Boko Haram gunmen killed at least 43 people and burnt down three villages in northeast Nigeria, residents told AFP Thursday, the latest in an upsurge of attacks by the Islamist militants.
Dozens of rebels on motorcycles stormed Matangale, Buraltima and Dirmanti in restive Borno state on Tuesday, opening fire on villagers before looting and burning homes, fleeing residents said.
News of the assault was slow to emerge due to poor communication in the region after Boko Haram destroyed telecoms masts in previous attacks.
"They came around 4:00 pm (1500 GMT) on 20 motorcycles, three gunmen on each, and attacked Matangale before proceeding to Buraltima and Dirmanti," said resident Dala Tungushe.
"They killed 43 people and burnt all the houses in the three villages after looting food supplies," Tungushe, who fled Matangale to Biu, some 90 kilometres (56 miles) away.
Matangale was worst hit by the attack as the attackers opened fire at an open well outside the village where residents had gathered to fetch drinking water and do their laundry.
"The Boko Haram gunmen opened fire on the crowd at the well where they killed around 16 people," said Bulama Karuye, another resident.
"In all, we lost 43 people in the attacks. All the three villages were completely burnt."
He added the number of casualties could have been much higher had some of the villagers not been away at a weekly market around 40 kilometres away.
Hundreds of residents of the affected villages, particularly women and children, fled to nearby Damboa town where they had sought refuge in a primary school, both Tungushe and Karuye said.
They said the attackers came from nearby Sambisa Forest, a major Boko Haram stronghold from where hundreds of women and children kidnapped by the militants were rescued during recent military operations.
Troops and local hunters from Damboa pursued the fleeing attackers into the bush and a gunfight erupted.
"The soldiers and the hunters brought back a pickup truck and some motorcycles they recovered from the Boko Haram attackers... but we don't know how many of the gunmen they killed," Tungushe said.
More than 150 people have been killed by Boko Haram since President Muhammadu Buhari took power on May 29, vowing to crush the militants and end their bloody six-year insurgency.
AFP
Friday, June 12, 2015
Thursday, June 11, 2015
15 year old child bride acquitted for murdering 35 year old husband
A teenage girl threatened with the death penalty for murdering her 35-year-old husband in Nigeria, faces an uncertain future after being released from prison.
15 year-old Wasila Tasi’u was accused of killing Umar Sani and three other men with rat poison shortly after they were married. She has spent the last 10 months locked up as her case dragged on, held up by judicial staff strike action and administrative delays.
Speaking to the Guardian, Tasi’u’s lawyer, Hussaina Ibrahim from theInternational Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), said her client has no hope of returning home, such was the publicity garnered by the case.
With Ibrahim’s help, a foundation has taken on Tasi’u’s case and the hard work of returning her to normal life. The Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative which aims to get young girls into education, will support Tasi’u in the months to come. She will live with a foster family, for the foreseeable future.
Maryam Uwais, a lawyer based in Nigeria who has been following the case contacted the Guardian to say she had spoken to Tasi’u shortly after her release, who is “overjoyed” at her new found freedom.
“Apprehension, relief and then gratitude were emotions that were manifest today, upon the release of Wasila,” she said.
“An entirely avoidable tragedy, leaving in its wake four dead men and a thoroughly traumatised little girl. Poison – the only feasible escape to freedom – devised from the wild imagination of a naive, depressed little girl caught up in a painful forced marriage to a much older man. A tough lesson for families, communities and a government that is still ambivalent about sanctioning the perpetrators of child marriage.”
Ibrahim says her client, bubbly and full of life when she met her for the first time, has become more withdrawn, quiet and even depressed during her time in jail. Educational opportunities are limited in the prison in Kano city where she has been held, and to this day Tasi’u can neither read nor write.
Throughout her trial, which was conducted in English meaning the defendant could not understand a word, Tasi’u was threatened with execution. Reporters in court described her struggling to control her emotions during proceedings, frequently breaking down in tears.
In the weeks since Prosecutor Lamido Abba Soron-Dinki asked the high court in Gezawa, Kano state, to “terminate the case” of culpable homicide against Tasi’u in May, her visitation rights have been limited with even her family prevented from seeing her. Ibrahim’s lawyer has been stopped from taking her young teenage daughter to see Tasi’u, depriving the child of one of her few regular interactions with people her own age.
