Thursday, February 12, 2015
Video - Nigeria to investigate reports of child rape and trafficking in refugee camps
Officials are investigating claims of widespread abuse in the camps set up for people who've fled Boko Haram. There've been allegations of rape and child-trafficking.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Video - Boko Haram leader releases video promising to take on African Union troops
Nigerian militant group Boko Haram has mocked plans by the African Union to send a regional force into north-east Nigeria. The group's released a video welcoming the AU force and vowing to seize the soldiers, one by one.
Related stories: Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau apparently alive - releases new video
Military of Nigeria confirm Boko Haram leader dead
Nigeria military pledges neutrality in Presidential campaign
Nigeria's military pledged not to get involved in party politics on Wednesday, after concerns grew about its role in pushing for the country's presidential election to be delayed by six weeks.
Defence spokesman Major-General Chris Olukolade noted "the palpable tension being generated ... with regards to the roles of the Nigerian military in the ongoing political activities and recent developments, especially in relation to electioneering."
"It is important to reassure Nigerians that the military will remain professional, apolitical and non-partisan in all operations ... related to (elections)," he said in a statement.
The military faced accusations of interference when chairman of the electoral commission Attahiru Jega revealed that the office of the National Security Advisor had written a letter to him saying that unless he delayed the Feb. 14 election, it could not guarantee his security.
It urged a six week delay to enable them to contain the Islamist Boko Haram insurgency.
There have also been reports in the local press that the military colluded with the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) to try to influence the election in Ekiti state in May, a claim the military has not directly commented on.
Nigeria's decision to delay the poll on the advice of security forces was a worrying echo for some of the annulment of 1993's democratic vote by a military government.
President Goodluck Jonathan's PDP had pushed for a delay, while his main opponent Muhammadu Buhari of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) had urged the vote go ahead on time, arguing that a six-year old insurgency was hardly going to be solved in six weeks.
But the PDP also argued that the commission was not ready because millions of voters had not picked up their ID cards.
Reuters
Defence spokesman Major-General Chris Olukolade noted "the palpable tension being generated ... with regards to the roles of the Nigerian military in the ongoing political activities and recent developments, especially in relation to electioneering."
"It is important to reassure Nigerians that the military will remain professional, apolitical and non-partisan in all operations ... related to (elections)," he said in a statement.
The military faced accusations of interference when chairman of the electoral commission Attahiru Jega revealed that the office of the National Security Advisor had written a letter to him saying that unless he delayed the Feb. 14 election, it could not guarantee his security.
It urged a six week delay to enable them to contain the Islamist Boko Haram insurgency.
There have also been reports in the local press that the military colluded with the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) to try to influence the election in Ekiti state in May, a claim the military has not directly commented on.
Nigeria's decision to delay the poll on the advice of security forces was a worrying echo for some of the annulment of 1993's democratic vote by a military government.
President Goodluck Jonathan's PDP had pushed for a delay, while his main opponent Muhammadu Buhari of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) had urged the vote go ahead on time, arguing that a six-year old insurgency was hardly going to be solved in six weeks.
But the PDP also argued that the commission was not ready because millions of voters had not picked up their ID cards.
Reuters
Fmr President Olusegun Obasanjo says Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan's actions are inviting a military coup
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has raised fears that the political posturing of President Goodluck Jonathan – using the military to delay scheduled election – might invite a military coup on the country.
“The signs are not auspicious,” Mr. Obasanjo told the Financial Times in an interview in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital. “I don’t know whether a script is being played.”
“I sincerely hope that the president is not going for broke and saying ‘look dammit, it’s either I have it or nobody has it’. I hope that we will not have a coup . . . I hope we can avoid it.”
There have been concerns among opposition activists and civil society that Mr. Jonathan is excessively courting the armed forces and dragging them into politics.
National elections, earlier billed for February 14 and 28, were rescheduled for March 28 and April 11 following a “strong advisory” and a warning from the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, and military chiefs that they could not guarantee security for the polls.
The opposition All Progressives Congress has accused the military of being used by the Jonathan administration to scuttle the election after it had earlier given a clear commitment to provide security for the elections just three days before making a volte-face.
Many Nigerians also expressed concern when the Nigerian Army addressed a press conference in January, saying it did not have the original certificates of Muhammadu Buhari, the APC presidential candidate Mr. Jonathan’s party is battling to disqualify from running.
