The UN may have stepped in to avert the execution of the 54 Nigerian soldiers who were recently convicted and sentenced to death for refusing to fight against the insurgent group Boko Haram, if indications from a Non-Government Organisation (NGO) are anything to go by.
According to the Nigeria-based Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), the Office of the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Arbitrary or Summary Executions, Mr. Christof Heyns, has promised “appropriate action including communication to the government of President Goodluck Jonathan'' to avert the soldiers' execution.
SERAP said in a statement sent to PANA Sunday that the promise followed a petition submitted to Mr Heyns in December 2014 in which the group asked five UN human rights independent experts to individually and jointly use their “good offices and positions to urgently request the Nigerian government and its military authorities not to carry out the mass death sentences imposed on 54 Nigerian soldiers for what the government claimed was disobeying a direct order from their commanding officer.”
“SERAP has been in discussion with Johel Dominique at the Office of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, arbitrary or summary executions both on the telephone and via email. Johel Dominique has confirmed that the Special Rapporteur is considering appropriate action to avert the imminent execution of 54 soldiers on death row in the country.
''We have also confirmed to the Special Rapporteur that SERAP has the consent of Mr Femi Falana, SAN, the legal counsel to the 54 soldiers to file the petition,” the NGO said.
It welcomed the decision by Mr. Heyns to intervene in the matter, saying given his longstanding human rights commitment and achievements, ''we have absolutely no doubt that Mr Heyns will work assiduously to ensure that justice is done in this matter and we wish him well as he strives to do that.”
On 17 Dec., 2014, a Nigerian military court convicted 54 soldiers for conspiracy to commit mutiny and sentenced them to death by firing squad.
The facts of the case indicate that the soldiers, from the 111 Special Forces, were charged for disobeying a direct order from their commanding officer, Timothy Opurum, a Lieutenant Colonel, to take part in an operation to recapture Delwa, Bulabulin and Damboa in North-east Borno State from Boko Haram terrorists on 4 Aug. 2014
The conviction and sentence have generated controversy in Nigeria, with key opposition leaders and some retired military officers saying the soldiers, who claimed they were poorly equipped, were right to refuse to fight against a better-armed insurgent group.
Nigerian military courts have been engaged in a spate of trials resulting from the actions or inaction of troops deployed to battle the insurgency. Twelve other soldiers were sentenced to death in Sept. 2014 while many other trials are pending.
PanaPress
Related stories: Former General criticizes Nigerian army for sentencing 54 soldiers to death
Monday, January 5, 2015
President Goodluck Jonathan sister passes away
President Goodluck Jonathan’s younger sister, Nancy Jonathan-Olei, died on Sunday, a statement from the family said.
The announcement is contained in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, in Abuja.
According to the statement, Mrs Jonathan-Olei, 52, passed on in the early hours at a hospital in Yenagoa after a brief illness.
It said that the burial arrangements would be announced later by the family.
Premium Times
The announcement is contained in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, in Abuja.
According to the statement, Mrs Jonathan-Olei, 52, passed on in the early hours at a hospital in Yenagoa after a brief illness.
It said that the burial arrangements would be announced later by the family.
Premium Times
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Boko Haram seize army base in north-eastern Nigeria
The militant group Boko Haram has seized a town and key multinational military base in north-eastern Nigeria, officials and eyewitnesses say.
A senator in Borno state said troops had abandoned the base in the town of Baga after it was attacked on Saturday.
Residents of Baga, who fled by boat to neighbouring Chad, said many people had been killed and the town set ablaze.
Baga, scene of a Nigerian army massacre in 2013, was the last town in the Borno North area under government control.
It hosted the base of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), made up of troops from Nigeria, Chad and Niger.
Set up in 1998 to fight trans-border crime in the Lake Chad region, the force more recently took on Boko Haram.
Boko Haram attacks towns and villages on an almost daily basis, abducting people including young boys and girls, BBC Africa analyst Mary Harper reports.
The military, which includes Western advisers and surveillance, seems incapable of dealing with the problem, she adds.
