Showing posts with label Boko Haram. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Boko Haram. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Abubakar Shekau Gravely Wounded, Other Boko Haram Commanders Killed, Nigerian Army Claims.


Abubakar Shekau Gravely Wounded, Other Boko Haram Commanders Killed, Nigerian Army Claims. (Saharareporters).

The Nigerian Army has claimed that Abubakar Shekau, a factional leader of Islamist insurgent group, Boko Haram, was “fatally wounded” in an air attack carried out by the Nigerian Air Force.

In a statement released late yesterday, Army spokesman, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, said Mr. Shekau was wounded in an “unprecedented and spectacular air raid,” adding, “some key leaders of the Boko Haram terrorists have been killed while others were fatally wounded.”

“The air raid took place last week Friday 19th August 2016, while the terrorists were performing Friday rituals at Taye village, Gombale general area within Sambisa forest, Borno State,” Colonel Usman stated.

He added that the confirmed casualties among the Boko Haram commanders included Abubakar Mubi, Malam Nuhu and Malam Hamman.

The military spokesman added that the Islamist group’s “leader, [the] so-called ‘Abubakar Shekau,’ is believed to be fatally wounded on his shoulders.”


SaharaReporters was unable to reach Colonel Usman to clarify what he meant by “fatally wounded,” since the phrase is confusing.

Saturday, August 6, 2016

What led IS to select a new Boko Haram leader?


What led IS to select a new Boko Haram leader? (africanarguments). By Omar S. Mahmood.

Before this week’s announcement of a leadership change, IS had already begun to increase its focus on Boko Haram. And the specifics of its shift in communication could reveal some of the motivations behind the decision to replace Abubakar Shekau, who has led the group since 2009.

On the one hand, there are some indications that some in Boko Haram objected to the relationship with IS from the start, and since the pledge, Shekau has overseen many attacks that IS has chosen not to promote – even during its recent increase of statements.

These assaults have included those committed by female suicide bombers – a trend that has generally declined but continued – along with violence against civilians and mosques. Furthermore, a US army official recently said that Shekau faced internal dissent over his refusal to adhere to an IS directive to halt the use of child suicide bombers.

By contrast, Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the man announced as the new leader, clearly stated in his al-Naba interview that attacks against Muslim civilians, mosques, and markets will not be a staple of his leadership – he said he would focus more on Christian targets – though he remained silent on the issue of female suicide bombers.

The announcement therefore was likely to have been partly motivated by a desire to replace Shekau – who has quickly responded to the interview, insisting that he is still in charge – with a figure whose attack methodology may better facilitate IS propaganda.

On the other hand, however, there may also be wider strategies at play too. In addition to concerns about Boko Haram’s attack patterns under Shekau, another reason behind IS’ increased messaging and leadership change may be to challenge the broader narrative regarding the status of the Islamic State’s West Africa Province.

Since its admission into IS in March 2015, Boko Haram has lost the vast majority of its territory in the face of a renewed push by Nigerian security forces following the election of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The effects of this have been seen on many fronts. The group’s attack radius has shrunk amid an overall decline in large-scale violence. There have been rumblings of food shortages. Low morale has reportedly led to surrenders. And some displaced people have been repatriated to areas formerly under militant control.

In this sense, reinvigorated IS involvement in Boko Haram over the past two months may be aimed at presenting a contrasting story to this tale of decline, one in which the group is still capable of confronting and defeating conventional security forces.

This narrative has been enhanced by the visual depictions of the “spoils of war” – such as weapons, ammunition, and vehicles – as well as of fallen soldiers in IS publications.

And in his interview, al-Barnawi acknowledged that while the group has lost territory, this should not be considered a defeat and that it will return to a stronger position. Read the full story here.

HT & Source:

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Somalia: Senior Al Shabaab officials discussing allegiance to ISIL terrorist group.