“I think they were worried that she would try to escape,” said Ibrahim, when trying to offer an explanation for the cut in visiting rights, in the weeks after her release was first mooted.
The case has drawn international condemnation from rights groups, who say the decision to pursue the death penalty against a teenager violates international law. Others have characterised Sani and Tasi’u’s relationship as one characterised by “systematic abuse”.
After a presentation was made to the court by Kano’s attorney general on Tuesday, calling for the defendant to be released, Judge Mohammed Yahaya agreed to drop the charges and allow Tasi’u to be free.
In Nigeria, child marriage is common, despite national laws prohibiting it.
The Child Rights Act, introduced in 2003, raised the minimum age of marriage for girls to 18, but the legislation has not been ratified by states in the Muslim-dominated north of the country where child marriage is common, with nearly half of girls married by the age of 15 and 78% by the time they hit 18. In the country as a whole, 7% of girls in the country are married before the age of 15, according to the charity Girls Not Brides.
The Kano state government has agreed to offer compensation to Sani’s family, according to local reports.
The charity Girls Not Brides, which has campaigned extensively on the issue of child marriage in Nigeria and beyond, issued this statement on Tasi’u’ release.
“Wasila’s case reflects some of the impossible situations that child brides face. Wasila is one of 15 million girls a year who are married as children, a practice that is not limited to any one region, culture or religion. Her case demonstrates the importance of not only preventing child marriage but also ensuring that child brides receive the support and services they need.”
Related story: Child bride kills 35 year old groom and three others with poison
The Guardian
15 year-old Wasila Tasi’u was accused of killing Umar Sani and three other men with rat poison shortly after they were married. She has spent the last 10 months locked up as her case dragged on, held up by judicial staff strike action and administrative delays.
Speaking to the Guardian, Tasi’u’s lawyer, Hussaina Ibrahim from theInternational Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), said her client has no hope of returning home, such was the publicity garnered by the case.
With Ibrahim’s help, a foundation has taken on Tasi’u’s case and the hard work of returning her to normal life. The Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative which aims to get young girls into education, will support Tasi’u in the months to come. She will live with a foster family, for the foreseeable future.
Maryam Uwais, a lawyer based in Nigeria who has been following the case contacted the Guardian to say she had spoken to Tasi’u shortly after her release, who is “overjoyed” at her new found freedom.
“Apprehension, relief and then gratitude were emotions that were manifest today, upon the release of Wasila,” she said.
“An entirely avoidable tragedy, leaving in its wake four dead men and a thoroughly traumatised little girl. Poison – the only feasible escape to freedom – devised from the wild imagination of a naive, depressed little girl caught up in a painful forced marriage to a much older man. A tough lesson for families, communities and a government that is still ambivalent about sanctioning the perpetrators of child marriage.”
Ibrahim says her client, bubbly and full of life when she met her for the first time, has become more withdrawn, quiet and even depressed during her time in jail. Educational opportunities are limited in the prison in Kano city where she has been held, and to this day Tasi’u can neither read nor write.
Throughout her trial, which was conducted in English meaning the defendant could not understand a word, Tasi’u was threatened with execution. Reporters in court described her struggling to control her emotions during proceedings, frequently breaking down in tears.
In the weeks since Prosecutor Lamido Abba Soron-Dinki asked the high court in Gezawa, Kano state, to “terminate the case” of culpable homicide against Tasi’u in May, her visitation rights have been limited with even her family prevented from seeing her. Ibrahim’s lawyer has been stopped from taking her young teenage daughter to see Tasi’u, depriving the child of one of her few regular interactions with people her own age.
“I think they were worried that she would try to escape,” said Ibrahim, when trying to offer an explanation for the cut in visiting rights, in the weeks after her release was first mooted.
The case has drawn international condemnation from rights groups, who say the decision to pursue the death penalty against a teenager violates international law. Others have characterised Sani and Tasi’u’s relationship as one characterised by “systematic abuse”.
After a presentation was made to the court by Kano’s attorney general on Tuesday, calling for the defendant to be released, Judge Mohammed Yahaya agreed to drop the charges and allow Tasi’u to be free.
In Nigeria, child marriage is common, despite national laws prohibiting it.