'Helter skelter'
Residents who fled to Chad said they had woken to heavy gunfire as militants stormed Baga early on Saturday, attacking from all directions.
They said they had decided to flee when they saw the multi-national troops running away.
Maina Maaji Lawan, senator for Borno North, told BBC World Service civilians had run "helter skelter" - "some into the forest, some into the desert".
Communications with the town were cut off and exact information about casualty numbers could not be confirmed, he said.
"We are very dispirited," the senator added.
Confirming that the military had abandoned the base, he said people's frustration knew "no bounds" over the apparent fact that the military had not fought back.
"There is definitely something wrong that makes our military abandon their posts each time there is an attack from Boko Haram," the senator said.
A senator in Borno state said troops had abandoned the base in the town of Baga after it was attacked on Saturday.
Residents of Baga, who fled by boat to neighbouring Chad, said many people had been killed and the town set ablaze.
Baga, scene of a Nigerian army massacre in 2013, was the last town in the Borno North area under government control.
It hosted the base of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), made up of troops from Nigeria, Chad and Niger.
Set up in 1998 to fight trans-border crime in the Lake Chad region, the force more recently took on Boko Haram.
Boko Haram attacks towns and villages on an almost daily basis, abducting people including young boys and girls, BBC Africa analyst Mary Harper reports.
The military, which includes Western advisers and surveillance, seems incapable of dealing with the problem, she adds.
'Helter skelter'
Residents who fled to Chad said they had woken to heavy gunfire as militants stormed Baga early on Saturday, attacking from all directions.
They said they had decided to flee when they saw the multi-national troops running away.
Maina Maaji Lawan, senator for Borno North, told BBC World Service civilians had run "helter skelter" - "some into the forest, some into the desert".
Communications with the town were cut off and exact information about casualty numbers could not be confirmed, he said.
"We are very dispirited," the senator added.
Confirming that the military had abandoned the base, he said people's frustration knew "no bounds" over the apparent fact that the military had not fought back.
"There is definitely something wrong that makes our military abandon their posts each time there is an attack from Boko Haram," the senator said.
Related stories: Boko Haram kidnap 40 boys and young men in remote village
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Parents of kidnapped schoolgirls appeal to U.N.
Parents of 200 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Islamist rebels in April said they were appealing directly to the United Nations for help after losing hope that the Nigerian government would rescue them.
A group lobbying for government action on behalf of the parents met with U.N. Women, the head of the U.N. representation in Nigeria, and with officials of the U.N. Office for West Africa last month. The group has also appealed to UNICEF, campaign spokeswoman Bukola Shonibare said.
U.N. officials were not immediately available for comment.
"If the government cannot take action, we are asking for the UN to come in and help and if they reject, we just don't know what to do," Reverend Enoch Mark, leader of the parents, told Reuters. Two of his daughters were kidnapped.
It is not clear what any U.N. agency could do without Nigerian government approval.
More than eight months since the abduction of the girls from Chibok, in remote northeastern Borno state, parents say they are still in the dark about what the government is doing.
A presidential spokesman said efforts to free them continue but that details of the missions are too sensitive to publish.
On April 14, Boko Haram militants raided the school while the girls were taking exams. They loaded 270 of them onto trucks. Around 50 escaped shortly afterwards.
Boko Haram, which is fighting for an Islamic state and whose name means "Western education is sinful", had been kidnapping children for more than a year, but the scale of this attack shocked the world and sparked a #BringBackOurGirls Twitter campaign that drew in celebrities including Michelle Obama.
The five year old insurgency has killed thousands of people, displaced more than a million and raised fears voting in presidential elections on February 14 will be impossible across stretches of the northeast.
"The Chibok community is pained, we cannot take this anymore," Dauda Iliya, spokesman for the Chibok community in Abuja, said at a New Year's Day rally of parents, adding that they had written to the United Nations to "protest this neglect and nonchalance by the government."
President Goodluck Jonathan says the government is trying to free the girls but a botched rescue mission would endanger them.
Dozens, possibly hundreds, have been kidnapped since the Chibok attack. Two weeks ago, gunmen abducted 172 women and children from Gumsuri, 24 km from Chibok.