Somalia: Senior Al Shabaab officials discussing allegiance to ISIL terrorist group. (garoweonline).

Senior Al Shabaab officials including its Chief Abu Ubaidah have been discussing loyalty to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) amid military setbacks on frontlines in central and southern Somalia, sources familiar with the matter told Garowe Online.

Abu Ubaidah is believed to have eased his stance towards ISIL, and told militant ideologues to cut off ties with al-Qaeda and its leader Ayman al-Zawihiri.

The gathering is underway in the town of Jilib , some 97km north of the southern port city of Kismayo.

The tight secrecy of the meeting made details more convoluted, with sources telling GO that Mahad Karate, Ubu Ubaidah’s deputy agreed to the allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) which is seeking to extend its influence into East Africa.

“This is not strange, and it seems that Al Shabaab could be following in the footsteps of Boko Haram at the height of dire funds shortage, and blistering loss of grounds against allied forces,” said an analyst who asked not to be named. Al Shabaab merged al-Qaeda in 2012. Eversince, militants have been adhering to apostasy principles and the communications style of the network.

In March, ISIL leader reportedly sent invitation to Al Shabaab Chief Abu Ubaidah, encouraging the Somali militant group to wage Jihad on neighboring countries, notably Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania.

Boko Haram fighters aligned themselves with ISIL in early March in well produced audio message posted online.

If the discussion succumbs to ISIL loyalty, analysts predict unparalleled shuttle of foreign Jihadists. Hmmmm.......The Turkish organization IHH provides humanitarian assistance to the famine-stricken regions of Somalia and Al Shabaab. Same guys who 'deliver' arms to ISIL,

Sunday, July 5, 2015

"We Will Not Negotiate With Boko Haram From A Position Of Weakness"- Nigerian Govt.

Abu Abdalla (reported leaderAlShabaab), 

"We Will Not Negotiate With Boko Haram From A Position Of Weakness"- Nigerian Govt. (SaharaReporters).

Following a BBC interview last night where Presidential spokesperson Femi Adesina was quoted as saying that the Nigerian government would negotiate with Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, the Nigerian government has now clarified its stand on the matter.

In a press release issued from his Abuja office, Mr. Adesina has said the Nigerian state is putting in place mechanisms that would completely devastate Boko Haram from a multinational level. The statement further stated that the government would consider negotiations with the dreaded Islamist group if they accept to do so.

Read full statement below:

Most wars, however furious or vicious, often end around the negotiation table. So, if Boko Haram opts for negotiation, the government will not be averse to it. Government will, however, not be negotiating from a position of weakness, but that of strength. The machinery put in place, and which will be set in motion soon, can only devastate and decapitate insurgency. It is multinational in nature, and relief is on the way for Nigeria and her neighbours. President Muhammadu Buhari is resolute. He has battled and won insurgency before, he is poised to win again. It is a promise he made to Nigerians, and he is a promise keeper.

But I say again, if the insurgents want to negotiate, no decent government will be averse to such. Didn't the Taliban and Americans also negotiate in Afghanistan?

Femi Adesina

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

Hmmm......What happened to 'we don't negotiate with terrorists'? You don't negotiate with a rabid dog.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Hundreds of women, children again kidnapped by terrorist group Boko Haram: residents.


Hundreds of women, children again kidnapped by terrorist group Boko Haram: residents.(TN).

DAMASAK - Boko Haram militants have kidnapped more than 400 women and children from the northern Nigerian town of Damasak that was freed this month by troops from Niger and Chad, residents said on Tuesday.

There was no immediate official confirmation of the figure, but the Islamist group has previously carried out mass kidnappings. Boko Haram's abduction last April of nearly 300 schoolgirls in the region stirred international outrage and drew global attention to the group's six-year insurgency.

"They took 506 young women and children (in Damasak). They killed about 50 of them before leaving," a trader called Souleymane Ali told Reuters in the town. "We don’t know if they killed others after leaving, but they took the rest with them."