And just recently, a leaked audio recording suggested that Mr. Jonathan ordered the military to rig last year’s Ekiti governorship election in favour of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party.In his interview with the Financial Times, Mr. Obasanjo said the military, especially the army, is in bad shape and had not been properly led.
“It’s a question of leadership — political and military,” Mr. Obasanjo said. “I think you need to ask [Mr Jonathan] how has he let [the army] go to this extent . . . Many things went wrong: recruitment went wrong; training went wrong; morale went down; motivation not there; corruption was deeply ingrained; welfare was bad.”
There are suggestions Mr. Jonathan would prefer to hand over to the military rather than Mr. Buhari if he loses the coming presidential election, but there is so far no clear-cut evidence to suggest that, although the APC has repeatedly alleged that the president’s party is in cahoot with the military to rig the coming election.
In the interview published Tuesday, Mr. Obasanjo, a card-carrying member of the PDP, openly endorsed opposition candidate, Mr. Buhari, saying he is best for Nigeria at this time.
The APC candidate is a former military head of state, who ruled Nigeria between December 1983 and August 1985.
“The circumstances [Mr. Buhari] will be working under if he wins the election are different from the one he worked under before, where he was both the executive and the legislature — he knows that,” Mr. Obasanjo said. “He’s smart enough. He’s educated enough. He’s experienced enough. Why shouldn’t I support him?”
Mr. Obasanjo has repeatedly accused Mr. Jonathan of deepening corruption in Nigeria and mismanaging public funds.
Speaking about the financial crisis facing the country as a result of the crash in crude oil prices, Mr. Obasanjo sees some positives in the development.
“There’ll be less in the pot, for stealing or corruption,” the paper quoted him as saying.
Premium Times
“The signs are not auspicious,” Mr. Obasanjo told the Financial Times in an interview in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital. “I don’t know whether a script is being played.”
“I sincerely hope that the president is not going for broke and saying ‘look dammit, it’s either I have it or nobody has it’. I hope that we will not have a coup . . . I hope we can avoid it.”
There have been concerns among opposition activists and civil society that Mr. Jonathan is excessively courting the armed forces and dragging them into politics.
National elections, earlier billed for February 14 and 28, were rescheduled for March 28 and April 11 following a “strong advisory” and a warning from the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, and military chiefs that they could not guarantee security for the polls.
The opposition All Progressives Congress has accused the military of being used by the Jonathan administration to scuttle the election after it had earlier given a clear commitment to provide security for the elections just three days before making a volte-face.
Many Nigerians also expressed concern when the Nigerian Army addressed a press conference in January, saying it did not have the original certificates of Muhammadu Buhari, the APC presidential candidate Mr. Jonathan’s party is battling to disqualify from running.
And just recently, a leaked audio recording suggested that Mr. Jonathan ordered the military to rig last year’s Ekiti governorship election in favour of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party.In his interview with the Financial Times, Mr. Obasanjo said the military, especially the army, is in bad shape and had not been properly led.
“It’s a question of leadership — political and military,” Mr. Obasanjo said. “I think you need to ask [Mr Jonathan] how has he let [the army] go to this extent . . . Many things went wrong: recruitment went wrong; training went wrong; morale went down; motivation not there; corruption was deeply ingrained; welfare was bad.”
There are suggestions Mr. Jonathan would prefer to hand over to the military rather than Mr. Buhari if he loses the coming presidential election, but there is so far no clear-cut evidence to suggest that, although the APC has repeatedly alleged that the president’s party is in cahoot with the military to rig the coming election.
In the interview published Tuesday, Mr. Obasanjo, a card-carrying member of the PDP, openly endorsed opposition candidate, Mr. Buhari, saying he is best for Nigeria at this time.
The APC candidate is a former military head of state, who ruled Nigeria between December 1983 and August 1985.
“The circumstances [Mr. Buhari] will be working under if he wins the election are different from the one he worked under before, where he was both the executive and the legislature — he knows that,” Mr. Obasanjo said. “He’s smart enough. He’s educated enough. He’s experienced enough. Why shouldn’t I support him?”
Mr. Obasanjo has repeatedly accused Mr. Jonathan of deepening corruption in Nigeria and mismanaging public funds.
