NAIJAFEED

Monday, March 18, 2024

Nigeria military denies reprisal attack after 16 troops killed

Men in army uniform ransacked and burned homes in Nigeria's oil-producing Delta state days after youths killed 16 soldiers sent there to resolve a land dispute, residents said, but the defence chief denied military involvement.

Residents said soldiers attacked the riverside Okuoma community of a few hundred people on Sunday while looking for those responsible for Thursday's killings.

Tam Oburumu, who fled from his home, said uniformed men were going around looking for weapons and ransacked houses before torching them.

"The damage for now is huge, a lot of houses were burned,"

Oburumu said by phone from a nearby village where he has sought refuge.

Government-owned properties, including a primary school and hospital, were spared, residents said.

President Bola Tinubu said he had given the military full authority to hunt down those responsible for killing the soldiers, which he described as an "unconscionable crime against the Nigerian people".

But defence chief General Christopher Musa denied that soldiers had attacked the community.

"No reprisals by the army. We are searching for the murderers and their weapon cache," Musa said in a text message to Reuters.

There are frequent, sometimes deadly, clashes over land or over compensation for oil spills by energy companies in many Delta state communities.

Friday Addy, a trader in Okuoma, said she and her mother had left their home when soldiers arrived.

"The people have fled for their lives, and many are missing and we cannot locate them. We are helpless," said Addy.

By Tife Owolabi and Ope Adetayo, Reuters

Friday, March 15, 2024

Military in Nigeria kill 213 terrorists, apprehend 283 others

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) said Nigerian troops killed at least 213 terrorists and arrested 283 others in different theatres of operation across the country in the last week.

The Director of Defence Media Operations, Edward Buba, disclosed this while giving an update on the operations of the armed forces on Thursday in Abuja.

Mr Buba, a major general, said the troops within the period also apprehended 67 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 26 kidnapped hostages.

He said they also recovered 189 assorted weapons and 4,003 assorted ammunition comprising 111 AK47 rifles, G3 rifles, 31 locally fabricated guns, five pump action guns, automatic pump action guns, and 26 Dane guns among others.

He said that other weapons recovered included 2,766 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 982 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 240 live cartridges, 2 shotgun cartridges, 13 rounds of 9mm ammo, and 36 empty cases of 7.62mm ammo.

Other items according to him, are 38 magazines, three G3 magazines, eight vehicles, 44 motorcycles, 19 mobile phones, four bicycles, rifle butt, rifle stock and the sum of N628,000 amongst other items.

In the North-east, Mr Buba said the troops of Operation Hadin Kai, eliminated 70 terrorists and arrested 23 BH/ISWAP terrorists as well as recovered one G3 rifle, 50 AK47 rifles, 1,012 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 243 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 13 motorcycles, 10 bicycles amongst others.

He said that a total of 472 ISWAP/JAS terrorists fighters and their families comprising 26 adult males, 146 adult females and 300 children surrendered to troops within the theatre of operations.

According to him, the air component neutralised several ISWAP/JAS terrorists and destroyed their logistics within the Southern Tumbuns.

In the North-central, Mr Buba said the troops of Operations Safe Haven and Whirl Stroke killed nine insurgents and arrested 18 violent extremists within the week.

He said the troops also recovered several arms, ammunition and other items.

In the North-west, he said the troops of Operation Hadarin Daji killed 26 terrorists and rescued 15 kidnapped hostages during the week.

He said the air component had on 5 March knocked out terrorists’ commanders and their foot soldiers hibernating in Southern Tsaskiya, Safana Local Government Area of Katsina State.

According to him, the Battle Damage Assessment revealed that several terrorists were killed and their structures destroyed.

“Similarly, on March 6, following credible intelligence and confirmatory ISR the air component in multiple passes conducted air interdiction at terrorists’ commander Alhaji Nashama’s and Jammo Smally’s enclaves in Birnin Magaji and Maradun Local Government Areas of Zamfara.

“The locations were thoroughly scanned and observed to be active with terrorists’ activities and attacked with rockets and cannons.

“Battle Damage Assessment revealed that several terrorists were neutralized and their structures destroyed,” he said.

Mr Buba added that troops of Operation Whirl Punch killed 17 insurgents, arrested 42 violent extremists/terrorists and rescued nine kidnapped hostages.

