The number of villagers massacred by Boko Haram jihadists in a remote village in northeastern Nigeria rose to 160 on Wednesday, according to locals, as the military rejected accounts of the attack.
Residents of Kukuwa-Gari in Yobe State described how more than 150 of their relatives and neighbours drowned in a river fleeing militants who opened fire on the village on Thursday last week, while another eight were shot dead.
A local official put the death toll at a much lower 50 while Colonel Rabe Abubakar, the acting director of the military's information department, said reports of the incident were "not true, utterly scurrilous and very misleading" in a statement entitled "Boko Haram did not kill 150 in Yobe".
He said the military was tipped off ahead of the attack, which he placed at "mid-afternoon yesterday", so that troops and civilian forces were able to ambush the Boko Haram militants outside Kukuwa-Gari.
"The insurgents ran into them and a gunbattle ensued in which four Boko Haram members and one civilian (fighter) lost their lives," he said.
The villagers' count of the dead in Kukuwa-Gari would constitute the largest loss of life in any single Boko Haram attack since President Muhammadu Buhari swept to power on May 29, vowing to crush the insurgency.
Telecommunications in Kukuwa-Gari are almost non-existent, but villagers who fled to nearby settlements said those who returned had buried 160 bodies, while many feared going back.
Alhaji Kankana Sarkin-Baka, leader of a local group of hunters co-opted to fight the insurgency alongside vigilante groups, said 17 gunmen had come on motorcycles, including a local Boko Haram commander.
"They had superior firepower because they were using modern guns while we were using hunting guns. We were outpowered but they were outnumbered," he told AFP.
He said six of the fighters positioned themselves by the river, blocking the only escape route, and opened fire on fleeing residents, forcing them to jump into the water.
"So far we have buried 160 people. And out of this number only eight bodies had gunshot wounds, which means all the others drowned," he told AFP.
He said the villagers had received reports from Galda town, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) away, of seven bloated bodies seen floating down the river which were believed likely to be further victims of the massacre.
Sarkin-Baka said the hunters killed 14 of the attackers, including the commander and his deputy, while three escaped with gunshot wounds.
"We recovered guns and explosives and drugs from them," he added.
The villagers, who have secured reinforcements of 100 hunters from the state capital Damaturu, say the gunmen were "born and bred" in the area and joined Boko Haram several years ago.
"Up to this moment no troops have deployed. Our major operational challenge is good weapons to effectively counter any possible further attack by Boko Haram. All we have are hunting guns," Sarkin-Baka told AFP.
Kukuwa-Gari resident Modu Balumi, who had fled to neighbouring Gombe State, told AFP his sister-in-law and two of her children were among several villagers still missing.
"Honestly, I am not happy with the way the military tried to deny that our village was attacked. Many of us who are yet to return have changed our minds about going back by this stance of the military," he told AFP.
Boko Haram has waged a violent campaign for a separate Islamic homeland in the northeast which has seen more than 15,000 deaths since 2009.
The Gujba area of Yobe state, where Kukuwa-Gari is located, has been hit hard by Boko Haram violence in the past but had seen relative calm since troops reclaimed it in March.
"The fact that reports of the Kukawa-Gari massacre are only being reported five days after the fact... suggests that there was unlikely any discernible security presence in the region at the time the militant incursion took place," Ryan Cummings, chief security analyst at South African consultancy Red 24, told AFP.
"A worrying consideration given that the Nigerian government is facilitating the repopulation of areas which were similarly recaptured from Boko Haram control."
The army later issued a statement which made no mention of the Kukuwa-Gari attack but said troops engaged Boko Haram fighters fleeing an air force bombardment of their stronghold in the Sambisa forest, in neighbouring Borno State, late on Tuesday.
