Nigerian Newspapers
JTF kills 50 Boko Haram suspects
The end came at the weekend for about 50 suspected Boko Haram members in Borno, one of the three states under a state of emergency.
They were killed by the Joint Task Force after a raid of Zabarmari ward in Jere Local Government Area of Maiduguri .
Three suspected terrorists on their way to Jigawa state to unleash terror were arrested at Borno Express Motor Park on Saturday by volunteered youths, a.k.a Civilian JTF, a security source claimed yesterday.
Zabarmari, according to the source, is one of the black spots where Boko Haram operates in Maiduguri.
The source said: “At the weekend, we received intelligence report that Boko Haram terrorists regrouped and were residing/ hiding in Zabarmari ward. We mobilised our troops to the area. On getting there, the suspected terrorists noticed our presence and started shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is Great) as they fired sporadic gunshots at the JTF troops. We had no option than to repel the attacks as we succeeded in killing about 10 of the suspects.
“We did not take their bodies away, leaving them in the area. The following day when we mobilised our men to the area, we found out that hundreds of the terrorists were at the grave yard burying their dead and and as we approached, they started shooting at our troops which led to the exchange of gun fire, where we succeeded in killing over 40 of them”. The JTF source said. He could not be quoted because he does not have the authority to speak..
“As I am talking to you now, our men are still in Zabarmari hunting for any suspected terrorists who might have escaped the deadly encounter”. He added.
On the arrests of three suspected Boko Haram members who were allegedly on a suicide mission to Jigawa Statre, the source said, “The men of the JTF are highly delighted with the zeal/effort being put in place by the vigilance youths popularly called Civilian JTF.
The JTF source added: “They (the vigilance team) handed them to the JTF unit and one of them, now dead, said, they were from Bama Local Government Area on a suicide mission to Jigawa and other states in the north. In fact, the deceased, before his death, told us that already, all their weapons of massive destruction had been transported to the target areas before luck run out of them”.
Due to the total closure of GSM network services in Borno state, JTF Spokesman Lt. Col. Sagir Musa and Police spokesman Gideon Jubrin could not be reached to confirm the story.
Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika yesterday said the military is winning the war on terrorism.
He added however that it is a war that has tested the Army because insurgents have been disguising as civilians to ambush soldiers.
Gen. Ihejirika spoke at the Inter-Denominational Service at the All Saints Military Protestant Church, Mogadishu Cantonment, Abuja, to mark the 2013 Army Day Celebration. The army is 150 years old.
He said the military had made tremendous achievements, but a lot still had to be done.
“Wining the war starts from in-house, I am aware of the improved capacity of the units, improved capacity of the officers and men, and this is what gives me the confidence that we will excel.
“And as for the operation itself, the nature of insurgency is such that you will continue to have occasional setbacks because you are dealing with people who disguise as civilians,’’ he said.
Gen. Ihejirika said some soldiers had been ambushed a number of times in the current operation, adding that it was made possible by the fact that the insurgents disguise as civilians.
He said some of the soldiers might not be on their best guard.
Gen. Ihejirika said attitudinal change would “transform the Nigerian Army into a force able to deal with contemporary challenges.”
The Civilian JTF yesterday apprehended two women attempting to smuggle assault weapons into the Monday market in Maiduguri.
Eyewitnesses told the News Agency of Nigeria (NANS) that the women, who concealed the weapons in their dresses, were arrested at the Bulabulin entrance gate of the market.
One of the witnesses, Malam Modu Bulama, a trader, said that they were in the market when they heard noise from the gate.
“We rushed to scene, but on getting there, we saw two women in veil with assault weapons,’’ he said.
Bulama said each of the women concealed an AK 47 rifle, a pistol and some items believed to be Improvise Explosive Devise (IED) in their veil.
A member of the gropu, Malam Usman Ibrahim, corroborated Bulama’s claim, adding: “we were on a routine checking at the gate when these women came with heavy veil.
“At first we did not bother to look at them, but we realised that one of them was shivering, we said something must be wrong,’’ Ibrahim said.
He said that when they were searched, “we found that each of them concealed an AK 47 rifle, a pistol and IED in their veil.
“We were surprised at the discovery, so we took them to officials of the Joint Task Force (JTF) on Operation Restore Order (ORO) for investigations,’’ Ibrahim said.
JTF spokesman, Lt.-Col. Sagir Musa, could not be contacted for comment, but a senior military officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the story.
The official said the JTF was already investigating the case.
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Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Kamaru Usman has raked in a mammoth £1.1million, about N584.2 million after his impressive knockout victory over Jorge Masvidal on Saturday night, Sportivation.com.ng reports.
The Nigerian Nightmare has been handsomely rewarded for his stunning performance and he was the best-paid fighter on the card which was witnessed by 15, 000 fans in Florida.
According to Daily Mail, Usman earned £538,000 to show up, £459,000 pay-per-view bonus, a £43,000 sponsorship bonus and a well deserved £35,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
Jorge Masvidal also earned £358,000 to show, £186,000 in pay-per-view money and a £28,000 sponsorship bonus.
This is the biggest payday of Usman’s career so far and the Welterweight champion also benefited from the fact that Masvidal is also a top draw for the fans.
Kamaru Usman is a Nigerian-American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler.
Sourced From: Latest Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers, Politics
The government said that no worker should stay back beyond 6:00 p.m. within premises of buildings undergoing construction.
The post Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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