Troops from Niger and Chad last week found the bodies of at least 70 people in an apparent execution site under a bridge leading out of Damasak, where the streets remain strewn with debris and burnt-out cars after the fighting.

Ali said his wife and three of his daughters were among those seized.

"Two of them were supposed to get married this year. (Boko Haram) said 'They are slaves so we’re taking them because they belong to us'," he said.

Mohamed Ousmane, another trader, said the militants took his two wives and three of their children.

A 40-year-old resident who gave her name as Fana said fighters had rounded up captives in the main mosque before taking them out of town. She said she saved her two children by hiding them in her house.

Boko Haram wants to carve out a caliphate in northern Nigeria. A sharp increase in violence forced a delay in planned elections last month in Africa's most populous country.Hmmm.......Why did the Obama 'admin' let them grow so much?

Related:

Flashback : June 2012, Obama 'admin' designate three members of Boko Haram as terrorists,'Will diminish the capacity of Boko Haram to execute violent attacks' 


  Obama Accused of Obstructing Battle against Boko Haram to Promote Axelrod’s Nigerian Muslim Client.


Monday, March 9, 2015

31 terrorist groups now pledge support or allegiance to Islamic state terrorist.


31 terrorist groups now pledge support or allegiance to Islamic state terrorist. (IBTimes).

According to data gathered by the Intel Center, a private company that studies terrorist groups, 31 groups have now sworn either support or allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Boko Haram has been responsible for tens of thousands of deaths and displacement of an estimated 1 million people in the past year and now controls an area about 52,000 square kilometers, roughly the size of Slovakia, according to an estimate released by The Telegraph.

The pledge follows similar messages of solidarity from Islamist militant groups in Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Yemen and Saudi Arabia in November, and militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan announced that they were forming an ISIS “province” in January. Read the full story here.



Sunday, February 22, 2015

Girl suicide bomber, between 7 -10, kills five in Boko Haram attack in NE Nigeria.


Girl suicide bomber, between 7 -10, kills five in Boko Haram attack in NE Nigeria.(News).

A GIRL thought to be as young as seven-years-old killed herself and five others in a suicide bombing in northeast Nigeria as President Goodluck Jonathan conceded his government had underrated the capacity of the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram.

The attack on a market in the city of Potiskum on Sunday is the latest in a string of suicide strikes in which children have been used.

Previous attacks have been blamed on Boko Haram.

Nineteen people were injured in the blast in Yobe state’s commercial capital, a local vigilante leader told AFP.

“So far, five people were killed with the girl while 19 others have been taken to hospital for injuries,” Buba Lawan said.

A hospital source speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed the dead and the wounded count.

Sunday’s bombing in Potiskum was the second suicide attack in or near the market where new and second-hand phones are sold and repaired.

The first attack occurred January 11, when two suicide bombers — one of whom appeared to be around 15 — blew themselves up outside the market killing six people and injuring 37 others.

Before Sunday’s strike, suspicious security guards and vigilantes said they tried to prevent the girl — who witnesses said appeared around seven — from entering the market. Read the full story here.

Hmmm....This proves the danger the ME and the West are facing from 'Child warriors'. 
ISIL has just opened a school for English speaking kids (See Below), the chances of these kids entering Europe and the U.S. as 'fugitives' are real and huge. We better wake up.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

US Blocks Israeli helicopter Sales to Nigeria, what if they use them against Boko Haram?


US Blocks Israeli helicopter Sales to Nigeria, what if they use them against Boko Haram? (IMRA).

US Secretary of State Kerry, in Lagos, promises more aid if Nigerian elections are clam, yet the US blocked a sale of retired American-made Cobra helicopters by Israel to Nigeria.