AFP
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Video - Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari appoints new anti-corruption advisory committee
Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has appointed an anti-corruption advisory committee to advice on the country's criminal justice system. The committee has seven members and is headed by a scholar and a human rights activist. President Muhammadu Buhari recently announced an anti-corruption investigation aimed at recovering around 150 billion dollars from alleged illegal oil sales. Buhari also ordered ministers to use government approved bank accounts to pay receipts owed to the government. CCTV's Deji Badmus spoke with the Managing Director of Financial Derivatives about the new reforms introduced by the president. Here is what he had to say.
President Muhammadu Buhari orders probe on how ISIL leader got a Nigerian visa
The Nigerian government has ordered a full investigation into how a wanted terrorist was granted Nigerian Visa in Lebanon to visit the country.
An official of the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign affairs told Vanguard in Abuja, Tuesday evening, that President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to investigate the circumstances surrounding the issuance of Visa to the wanted terrorist who has been on the wanted list of several governments.
It would be recalled that a radical Muslim cleric, Ahmad al-Assir was arrested by Lebanese authorities as he attempted to leave Lebanon to Nigeria via Cairo.
He was said to have arrested while attempting to travel with a fake Palestinian passport with a valid Nigerian Visa at the Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport early Saturday, August 15, 2015 in Lebanon.
According to the official of the ministry of foreign affairs who spoke with Vanguard on the condition of anonymity, the ministry of foreign affairs has been directed to explain how the wanted terrorist was able to get Nigerian Visa.
“The reported arrest of the wanted terrorist is a huge embarrassment to Nigeria and the President has directed that the matter should be investigated. The embassy in Lebanon has been directed to furnish the ministry with details of how the man got the visa. The National Intelligence Agency Officer has been directed to provide details of what happened” the officer said.
An official of the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign affairs told Vanguard in Abuja, Tuesday evening, that President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to investigate the circumstances surrounding the issuance of Visa to the wanted terrorist who has been on the wanted list of several governments.
It would be recalled that a radical Muslim cleric, Ahmad al-Assir was arrested by Lebanese authorities as he attempted to leave Lebanon to Nigeria via Cairo.
He was said to have arrested while attempting to travel with a fake Palestinian passport with a valid Nigerian Visa at the Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport early Saturday, August 15, 2015 in Lebanon.
According to the official of the ministry of foreign affairs who spoke with Vanguard on the condition of anonymity, the ministry of foreign affairs has been directed to explain how the wanted terrorist was able to get Nigerian Visa.
“The reported arrest of the wanted terrorist is a huge embarrassment to Nigeria and the President has directed that the matter should be investigated. The embassy in Lebanon has been directed to furnish the ministry with details of how the man got the visa. The National Intelligence Agency Officer has been directed to provide details of what happened” the officer said.
Nigeria recruiting 10,000 police officers to boost security and employment
Nigeria is to recruit an extra 10,000 police officers to boost security and help tackle youth employment, President Muhammadu Buhari has announced.
More CCTV cameras would also be installed in cities and major towns to curb crime, he added.
Inadequate security has been blamed for the authorities' failure to defeat the militant Islamist group Boko Haram.
Last week, President Buhari gave his security commanders three months to defeat the insurgents.
The police are part of the national task force fighting the insurgents in the north-east of the country.
Although the militants have lost their strongholds this year, they are still active and there has been an upsurge in suicide attacks since Mr Buhari took office.
The bombers often target markets and bus stations.
A senior officer told the BBC that the police force had an estimated 375,000 officers at the moment.
More CCTV cameras would also be installed in cities and major towns to curb crime, he added.
Inadequate security has been blamed for the authorities' failure to defeat the militant Islamist group Boko Haram.
Last week, President Buhari gave his security commanders three months to defeat the insurgents.
The police are part of the national task force fighting the insurgents in the north-east of the country.
Although the militants have lost their strongholds this year, they are still active and there has been an upsurge in suicide attacks since Mr Buhari took office.
The bombers often target markets and bus stations.
A senior officer told the BBC that the police force had an estimated 375,000 officers at the moment.
