Boko Haram fighters have surrounded the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri and are preparing an imminent takeover, an influential regional group claimed on Thursday, calling for military reinforcements.
The warning from the Borno Elders Forum, made up of retired senior civilian and military officials, comes after the United States warned of an attack on the city and analysts said the government risked losing control of the region.
But Nigeria's military described the elders' warning as "alarmist", saying it was "clearly intended to cause panic in the city and the nation".
Maiduguri has special significance for Boko Haram. It was where the heavily armed Islamist group was founded as an anti-corruption movement in 2002 and is regarded as its spiritual home.
The forum voiced its fears after Boko Haram seized a number of towns and villages across Borno and in neighbouring Yobe and Adamawa states in recent weeks and declared one of them part of an Islamic caliphate.
In Borno, the militants are now said to control an area from the north around Lake Chad, down to the eastern border with Cameroon and round to Bama, 70 kilometres (45 miles) from Maiduguri to the south.
Nigeria's military has claimed to have retaken Bama, but the elders said the government needed to act, asserting that the militants were in reach of the city.
"They have declared their caliphate is an independent Islamic State with their headquarters at the all-important and military strategic city of Gwoza," the elders said in an emailed statement.
"They declared the Gwoza Emir's palace as their seat of government, hoisting their flag there. They have annexed and are sitting in court in several other key towns and regions...
"They have completely surrounded the city of Maiduguri. It is apparent that their imminent target is to take the city of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital," they said, also calling on the government to fortify the city.
- 'Horror, death, destruction' -
Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states have been under emergency military rule since May last year but despite Boko Haram being driven out of Maiduguri by the military and civilian vigilantes, thousands of people have since died in the countryside.
Many more have been forced to flee their homes. A recent United Nations estimate said that as many as 650,000 people had been displaced both within Nigeria and into neighbouring countries.
The elders said that half of Borno state's 4.1 million population was now living in temporary housing in Maiduguri and there were genuine fears that an attack could exacerbate the crisis.Roads and bridges have been destroyed, schools shut and the economy blighted. Maiduguri has also been without mains electricity for the last three months.
The elders even warned of "starvation" given that subsistence farmers had not been able to plant crops this year because of the chaos.
Borno had been devastated by "five years of horror, death, destruction and misery", they added, and criticised the government for its "dismal but also frustrating" response to the insurgency.
The militants had been treated with "kid gloves", they said, while a supposed troop surge had not been effective.
Nigeria's military has seen dissent within its ranks, with soldiers complaining of a lack of adequate weaponry to fight the better-armed militants. Some soldiers have refused to deploy or fled attacks.
They added that there had not been enough political will to fight Boko Haram and warned that the situation risked "the total annihilation of the inhabitants of Borno".
On Twitter, Nigeria's military said: "All facets of security arrangements for the defence of Maiduguri has been upgraded to handle any planned attack or attempt to disrupt the city's prevailing peace.
"This kind of alarmist report is uncalled for in view of the efforts and alertness. Citizens are nevertheless enjoined to remain vigilant as they go about their lawful business."
The military added that the situation in Gwoza, Bama and Gamboru Ngala in Borno and Mubi, Michika, Bazza and Gulak in Adamawa as well as other parts of the northeast was "being stabilised".
"Highly coordinated" air and land operations were continuing and "the efforts are yielding impressive results in the overall move to rid the area of terrorists," it said on @DefenceInfoNG.
AFP
Related stories: Nigerian military recaptures Bama Town from Boko Haram
Boko Haram seize town in Adamawa state
Friday, September 12, 2014
Son of former President Olusegun Obasanjo released from hospital after Boko Haram attack
Lt Col Adeboye Obasanjo, the son of former president Olusegun Obasanjo who was shot and wounded by Boko Haram militants in a fight in Adamawa State Monday has been discharged from hospital, officials at the Federal Medical Centre said in Yola yesterday.