The New York Times: "Concerns in Washington about Nigeria’s ability to use and maintain that type of helicopter" IsraelDefense 26/1/2015 http://www.israeldefense.com/?CategoryID=483&ArticleID=3328

More than 200 combatants have been killed after Nigerian troops clashed with Boko Haram insurgents who attacked the north-eastern city of Maiduguri on Sunday, i24News website reported. Survivors reported that the rebels rampaged through villages slitting throats of residents, looting and burning homes and abducting dozens of trapped women and children.

The violence occurred as Secretary of State John Kerry launched a whistlestop visit to Lagos to discuss the upcoming February 14 elections in light of concerns about a repeat of post-poll unrest in 2011, which left some 1,000 people dead.

Kerry promised more US support in the fight against Boko Haram if the elections take place peacefully and democratically. However, the United States apparently stopped a planned sale of retired American-made Cobra helicopters by Israel to Nigeria, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported Monday.

Haaretz has learned that the Defense Ministry had already made plans for the sale to Nigeria and the transfer of the helicopters – but the United States prevented the sale, due to fears that civilians would be harmed during the use of the helicopters in Nigeria.

The New York Times reported at the end of December that the US had blocked the sale “amid concerns in Washington about Nigeria’s ability to use and maintain that type of helicopter in its effort against Boko Haram, and continuing worries about Nigeria’s protection of civilians when conducting military operations.”

The report on i24News added that Israel significantly increased the volume of its weapons sales to African countries in 2013 compared to previous years. Defense Ministry figures show that 2013 was the record year for weapons sales to African countries: A total of $233 million worth of arms and military technology. In the four previous years, the annual amount of such contracts was between $70 million and $120 million

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Nigeria claims to have killed Boko Haram leader.


Nigeria claims to have killed Boko Haram leader.(France24).


Nigeria's military on Wednesday claimed to have killed a man who was posing as Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, in clashes between soldiers and the Islamist militants in the country's far northeast.

"In the course of those encounters, one Mohammed Bashir, who has been acting or posing on videos as the deceased Abubakar Shekau, the eccentric character known as leader of the group, died," said defence spokesman Chris Olukolade.

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Boko Haram proclaims ‘Islamic caliphate’ in Nigeria town; Note: 'Has nothing to do with Islam'


Boko Haram proclaims ‘Islamic caliphate’ in Nigeria town; Note: 'Has nothing to do with Islam' (ArabNews).

KANO, Nigeria: Boko Haram’s leader said he has created an Islamic caliphate in a northeast Nigeria town seized by the insurgents earlier this month, in a video obtained by AFP on Sunday.

“Thanks be to Allah who gave victory to our brethren in (the town of) Gwoza and made it part of the Islamic caliphate,” Abubakar Shekau said in the 52-minute video.
 He declared that Gwoza, in Borno state, now has “nothing to do with Nigeria.”

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Scary revelations About Boko Haram: Escaped Chibok Girl Raped 15 Times By 15 Men Every Day.


Scary revelations About Boko Haram: Escaped Chibok Girl Raped 15 Times By 15 Men Every Day. HT: OsunDefender.

More scary revelations have emerged to shed some light on the agonising experience of the missing Chibok girls, based on the account of one of the escapees.

Three of the girls have so far escaped from the terrorist group, Boko Haram, who abducted over 200 girls from a government secondary school in Chibok, Borno State on the night of April 14, 2014.

A clergy and expert on counter-terrorism, Oladimeji Thompson, of The Omoluabi Network, who has been working with other groups to assist victims of the abduction overcome their pains, gave a chilling narration based on an account of one of the escapees.
He said, “One of the girls I interviewed was being raped 15 times by 15 men every day.” He said the girl was traumatised and confused.
“It’s obvious this girl needs to be managed. She looked confused. She found it hard to talk to me but after much prodding, she confessed to me that she was raped 15 times by 15 men throughout the time she was with the Islamic insurgents before she could escape from their den.