Speaking about the financial crisis facing the country as a result of the crash in crude oil prices, Mr. Obasanjo sees some positives in the development.
“There’ll be less in the pot, for stealing or corruption,” the paper quoted him as saying.
Premium Times
Alleged abuse in refugee camps for Nigerians displaced due to Boko Haram violence
Nigeria is to investigate reports of rapes, child trafficking and other abuses in camps for people fleeing from the militant Islamist group Boko Haram.
The country's National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) has formed a panel to investigate the abuses.
A spokesperson for Nema told the BBC that investigators would visit every camp for displaced people.
Approximately 3.2 million Nigerians have fled their homes to escape Boko Haram's insurgency in the northeast.
Nema's investigation is a response to a report published by Nigeria's Calabar-based International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR).'Grievous' abuses
The report, written by freelance journalist Charles Dickson, alleges that hundreds of young girls have been trafficked from internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.
Many victims were from unregistered, makeshift camps established when official camps could no longer cope, the report says.
It quotes an unnamed nurse as saying many children were brought to her hospital after being raped in the IDP camps.
It also alleges refugees are being sold as unpaid domestic workers, raped repeatedly, and in some cases burned and wounded with knives.
A spokesperson for Nema told the BBC that the allegations were "very grievous".
Ezikial Manzo said that the report published by the ICIR was the first Nema had heard of abuses at the camps and that its panel would "do everything in their power" to investigate.
Mr Manzo said that representatives from the ICIR had been invited to join the investigators as they toured the camps. He was not able to say how many camps there are, as many have been set up unofficially to cope with the millions of refugees.
Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission estimates that 3.2 million people have been displaced by Boko Haram's insurgency in the country's northeast, 1.6 million internally and 1.6 million in neighbouring Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
BBC Nigeria analyst Jimeh Saleh says Nema's decision to launch the investigation is significant as the allegations are extremely serious.
Many people do not report rape in Nigeria, and have little confidence in the police to investigate cases, he says.
They will be hoping that Nema's investigation will be credible, and help break the culture of silence around rape, our reporter adds.
Nema has given the investigators two weeks to compile their report.
Nigeria's upcoming general election, due to take place on 14 February, has been postponed until 28 March due to security concerns.
Government officials said the country's military would be unable to provide sufficient security for the poll due to the Boko Haram insurgency.
BBC
The country's National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) has formed a panel to investigate the abuses.
A spokesperson for Nema told the BBC that investigators would visit every camp for displaced people.
Approximately 3.2 million Nigerians have fled their homes to escape Boko Haram's insurgency in the northeast.
Nema's investigation is a response to a report published by Nigeria's Calabar-based International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR).'Grievous' abuses
The report, written by freelance journalist Charles Dickson, alleges that hundreds of young girls have been trafficked from internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.
Many victims were from unregistered, makeshift camps established when official camps could no longer cope, the report says.
It quotes an unnamed nurse as saying many children were brought to her hospital after being raped in the IDP camps.
It also alleges refugees are being sold as unpaid domestic workers, raped repeatedly, and in some cases burned and wounded with knives.
A spokesperson for Nema told the BBC that the allegations were "very grievous".
Ezikial Manzo said that the report published by the ICIR was the first Nema had heard of abuses at the camps and that its panel would "do everything in their power" to investigate.
Mr Manzo said that representatives from the ICIR had been invited to join the investigators as they toured the camps. He was not able to say how many camps there are, as many have been set up unofficially to cope with the millions of refugees.
Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission estimates that 3.2 million people have been displaced by Boko Haram's insurgency in the country's northeast, 1.6 million internally and 1.6 million in neighbouring Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
BBC Nigeria analyst Jimeh Saleh says Nema's decision to launch the investigation is significant as the allegations are extremely serious.
Many people do not report rape in Nigeria, and have little confidence in the police to investigate cases, he says.
They will be hoping that Nema's investigation will be credible, and help break the culture of silence around rape, our reporter adds.
Nema has given the investigators two weeks to compile their report.
Nigeria's upcoming general election, due to take place on 14 February, has been postponed until 28 March due to security concerns.
Government officials said the country's military would be unable to provide sufficient security for the poll due to the Boko Haram insurgency.
BBC
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