljazeera
Related stories: Boko Haram agrees to ceasefire
Boko Haram kidnap more women after Nigerian government announce ceasefire
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