“A girl who has been raped by 15 men every day, you say you negotiate and gave her back and release a terrorist who will go out and kill more. What negotiators do is to say that they must not tell their stories, they blanket all the information. In a situation like this, it is the Boko Haram that wins more.”

Asked if the girl was not pregnant after her ordeal in the hands of the insurgents, the pastor, probably in an attempt to protect the schoolgirl, declined further comments asking our correspondent to move to other issues.

Many of the mothers confirmed to our correspondent that against all trumped up figures in the media, only three girls have since managed to escape from Boko Haram’s den.

The Omoluabi Network is working with other groups such as the Unlikely Heroes, a United States based trauma management specialists and the Gabasawa Women Initiative, a coalition of women across Northern Nigeria led by Kucheli Balami, to provide psychological and emotional support for the escaped girls and their grieving parents.

He called on government not to negotiate with the terrorist group but explore every other option in rescuing the missing girls.

“The people who are talking about dialogue in the first place don’t understand that this thing is a merciless, unrelenting, non-negotiating monster. Those who have studied it globally and locally know that anybody who says negotiate is likely a mole that really belongs to the Boko Haram, pretending not to be part of them.

“If you look at the United States today, the reason it is a prosperous nation is because it refused to negotiate with the colonial powers that threatened it. Nigeria negotiated, look at where we are today. America stood by principle, look at where it is today. So, we are at a crossroads right now. If you claim to negotiate and make Boko Haram stronger, you have betrayed all the blood of thousands who have been slaughtered by these terrorists. If you negotiate, you are only prolonging the evil day, helping people who will eventually reach your own children.

In the wake of the girls’ abduction, there has been blame trading by the Borno State government and the West African Examination Council over whose laxity led to the sad development. While WAEC had claimed it warned the state government against staging the exam in the town, the administration had strongly debunked that allegation. But some of the aggrieved women revealed they were forced into allowing their daughters live in the hostel during the examination.

“Nobody sought our opinion before deciding that the girls stayed in the hostel. Most schools in Borno have been closed because of Boko Haram, how silly would we be to allow our children into such danger? We were never aware of that arrangement.”

“Once the girls in captivity return, the reality is that our work has only just begun. These girls are going to need trauma therapy, immediate medical care and all the things they will need to properly stabilise and overcome this trauma. It is mostly likely that when they get out they will need up to 10 to 16 weeks to be able to recover from the shock.

“It is also important that they are placed in a very safe environment. The safer the environment that they are placed in, the quicker they will be able to heal. The more specialised care that they are given immediately upon return, the easier it will be for them to recover and be re-integrated into their normal communities and everyday life,” she said.

US Congressman, Louie Gohmert, said during the meeting that the girl’s abduction now came tops in major delibrations within the country’s political circle in recent weeks. Gohmert who played a major role in ensuring the US government designated Boko Haram a Foreign Terrorist Organisation, howeever chided the White for not using its intelligence and technology to crush the sect and rescue the girls from captivity.

“We must all rally behind the families of these missing girls. The international community must step up efforts to free the girls. If the US does not use its power to stop Boko Haram, God will use someone else to do it. We will not relent on our calls until these girls are safely released to their families,” he said.

Last week, the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, told news men that they had located the whereabouts of the young girls but that they were taking all necessary precaution in freeing them from captivity. 

Earlier this week, the Australian government, through its Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, offered to allow its special forces partake in the search for the girls. The Nigerian government, according to Thompson, is yet to accede to that request. 

Mothers and family members of the abducted young women would be hoping for a quick resolution to the problem even as they look forward to wrapping their daughters in their arms sometime as soon as possible. But for now, they are living with the pains and wounds brought by the sad incident.

Source: PUNCH Nigeria

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Video - Canadian caller into canadian talkshow demonstrates MSM and Gov misleading public on Islamic extremism.



HT: TundraTabloids.

Abducted By Boko haram Chibok Schoolgirls Beg President Jonathan To Spare Their Lives In New Video.