150 people drown and shot dead while fleeing from Boko Haram
Up to 150 people drowned in a river or were shot dead fleeing Boko Haram gunmen who raided a remote village in Nigeria's northeastern Yobe state, residents said on Tuesday.
Dozens of militants arrived on motorcycles and in a car on Thursday last week and sprayed automatic gunfire, scattering terrified inhabitants of Kukuwa-Gari.
"They opened fire instantly, which forced residents to flee. They shot a number of people. Unfortunately many residents who tried to flee plunged into the river which is full from the rain. Many drowned," Modu Balumi, a resident of the village, told AFP.
"By our latest toll we have 150 people either (shot dead) or drowned in the attack. The gunmen deliberately killed a fisherman who tried to save drowning residents of the village."
Balumi said the bodies of many of the drowned were picked out by locals several kilometres away.
News of the attack was slow to emerge because the militants have destroyed telecom masts around the village, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Yobe State capital Damaturu, since the insurgency began in 2009.
"Most residents, particularly women and children, ran towards the river in confusion,"said Bukar Tijjani, another villager, who confirmed the death toll.
"They were pursued by the gunmen who kept firing at them. In the frantic effort to escape they jumped into the river, which was full to the brim."
A local government official confirmed the attack but put the death toll much lower, at around 50.
- Massacre -
The higher count would constitute the largest loss of life in any single Boko Haram attack since President Muhammadu Buhari swept to power on May 29, vowing to crush the insurgency.
The ambush came during the region's peak rainy season, when most waterways in northeastern Nigeria are swollen and can flow with dangerous speed.
The village was still reeling from a raid by suspected Boko Haram militants on July 31 when at least 10 people were killed by gunmen who burned homes, food silos and livestock.
The Gujba area of Yobe state, where Kukuwa-Gari village is located, has been hit hard by Boko Haram violence in the past but had seen relative calm since troops reclaimed it in March.
In September 2013 scores of students of an agricultural college in the area were massacred as they slept in their dormitories.
In February last year dozens of students of a boarding secondary school in the main town of Buni Yadi were also killed in a gun attack on their hostels.
Boko Haram claimed responsibility for both attacks.
The jihadist militia, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, has waged a violent campaign for a separate Islamic homeland in the northeast which has seen more than 15,000 deaths since 2009.
Ryan Cummings, chief security analyst at South African consultancy Red 24 and an expert on the Nigerian insurgency, said the Kukuwa-Gari attack underlined that victory against the Islamists could not be defined by territorial control.
Many areas liberated by the army were more than likely abandoned by Boko Haram who preferred not to engage troops in conventional warfare, he said.
- Suicide attacks -
"Consequently, while localities such as Kukuwa-Gari have been reclaimed from rebel hands, Boko Haram continues to possess both the intent and operational capacity to execute attacks against these settlements," he told AFP.
"Furthermore, what the Nigerian army is witnessing now is that snapshot operations to liberate civilian populations is a much easier task than actually securing communities from the ever-present threat of further attacks."
The military under Buhari's predecessor Goodluck Jonathan was heavily criticised for poor handling of the insurgency and its failure to free more than 200 schoolgirls abducted from the northeastern town of Chibok in April last year.
Since Buhari took office, the militants have stepped up their campaign with a wave of raids, bombings and suicide attacks which have left more than 1,000 people dead in Nigeria alone, according to an AFP count.
The Islamists have also carried out deadly ambushes across Nigeria's borders and in recent weeks suicide bombers, many of them women, have staged several attacks in Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad.
Nigeria's new leader replaced his military chiefs last week, ordering them to end the insurgency within three months, and a five-nation regional force of 8,700 troops from Nigeria and its neighbours is expected to deploy imminently.
Chadian leader Idriss Deby declared on August 12 that efforts to combat Boko Haram had succeeded in "decapitating" the group and that its fearsome leader Abubakar Shekau had been replaced by a commander open to negotiations.
But Shekau dramatically rebuffed the claim in an audio recording released on Sunday and authenticated by security analysts, dismissing the Chadian head-of-state as a "hypocrite" and a "tyrant".