Reuters
A group lobbying for government action on behalf of the parents met with U.N. Women, the head of the U.N. representation in Nigeria, and with officials of the U.N. Office for West Africa last month. The group has also appealed to UNICEF, campaign spokeswoman Bukola Shonibare said.
U.N. officials were not immediately available for comment.
"If the government cannot take action, we are asking for the UN to come in and help and if they reject, we just don't know what to do," Reverend Enoch Mark, leader of the parents, told Reuters. Two of his daughters were kidnapped.
It is not clear what any U.N. agency could do without Nigerian government approval.
More than eight months since the abduction of the girls from Chibok, in remote northeastern Borno state, parents say they are still in the dark about what the government is doing.
A presidential spokesman said efforts to free them continue but that details of the missions are too sensitive to publish.
On April 14, Boko Haram militants raided the school while the girls were taking exams. They loaded 270 of them onto trucks. Around 50 escaped shortly afterwards.
Boko Haram, which is fighting for an Islamic state and whose name means "Western education is sinful", had been kidnapping children for more than a year, but the scale of this attack shocked the world and sparked a #BringBackOurGirls Twitter campaign that drew in celebrities including Michelle Obama.
The five year old insurgency has killed thousands of people, displaced more than a million and raised fears voting in presidential elections on February 14 will be impossible across stretches of the northeast.
"The Chibok community is pained, we cannot take this anymore," Dauda Iliya, spokesman for the Chibok community in Abuja, said at a New Year's Day rally of parents, adding that they had written to the United Nations to "protest this neglect and nonchalance by the government."
President Goodluck Jonathan says the government is trying to free the girls but a botched rescue mission would endanger them.
Dozens, possibly hundreds, have been kidnapped since the Chibok attack. Two weeks ago, gunmen abducted 172 women and children from Gumsuri, 24 km from Chibok.
Reuters
Boko Haram kidnap 40 boys and young men in remote village
Suspected Boko Haram militants have kidnapped about 40 boys and young men in a raid on a remote village in north-eastern Nigeria, residents say.
People who fled Malari village in Borno state and arrived in the state capital, Maiduguri, late on Friday said the men had been taken on New Year's Eve.
Last year Boko Haram abducted about 200 girls from a boarding school in Borno.
More than 2,000 people were killed in militant violence last year in north-eastern Nigeria.
Boko Haram has been waging an insurgency since 2009, and is seeking to create an Islamic state in north-eastern Nigeria.Whisked away
In the latest incident, Malari residents said gunmen had come to the village in pick-up trucks and ordered all males to come out and listen to a sermon.
Young men were then rounded up and taken into a nearby forest.
Last month suspected Boko Haram militants stormed another village, Gumsuri. A survivor told the BBC that 33 villagers had been killed and about 200 people kidnapped.
Militants attacks have increased since three Nigerian states - Borno, Adamawa and Yobe - were put under emergency rule more than 18 months ago.
The kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in April sparked international outrage.
Despite military assistance from countries such as China, France, the UK and the US, the girls have not yet been rescued.
BBC
People who fled Malari village in Borno state and arrived in the state capital, Maiduguri, late on Friday said the men had been taken on New Year's Eve.
Last year Boko Haram abducted about 200 girls from a boarding school in Borno.
More than 2,000 people were killed in militant violence last year in north-eastern Nigeria.
Boko Haram has been waging an insurgency since 2009, and is seeking to create an Islamic state in north-eastern Nigeria.Whisked away
In the latest incident, Malari residents said gunmen had come to the village in pick-up trucks and ordered all males to come out and listen to a sermon.
Young men were then rounded up and taken into a nearby forest.
Last month suspected Boko Haram militants stormed another village, Gumsuri. A survivor told the BBC that 33 villagers had been killed and about 200 people kidnapped.
Militants attacks have increased since three Nigerian states - Borno, Adamawa and Yobe - were put under emergency rule more than 18 months ago.
The kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in April sparked international outrage.
Despite military assistance from countries such as China, France, the UK and the US, the girls have not yet been rescued.
BBC
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