The Child Rights Act, introduced in 2003, raised the minimum age of marriage for girls to 18, but the legislation has not been ratified by states in the Muslim-dominated north of the country where child marriage is common, with nearly half of girls married by the age of 15 and 78% by the time they hit 18. In the country as a whole, 7% of girls in the country are married before the age of 15, according to the charity Girls Not Brides.
The Kano state government has agreed to offer compensation to Sani’s family, according to local reports.
The charity Girls Not Brides, which has campaigned extensively on the issue of child marriage in Nigeria and beyond, issued this statement on Tasi’u’ release.
“Wasila’s case reflects some of the impossible situations that child brides face. Wasila is one of 15 million girls a year who are married as children, a practice that is not limited to any one region, culture or religion. Her case demonstrates the importance of not only preventing child marriage but also ensuring that child brides receive the support and services they need.”
Related story: Child bride kills 35 year old groom and three others with poison
The Guardian
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Video - President Muhammadu Buhari promises to be tracked online
While he was running for election, Nigeria's new President, Muhammadu Buhari, made a lot of campaign promises.Now a civil group is using online tools to ensure he delivers on the pre-election promises.
Nigeria re-opens Maiduguri airport
The Federal Government has approved the re-opening of the Maiduguri International Airport for commercial activities following security improvement in recent times, Deputy Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Zannah Mustapha, has revealed.
The airport was closed over 18 months ago following persistent attacks of the state by Boko Haram fighters.
“It is interesting to announce that the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Adesola Amosu, has confirmed to me that the Federal Government had issued a directive for the re-opening of the Maiduguri International Airport for commercial activities," he told newsmen yesterday.
“In fact, the Chief of Air Staff told me that the Nigerian Air Space Management Agency, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, were already directed to work out modalities for the resumption of flight operations in the airport,” he added.
Nigerian Bulletin
The airport was closed over 18 months ago following persistent attacks of the state by Boko Haram fighters.
“It is interesting to announce that the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Adesola Amosu, has confirmed to me that the Federal Government had issued a directive for the re-opening of the Maiduguri International Airport for commercial activities," he told newsmen yesterday.
“In fact, the Chief of Air Staff told me that the Nigerian Air Space Management Agency, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, were already directed to work out modalities for the resumption of flight operations in the airport,” he added.
Nigerian Bulletin
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Nigeria moves military Headquarters to Maiduguri
Nigeria's military has begun moving its headquarters to the northern town of Maiduguri, it says, close to the centre of the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency.
The move would "add impetus and renewed vigour" to the fight against terrorism, a military statement said.
A military advance team began work in Maiduguri on Monday, the statement said, as part of plans to move the command and control centre from Abuja.
President Muhammadu Buhari took office last month, vowing to beat Boko Haram.
He announced that the military would move its headquarters to Maiduguri, in the north-eastern state of Borno, in his inaugural speech on 29 May.
The aim is to centralise operations close to the action, cut bureaucracy and speed up decision-making.
The policy and administrative arms of the military have been accused of being detached from the reality of the soldiers on the frontline.
For example, the complaints from troops about their inadequate supplies of equipment and poor welfare were often denied, downplayed or ignored by the authorities. This led to disgruntlement among soldiers, with some refusing to fight and even shooting at their own commanding officer.
However the relocation has not gone down well with some top military men, who have viewed it as merely a symbolic or even populist move, possibly driven by a desire to be distinctively different from the previous administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
There are also concerns it could further complicate existing operations on the ground.
BBC
The move would "add impetus and renewed vigour" to the fight against terrorism, a military statement said.
A military advance team began work in Maiduguri on Monday, the statement said, as part of plans to move the command and control centre from Abuja.
President Muhammadu Buhari took office last month, vowing to beat Boko Haram.
He announced that the military would move its headquarters to Maiduguri, in the north-eastern state of Borno, in his inaugural speech on 29 May.
The aim is to centralise operations close to the action, cut bureaucracy and speed up decision-making.
The policy and administrative arms of the military have been accused of being detached from the reality of the soldiers on the frontline.
For example, the complaints from troops about their inadequate supplies of equipment and poor welfare were often denied, downplayed or ignored by the authorities. This led to disgruntlement among soldiers, with some refusing to fight and even shooting at their own commanding officer.
However the relocation has not gone down well with some top military men, who have viewed it as merely a symbolic or even populist move, possibly driven by a desire to be distinctively different from the previous administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
There are also concerns it could further complicate existing operations on the ground.
BBC
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