Wednesday, June 20, 2018
Video - Nigerian authorities discover at least 257 illegal orphanages in Imo State
At least 257 illegal baby factories were recently uncovered in Imo State. Scores of children have been rescued. It's part of a government directive to eradicate illegal orphanages. Reports say that only 15 of the 272 foster care homes in Imo state are legal. The first network of baby factories in Nigeria was identified in 2008. The rising numbers have caused increased concern over the past decade. In April, a raid in Lagos led to the rescue of about 160 children -- some of whom had been sexually abused.
9 soldiers killed by Boko Haram in Nigeria
Boko Haram fighters killed nine soldiers and wounded two others in northeast Nigeria, according to military sources, just days after 43 civilians died in deadly suicide bombings.
Both attacks came as the government, which says the jihadists are on the verge of defeat, urges those displaced by the conflict to return to their homes across the war-torn region.
Troops from 242 battalion Nigerian Army stationed at Gajiram, some 80 kilometres north of the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, came under attack on Monday afternoon.
The Borno state police initially said its officers and soldiers "engaged the terrorists and promptly repelled the attack". "There was no casualty on the side of the police," it added.
But military communications seen by AFP said nine soldiers were classed as "KIA" -- killed in action -- while two others were "WIA" -- wounded in action.
Locals said they had seen between 10 and 12 Boko Haram fighters being loaded into vehicles but it was not clear how many were dead or injured, it added.
There was no immediate official response from army spokesman Brigadier General Texas Chukwu.
Gajiram has been attacked before during the Islamist insurgency, which has left at least 20,000 people dead and displaced more than two million since it began in 2009.
In February last year, seven soldiers were killed in an attack on military positions. Fighters loyal to the Islamic State group-backed faction headed by Abu Musab Al-Barnawi were blamed.
Barnawi split from the faction following long-time Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau in mid-2016 in opposition to his indiscriminate attacks on civilians.
Shekau has in particular, used suicide bombers against civilian "soft" targets such as camps for the displaced, mosques, markets and bus stations.
Barnawi, in contrast, has vowed to hit only "hard" targets such as the military and police.
On Saturday, six young girls strapped with explosives were blamed for blasts that killed 43 in Damboa, some 90 kilometres southwest of Maiduguri.
More than 90,000 internally displaced people live in Damboa, the UN said on Saturday; 18,000 of them live in five camps.
The world body said humanitarian access outside the town remained "limited due to ongoing hostilities and lack of safety assurances".
Both attacks came as the government, which says the jihadists are on the verge of defeat, urges those displaced by the conflict to return to their homes across the war-torn region.
Troops from 242 battalion Nigerian Army stationed at Gajiram, some 80 kilometres north of the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, came under attack on Monday afternoon.
The Borno state police initially said its officers and soldiers "engaged the terrorists and promptly repelled the attack". "There was no casualty on the side of the police," it added.
But military communications seen by AFP said nine soldiers were classed as "KIA" -- killed in action -- while two others were "WIA" -- wounded in action.
Locals said they had seen between 10 and 12 Boko Haram fighters being loaded into vehicles but it was not clear how many were dead or injured, it added.
There was no immediate official response from army spokesman Brigadier General Texas Chukwu.
Gajiram has been attacked before during the Islamist insurgency, which has left at least 20,000 people dead and displaced more than two million since it began in 2009.
In February last year, seven soldiers were killed in an attack on military positions. Fighters loyal to the Islamic State group-backed faction headed by Abu Musab Al-Barnawi were blamed.
Barnawi split from the faction following long-time Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau in mid-2016 in opposition to his indiscriminate attacks on civilians.
Shekau has in particular, used suicide bombers against civilian "soft" targets such as camps for the displaced, mosques, markets and bus stations.
Barnawi, in contrast, has vowed to hit only "hard" targets such as the military and police.
On Saturday, six young girls strapped with explosives were blamed for blasts that killed 43 in Damboa, some 90 kilometres southwest of Maiduguri.
More than 90,000 internally displaced people live in Damboa, the UN said on Saturday; 18,000 of them live in five camps.
The world body said humanitarian access outside the town remained "limited due to ongoing hostilities and lack of safety assurances".
Monday, June 18, 2018
Video - Nigerian fans disappointed after 2-0 Group D loss to Croatia
Nigerians gathered at viewing centres across the West Africa nation to catch the action from the Kaliningrad Stadium. It was a disappointing ending for most of them, who now believe making it out of the group will be a tall order. Others however, remain optimistic.
Nigerian Human traffickers operating at 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia
Weeks before the 2018 FIFA World Cup was due to kick off in Russia, a woman met Blessing and Mfon at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in the southern Nigeria city of Uyo. The two young sisters had gone there to watch Nigeria play Spain’s Atletico Madrid in a warmup match ahead of the global soccer fiesta in which this West African nation is proud to participate, and the woman, in her 40s, seemed to be a devoted fan.
“We sat beside her during the match, and we were all analyzing the performance of the [Nigerian] team together,” Blessing, who is 19 and the older of the two siblings, told The Daily Beast. “After the match, she asked us if we would like to go watch the World Cup in Russia and work there after the tournament.”