Abducted By Boko haram Chibok Schoolgirls Beg President Jonathan To Spare Their Lives In New Video.(Naii).

The Boko Haram sects are said to have sent the video to the President by an  intermediary, a Nigerian Journalist, Ahmad Salika in a bid to change the mind of Jonathan concerning his rejection of the original deal to swap the school girls for Boko haram prisoners.

.

Apparently the was flown into the country some weeks back by the Nigerian government to facilitate negotiations between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram.

obtained the video as a way of proving to Mr Jonathan’s office that he had authentic lines of communication to Boko Haram’s leaders.

Salkida who left the country two years ago to Dubai for fear of his live after being arrested in the past and associated with the sects as a result of his closeness to them, upon his return back to the country was said to have headed up into the remote bushland areas where the group operate, meeting a senior assistant of Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau.

The Federal government still in doubt of Salkida asked for a prove, a source said:
“The government said to the intermediary to prove himself to show whether he was capable of brokering a deal or not, and insisted that he should obtain proof of life of the hostages,” the source said. “So during his talks with the insurgents, he obtained a DVD which had clips of girls being interviewed by members of the group, in which they asked President Jonathan to do a prisoner swap to get them freed.
“That DVD was shown to the government, and a deal was arranged so that the girls would have been released a week ago on Monday, but at last minute the government backed out.”
The Nigerian government aside pressure from Western countries at the security summit in Paris not to accept the Boko haram terrorists demand to 'Sap the girls', a source said that they appear to be afraid that "if they do a prisoner swap, they will lose the support of the West."

The source further said, the negotiations had now “crashed”, with Mr Salkida returning to Dubai while the DVD remains in the possession of the Nigerian government and has not been released publicly.
READ MORE:  http://news.naij.com/67140.html

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Man reveals his ordeal with Boko Haram: “prepared to die as a Christian?” they asked me, then they shot me in the face.

Habila Adamu in the hospital after he was attacked by Boko Haram militants in 2012, left, and giving evidence to a House Committee on Foreign Affairs in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 13, 2013.

Man reveals his ordeal with Boko Haram: “prepared to die as a Christian?” they asked me, then they shot me in the face.HT: OsunDefender.
A father who was shot point-blank in the face by Boko Haram recounted how the militants asked whether he was “prepared to die as a Christian” and then left him for dead.

Habila Adamu, 40, was so badly wounded in the attack that he said goodbye to his wife as blood poured from a gaping wound.

The father-of-one said the April 15 capture by Boko Haram of more than 200 girls from a boarding school brought back painful memories of the night he was shot and beaten in his home.

“When I heard about those girls I started to pray,” Adamu told NBC News on Tuesday. “Boko Haram have no mercy. All they want to do is drive the Christian community out of northern Nigeria and they won’t stop until they do it.”

Many of the minority Christians in Yobe province were fearful of Boko Haram because the militants had attacked homes and businesses in the region, according to Adamu.

The businessman initially thought they were soldiers on patrol near his home one night in November 2012. “But when I saw their robes and AK-47 rifles I knew they were not from the army,” he said. “They told me they were there to do the work of Allah.”

With his wife Vivian and son David, now aged seven, looking on, four men forced their way indoors and asked whether he was a member of the police force or army. He told them he was not.
“Then they asked me whether I would convert to Islam and when I refused they asked whether I was prepared to die as a Christian. My wife was crying but I could not deny Christ. I felt powerful, unafraid, I don’t know why.” Before he could refuse a second time, a bullet pierced his neck.

“I fell on the ground,” Adamu said. “They thought I was dead because they stomped on me twice and shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ or ‘God is great.’”

Adamu mustered the strength to talk to his wife before slipping out of consciousness. “She was crying so many tears,” he said. “Neither of us thought I would survive so I told her that to live in this world was to live for Christ. I told her to look after our son and herself.”