However, it emerges yesterday that a colonel in the Nigerian Army is feared killed in the current offensive against Boko Haram insurgents in Adamawa state.
The officer, whose name was simply given as Col Yakubu, was reportedly shot and killed in the same operation in which Lt Col Adeboye Obasanjo was wounded over the weekend. Lt Col Adeboye is the son of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Sources told Daily Trust yesterday that family members of Col Yakubu who have become aware of the incident are now said to be in Yola, concerned that their son may have been dead already. They are said to be asking for true information about the colonel and requesting as well that his whereabouts be disclosed to them dead or alive.
When contacted yesterday the Defence spokesman Major General Chris Olukolade said, the officer in question is considered Missing in Action.
Obasanjo's son was injured in Bazza, northern Adamawa State during a failed bid by troops to re-take the town from Boko Haram insurgents. He was taken to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) where he spent two days receiving treatment.
"He had a minor injury and he was treated and discharged," a senior official said. "He received the best attention that we could possibly offer and he responded quickly."
Security concerns also contributed to his early discharge, the source said, disclosing that it was the military top brass who suggested that he should be discharged and flown out of the state.
The Information Officer of the FMC Malam Adamu Dodo confirmed the story, stressing that both his speedy recovery and the security factor contributed to his early release.
"There is also the issue of his safety given the attention the story has been getting", he said.
The case has been receiving huge public attention and high profile personalities have been visiting him.
Meanwhile, additional details have emerged on how the former president's son was shot and wounded by the militants.
A source told Daily Trust that Lt Col Obasanjo and some other officers were overwhelmed by the insurgents because the soldiers failed to obey the orders of their commanders.
He said when the soldiers were confronted by the insurgents in Bazza, their commanders ordered them to fight but they failed to do so effectively. As soon as the insurgents opened fire on them, they ran without standing their ground to fight back as ordered by their superiors.
He said that was why some of the soldiers were killed and others, including Obasanjo's son, were injured. He also said Bazza, Michika, Gulak and Madagali are still under the firm control of the insurgents.
Daily Trust
Related stories: Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo's son shot in Boko Haram attack
Video - The state of Nigerian governance and Boko Haram
However, it emerges yesterday that a colonel in the Nigerian Army is feared killed in the current offensive against Boko Haram insurgents in Adamawa state.
The officer, whose name was simply given as Col Yakubu, was reportedly shot and killed in the same operation in which Lt Col Adeboye Obasanjo was wounded over the weekend. Lt Col Adeboye is the son of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Sources told Daily Trust yesterday that family members of Col Yakubu who have become aware of the incident are now said to be in Yola, concerned that their son may have been dead already. They are said to be asking for true information about the colonel and requesting as well that his whereabouts be disclosed to them dead or alive.
When contacted yesterday the Defence spokesman Major General Chris Olukolade said, the officer in question is considered Missing in Action.
Obasanjo's son was injured in Bazza, northern Adamawa State during a failed bid by troops to re-take the town from Boko Haram insurgents. He was taken to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) where he spent two days receiving treatment.
"He had a minor injury and he was treated and discharged," a senior official said. "He received the best attention that we could possibly offer and he responded quickly."
Security concerns also contributed to his early discharge, the source said, disclosing that it was the military top brass who suggested that he should be discharged and flown out of the state.
The Information Officer of the FMC Malam Adamu Dodo confirmed the story, stressing that both his speedy recovery and the security factor contributed to his early release.
"There is also the issue of his safety given the attention the story has been getting", he said.
The case has been receiving huge public attention and high profile personalities have been visiting him.
Meanwhile, additional details have emerged on how the former president's son was shot and wounded by the militants.
A source told Daily Trust that Lt Col Obasanjo and some other officers were overwhelmed by the insurgents because the soldiers failed to obey the orders of their commanders.