Dozens of militants arrived on motorcycles and in a car on Thursday last week and sprayed automatic gunfire, scattering terrified inhabitants of Kukuwa-Gari.
"They opened fire instantly, which forced residents to flee. They shot a number of people. Unfortunately many residents who tried to flee plunged into the river which is full from the rain. Many drowned," Modu Balumi, a resident of the village, told AFP.
"By our latest toll we have 150 people either (shot dead) or drowned in the attack. The gunmen deliberately killed a fisherman who tried to save drowning residents of the village."
Balumi said the bodies of many of the drowned were picked out by locals several kilometres away.
News of the attack was slow to emerge because the militants have destroyed telecom masts around the village, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Yobe State capital Damaturu, since the insurgency began in 2009.
"Most residents, particularly women and children, ran towards the river in confusion,"said Bukar Tijjani, another villager, who confirmed the death toll.
"They were pursued by the gunmen who kept firing at them. In the frantic effort to escape they jumped into the river, which was full to the brim."
A local government official confirmed the attack but put the death toll much lower, at around 50.
- Massacre -
The higher count would constitute the largest loss of life in any single Boko Haram attack since President Muhammadu Buhari swept to power on May 29, vowing to crush the insurgency.
The ambush came during the region's peak rainy season, when most waterways in northeastern Nigeria are swollen and can flow with dangerous speed.
The village was still reeling from a raid by suspected Boko Haram militants on July 31 when at least 10 people were killed by gunmen who burned homes, food silos and livestock.
The Gujba area of Yobe state, where Kukuwa-Gari village is located, has been hit hard by Boko Haram violence in the past but had seen relative calm since troops reclaimed it in March.
In September 2013 scores of students of an agricultural college in the area were massacred as they slept in their dormitories.
In February last year dozens of students of a boarding secondary school in the main town of Buni Yadi were also killed in a gun attack on their hostels.
Boko Haram claimed responsibility for both attacks.
The jihadist militia, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, has waged a violent campaign for a separate Islamic homeland in the northeast which has seen more than 15,000 deaths since 2009.
Ryan Cummings, chief security analyst at South African consultancy Red 24 and an expert on the Nigerian insurgency, said the Kukuwa-Gari attack underlined that victory against the Islamists could not be defined by territorial control.
Many areas liberated by the army were more than likely abandoned by Boko Haram who preferred not to engage troops in conventional warfare, he said.
- Suicide attacks -
"Consequently, while localities such as Kukuwa-Gari have been reclaimed from rebel hands, Boko Haram continues to possess both the intent and operational capacity to execute attacks against these settlements," he told AFP.
"Furthermore, what the Nigerian army is witnessing now is that snapshot operations to liberate civilian populations is a much easier task than actually securing communities from the ever-present threat of further attacks."
The military under Buhari's predecessor Goodluck Jonathan was heavily criticised for poor handling of the insurgency and its failure to free more than 200 schoolgirls abducted from the northeastern town of Chibok in April last year.
Since Buhari took office, the militants have stepped up their campaign with a wave of raids, bombings and suicide attacks which have left more than 1,000 people dead in Nigeria alone, according to an AFP count.
The Islamists have also carried out deadly ambushes across Nigeria's borders and in recent weeks suicide bombers, many of them women, have staged several attacks in Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad.
Nigeria's new leader replaced his military chiefs last week, ordering them to end the insurgency within three months, and a five-nation regional force of 8,700 troops from Nigeria and its neighbours is expected to deploy imminently.
Chadian leader Idriss Deby declared on August 12 that efforts to combat Boko Haram had succeeded in "decapitating" the group and that its fearsome leader Abubakar Shekau had been replaced by a commander open to negotiations.
But Shekau dramatically rebuffed the claim in an audio recording released on Sunday and authenticated by security analysts, dismissing the Chadian head-of-state as a "hypocrite" and a "tyrant".
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