Recovering her composure, Vivian ran to find help from fellow members of the Christian community – only to find that militants had killed 12 others.

Too scared to leave the house, she tended to her husband for eight hours. At first light, she was able to arrange transport to a nearby medical center. “When they saw the wound, a doctor told my wife there was no point in treating me,” Adamu said. “I had lost so much blood.”

However, they gave him painkillers and transferred him to the Jos University Hospital, hundreds of miles further south, where doctors funded by the non-profit organization Voice of Martyrs were able to treat him. Adamu’s condition gradually stabilized and he was discharged about two weeks later.

During his time in the hospital, Adamu met U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), who was on an official visit to Nigeria. He was later invited to share his experiences in America.

Almost a year after the shooting, Adamu told his story to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. He also visited the White House.

“Not bad for a small man from a village in northern Nigeria,” Adamu said. “I feel that God saved me to give a voice to the oppressed people who can’t stand up for themselves.”

However, Adamu felt that he could not return to his village because of the publicity surrounding his case. He has moved to a different part of Nigeria to avoid reprisals.

Last year, he also became a father for a second time, to Gladys, now aged one.


“I survived, I am alive and I am safe,” he said. “It is a miracle that I am alive. I am praying that we will be able to say the same about the schoolgirls. I think they have got more extreme since they attacked me over a year ago. Today I feel they would not only have shot me, but my family too.”

Hmmmm.......

Flashback : June 2012, Obama 'admin' designate three members of Boko Haram as terrorists,'Will diminish the capacity of Boko Haram to execute violent attacks' 

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Some of the abducted Chibok girls seen in Central Africa


Some of the abducted Chibok girls seen in Central Africa.HT: UsunDefender.

There are strong indications that the terrorist sect, Boko Haram, may have moved some of the over 200 schoolgirls it abducted from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State out of West Africa.
There were reports on Friday that some of the abducted schoolgirls were seen in Birao, Central African Republic with armed men. Birao is a small town in the north of the CAR.

The Islamic sect had abducted pupils of the school on April 14 and taken them into the forests along the Nigeria-Cameroon border. Over 50 of the pupils escaped while being moved out of the school.

An online report by a French news medium, Jeune Afrique, on Friday, said villagers saw about 50 young women led by armed men in the North Central African Republic last week.
The report was translated into English by one of our correspondents.

The report says, “The Nigerian schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram have passed through the northern CAR, escorted by armed men. Based on several testimonies of inhabitants, the women arrived Wednesday, April 30 aboard trucks.

“They were guarded by heavily armed men, who spoke English, and also members of the former (CAR) rebel Seleka.”

Seleka is an alliance of Islamic rebel militia factions that overthrew the Central African Republic government early last year and installed their leader as president. The group which has reportedly carried out several executions, rape and looting split last year with Christian and Muslim factions terrorising the CAR, forcing France to send more troops to the region.

The French newspaper added that natives of Birao were afraid to approach the kidnapped girls.

“According to our source, the convoy of two trucks and a pickup was previously seen at Tiroungoulou (about 170 kilometres southwest of Birao) and perhaps Chad. “Upon arrival, some were frightened, cried and were violently rebuked in English. The girls and their guardians were then housed for several days in a house. “The group reportedly left the scene on the night of Sunday to Monday, May 4 to 5, without a trace,” the report said.

Barely 24 hours after President Goodluck Jonathan said no group had claimed responsibility for the abduction of the pupils, Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, claimed responsibility for the abduction.
Shekau, while claiming responsibility for the seizure of the girls in a video, threatened to sell the abducted girls. “I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah,” he said. Earlier, there were reports that the girls were taken to neighboring Cameroon and Chad.