He said the air component also conducted air interdiction at terrorists’ commander Alhaji Labi’s enclave in Gaude Forest, Kaduna State following confirmation of resurgence of terrorists at the location.

He said soldiers attacked the location killing several terrorists and destroying their logistics.

In the South-south, Mr Buba said the troops of Operation Delta Safe discovered and destroyed 45 illegal refining sites with 150 dugout pits, 30 boats, 73 storage tanks, 209 drums and 15 vehicles.

According to him, other items recovered include 105 cooking ovens, three pumping machines, two outboard engines, one tricycle and four motorcycles.

He added that the troops recovered 1.2 million litres of stolen crude oil, 313,780 litres of illegally refined AGO and 13,000 litres of PMS during the week.

In the South-east, Mr Buba said the troops of Operation UDO KA killed 26 terrorists and recovered three G3 rifles, 12 AK47 rifles, one fabricated gun, two pump action guns, automatic pump action guns, RPG bombs and 269 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo.

Other items recovered are 216 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 172 live cartridges, eight IEDs (OGBUNIGWE), four AK47 magazines, three G3 magazines and three motorcycles amongst other items.

“All recovered items, arrested suspects and rescued hostages were handed over to the relevant authority for further action,” he said.

Premium Times

Accidental Military drone strikes kill dozens in Nigeria

Thursday, March 14, 2024

President Tinubu rules out ransoms for abducted students as observers urge dialogue

President Tinubu has ruled out the payment of ransoms for nearly 300 schoolchildren abducted from their school in the conflict-hit north a week ago, raising questions from analysts on Thursday about how best to rescue the children without hurting them.

Meanwhile, at least two people with extensive knowledge of the security crisis in Nigeria's northwest told The Associated Press the abductors of the schoolchildren in the state of Kaduna are known and are hiding in the vast ungoverned and unoccupied forests of the region. They both urged the government to engage in dialogue with the armed groups to resolve the protracted conflict.

At least 1,400 students have so far been kidnapped from Nigerian schools since the first major school abduction — in Borno state’s Chibok village in 2014 — stunned the world. Most of those eventually released only regained their freedom after ransom payments, according to their schools and parents, even though the Nigerian government does not admit to paying ransoms.

On Wednesday, Nigeria's information minister Mohammed Idris told reporters that President Bola Tinubu directed security agencies to urgently rescue the schoolchildren and "in the process to ensure that not a dime is paid for ransom.”

No group has claimed responsibility for the Kaduna attack. Local residents blamed bandit groups known for mass killings and kidnappings for ransom in northwestern and central regions, most of them herders in conflict with host communities.

Unlike the Chibok girls, who were seized by Islamic militants from the Boko Haram group, no religious motive is suspected in the most recent abductions.

The mastermind of the Kaduna abduction is known, as are other bandit leaders, said Murtala Ahmed Rufa’i, an associate professor of peace and conflict studies at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, in Sokoto state, and one of Nigeria’s foremost conflict researchers.

“His father is alive,” he said of the suspect behind the Kaduna abduction. "These bandits are people that are known by their names, families and by their locations. If you want to engage, you talk to the parents. They are criminals (but) still have parents that they listen to,” he said.

At least 100 of the schoolchildren abducted in Kaduna are estimated to be aged 12 or younger, fitting an established pattern, with children seen as easy targets to mount pressure on the government.

The children's abduction is not driven by the need for ransoms and such abductions can only be resolved through negotiations with the armed groups, according to Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, a Nigerian cleric known to have access to the bandits and who has negotiated with them in the past.

“It is more than an economic motive," Gumi said, saying there is “an underground ethnic war" between the the herdsmen from the Fulani ethnic group and other, more urbanized parts of Nigeria. His comments echoed claims made previously by the herdsmen that they struggle with less development than other regions.

Security operations to rescue those kidnapped sometimes stretch into months, leaving families desperate to meet the ransom demands.

“People whose relations are kidnapped don’t cooperate with security agencies. Otherwise, some of these money being paid, since they are not electronically transferred, could be traced,” said Mike Ejiofor, a former director with Nigeria’s secret police.

The minister’s comments suggests the government has “other alternatives to use to free those people,” said Ejiofor. However, the use of force could have serious consequences, he warned. “To go and do it forcefully, I think we will have some collateral damage,” he said.

By Chinedu Asadu, AP

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