Russia is open to foreigners with just a single match ticket and a FAN ID, which is available online to confirmed ticket holders. Once you’re in, you can stay legally until July 25, which is 10 days after the end of the competition.
While this is good news for soccer fans visiting the country, it is equally an opportunity for traffickers to do big business.
Blessing and Mfon were told their travel to Russia would be taken care of and that they would get jobs in Moscow as social workers for a nongovernmental organization dealing with traumatized athletes once the World Cup was over. The girls were told it would take about six months to pay back the cost of the journey to Russia, put at $20,000 each, after which they could keep all the money they made.
“We took her to our parents, and she told them the same thing,” Blessing said. “She said she had slots for 20 Nigerian girls and was looking to take girls from all regions of Nigeria with a passion for sports.”
No one suspected the woman was a human trafficker because she showed documents appearing to link her to a number of humanitarian organizations in Russia, and she hailed from the same wider community as the family of Blessing and Mfon, which gave the parents of the girls the impression that she wouldn’t hurt her kindred.
“We sat beside her during the match, and we were all analyzing the performance of the [Nigerian] team together,” Blessing, who is 19 and the older of the two siblings, told The Daily Beast. “After the match, she asked us if we would like to go watch the World Cup in Russia and work there after the tournament.”
Russia is open to foreigners with just a single match ticket and a FAN ID, which is available online to confirmed ticket holders. Once you’re in, you can stay legally until July 25, which is 10 days after the end of the competition.
While this is good news for soccer fans visiting the country, it is equally an opportunity for traffickers to do big business.
Blessing and Mfon were told their travel to Russia would be taken care of and that they would get jobs in Moscow as social workers for a nongovernmental organization dealing with traumatized athletes once the World Cup was over. The girls were told it would take about six months to pay back the cost of the journey to Russia, put at $20,000 each, after which they could keep all the money they made.
“We took her to our parents, and she told them the same thing,” Blessing said. “She said she had slots for 20 Nigerian girls and was looking to take girls from all regions of Nigeria with a passion for sports.”
No one suspected the woman was a human trafficker because she showed documents appearing to link her to a number of humanitarian organizations in Russia, and she hailed from the same wider community as the family of Blessing and Mfon, which gave the parents of the girls the impression that she wouldn’t hurt her kindred.
Suicide bomb blasts kills at least 31 in Nigeria
At least 31 people have been killed in a twin suicide bomb attack by suspected Boko Haram fighters on a town in northeast Nigeria, according to local sources.
Two blasts ripped through the Damboa government area in Borno state on Saturday evening targeting people returning from celebrating the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
Following the suicide bombings, the attackers fired rocket-propelled grenades into the crowds that had gathered at the scene of the blasts, driving the number of casualties higher.
"There were two suicide attacks and rocket-propelled grenade explosions in Damboa last night which killed 31 people and left several others injured," Babakura Kola, from the Civilian Joint Task Force, a militia assisting the military with security, told AFP news agency on Sunday.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the attack bore all the hallmarks of Boko Haram, a group waging an armed campaign in northeast Nigeria for nearly a decade.
The blasts on Saturday occurred in the Shuwari and Abachari districts of the local government area, which is about 90km from state capital Maiduguri.
"It has destroyed our houses. We have also counted 31 innocent people including children and elderly killed in the attack," said local resident Modu Usman, son of a community leader, according to the Reuters news agency.
Boko Haram roughly translates to "Western education is forbidden".
More than 20,000 people have been killed and over two million have been forced to flee their homes since 2009, when the group launched its campaign which has seen the regular deployment suicide bombers in mosques, markets and camps housing displaced people.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said earlier this year that the era of Boko Haram violence "is gradually drawing to end".
However, the group continues to launch attacks in the country's northeast.
Two blasts ripped through the Damboa government area in Borno state on Saturday evening targeting people returning from celebrating the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
Following the suicide bombings, the attackers fired rocket-propelled grenades into the crowds that had gathered at the scene of the blasts, driving the number of casualties higher.
"There were two suicide attacks and rocket-propelled grenade explosions in Damboa last night which killed 31 people and left several others injured," Babakura Kola, from the Civilian Joint Task Force, a militia assisting the military with security, told AFP news agency on Sunday.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the attack bore all the hallmarks of Boko Haram, a group waging an armed campaign in northeast Nigeria for nearly a decade.
The blasts on Saturday occurred in the Shuwari and Abachari districts of the local government area, which is about 90km from state capital Maiduguri.
"It has destroyed our houses. We have also counted 31 innocent people including children and elderly killed in the attack," said local resident Modu Usman, son of a community leader, according to the Reuters news agency.
Boko Haram roughly translates to "Western education is forbidden".
More than 20,000 people have been killed and over two million have been forced to flee their homes since 2009, when the group launched its campaign which has seen the regular deployment suicide bombers in mosques, markets and camps housing displaced people.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said earlier this year that the era of Boko Haram violence "is gradually drawing to end".
However, the group continues to launch attacks in the country's northeast.
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