He said when the soldiers were confronted by the insurgents in Bazza, their commanders ordered them to fight but they failed to do so effectively. As soon as the insurgents opened fire on them, they ran without standing their ground to fight back as ordered by their superiors.
He said that was why some of the soldiers were killed and others, including Obasanjo's son, were injured. He also said Bazza, Michika, Gulak and Madagali are still under the firm control of the insurgents.
Daily Trust
Related stories: Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo's son shot in Boko Haram attack
Video - The state of Nigerian governance and Boko Haram
Video - Makoko Nigeria's thriving slum
Makoko in Nigeria is one of the more unusual slums in all of Africa.
It’s built on water, which provides a way of life for the fishing community - but also risks spreading disease because of the cramped population.
At least 200,000 people live here and after more than a century of non-inteference, local officials recently took a keen interest in the slum.
Aljazeera
Related stories: Video - Building a floating school in Makoko
Makoko's floating school struggles to stay afloat
Video - homeless battle in Makoko
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Tuface Idibia new album becomes Nigeria's best selling album
Tuface Idibia's new album is now the highest selling album according to iTunes Nigeria.After topping the iTunes Nigeria chart for some weeks now, the album has sold a higher number of copies and according to feelers, it will break other records. Tuface's sixth album within a month of release became the 12th world best album in terms of sales.
The iTunes Nigeria music chart showed that the album had become No.1 at the cadre.
Annie Idibia, wife and mother of Tuface's two kids went to the social media about a month ago to break the news of the albums as fast-selling and turned to praying and thanking God for the success of the album and her husband.
With the music scene recording new albums from our stars, it is indeed a feat for Tu Baba and also a testimony to his staying power having been in the music industry for twelve years now.
Leadership
Videos document gruesome abuse by Nigerian military in it's fight against Boko Haram
Dozens of gruesome videos appear to show horrifying abuses by Nigerian security forces and state-sponsored militias as part of a battle against the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram. The existence of the videos was revealed in "Hunting Boko Haram," a new documentary by PBS Frontline.
Desperate to combat the rise of Boko Haram, Nigerian authorities launched a massive crackdown against the group in 2009 called "Operation Flush." Human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have long accused security forces of committing massive human rights violations during the operation, including kidnappings, torture, extrajudicial killings and the arrests and murders of countless of civilians with no ties to the insurgent group.
The grainy videos obtained by Evan Williams for PBS Frontline appear to document some of these abuses. According to a militiaman who said he took part in some of the killings and ferried dozens of bodies to a morgue in northeast Nigeria , he and his colleagues were trained by Nigerian security forces.
Williams also spoke with several civilians in Nigeria’s northeast who said their brothers, fathers, sons or neighbors disappeared after being taken by militiamen or government forces during operations against Boko Haram. They said that many of the prisoners never returned and had no connections to Boko Haram.
Former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria John Campbell says in the documentary that the videos confirm reports of abuses that have been circulating for years.
Huffington Post
Related stories: Video - The state of Nigerian governance and Boko Haram
Desperate to combat the rise of Boko Haram, Nigerian authorities launched a massive crackdown against the group in 2009 called "Operation Flush." Human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have long accused security forces of committing massive human rights violations during the operation, including kidnappings, torture, extrajudicial killings and the arrests and murders of countless of civilians with no ties to the insurgent group.
The grainy videos obtained by Evan Williams for PBS Frontline appear to document some of these abuses. According to a militiaman who said he took part in some of the killings and ferried dozens of bodies to a morgue in northeast Nigeria , he and his colleagues were trained by Nigerian security forces.
Williams also spoke with several civilians in Nigeria’s northeast who said their brothers, fathers, sons or neighbors disappeared after being taken by militiamen or government forces during operations against Boko Haram. They said that many of the prisoners never returned and had no connections to Boko Haram.
Former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria John Campbell says in the documentary that the videos confirm reports of abuses that have been circulating for years.
Huffington Post
Related stories: Video - The state of Nigerian governance and Boko Haram
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