The Cameroonian government however faulted reports that some of the teenagers had been married off in the country.
Cameroon’s Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakari, was quoted as saying he was shocked by accusations that Cameroon was not collaborating with Nigeria to free the girls from their captors.
“We insist that allegations from Nigeria that a part of the 200 young female students recently kidnapped in the North-East of Nigeria would have been transferred to Cameroon to be forced into marriage to members of the Boko Haram sect are fully unfounded. “Cameroon will never ever serve as a support base for destabilisation activities towards other countries,” he was quoted as saying.

The Unites States, Britain, France and China have, however, expressed their readiness to assist Nigeria in rescuing the girls. The US and British military personnel and hardware arrived in the country between Thursday and Friday.
One of our correspondents in Abuja also gathered that the Federal Government would engage Israel in the search for the abducted girls.
SUNDAY PUNCH learnt that the Federal Government and Israeli authorities had held a series of meetings since the girls were abducted on April 14.

A security source said on Friday that the collaborative efforts between Israel and Nigeria on the issue of terrorism and insurgency had been ongoing for some time.

The source who pleaded anonymity said, “The issue of collaboration with Israeli and other countries did not start now, a lot of meetings have been held on insurgency.”

When contacted on Friday, the Press Officer of the Israeli Embassy in Nigeria, Mr. Tony Obiechina, said the embassy had closed for the day and could not respond to the issue.


He said, “We have closed. I will have to meet with the ambassador on Monday to see if there is any information on your request.”Source.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Saudi Arabia’s top Muslim cleric says Boko Haram is a misguided disgrace to Islam.


Saudi Arabia’s top Muslim cleric Sheikh Abdulaziz Al ash-Sheikh,says Boko Haram is a misguided disgrace to Islam.HT: OsunDefender.

Yesterday, Sheikh Abdulaziz Al ash-Sheikh, the head of the Grand Mufti, Saudi Arabia’s top religious authority condemned Boko Haram as a group set up to smear the image of Islam. He dismissed the movement, saying it was misguided and should be shown that it has towed the wrong path.
Sheikh Al ash-Sheikh added: “This is a group that has been set up to smear the image of Islam and must be offered advice, shown their wrong path and be made to reject it. These groups are not on the right path because Islam is against kidnapping, killing and aggression. “Marrying kidnapped girls is not permitted. This is a gross misinterpretation of Islam.”

As Grand Mufti, Sheikh Al ash-Sheikh is the head of the Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and is the one charged with issuing fatwas.

Although a very conservative and controversial person in the past, of late Sheikh Al as-Sheikh appears to have mellowed a bit lately as in on September 12, 2013, he issued a fatwa that suicide bombings are great crimes and bombers are criminals who rush themselves to hell by their actions.

Earlier this week, Islamic scholars from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the world’s largest Muslim body representing 57 countries, joined in denouncing the kidnapping.

Also, Cairo’s Al-Azhar Mosque, one of the oldest and most credible Sunni institutions of higher learning in the world, recently said the kidnapping has nothing to do with the tolerant and noble teachings of Islam.

Boko Haram leader Sheikh Abubakar Shekau, has threatened to sell the girls off in marriage in line with historical precedent. In the Youtube video broadcast to the world, Sheikh Shekau called the girls slaves, in reference to the ancient jihadi custom of enslaving women captured in a holy war, who then can be used as sex slaves by their captors.

Unconfirmed report - Abducted Nigerian Girls Were spotted In Sambisa Forest By U.S. Marines.


Unconfirmed report - Abducted Nigerian Girls Were spotted In Sambisa Forest By American Special forces.(Osondefender).
There were indications yesterday form the reports reaching us that the 230 female students abducted by Boko Haram terrorists from the Government Girls’ Secondary School, GGSS, Chibok, Borno State, have been sited at the Sambisa Forest in Borno State, by the Special Forces of the United States Marines.

The girls who were abducted on April 14, were part of the 250 students boarded at the school for the West African School Certificate, WAEC, Senior Secondary School Certificate, SSSCE, examinations, triggering world-wide condemnations.

More US military officials arrived Nigeria yesterday to join local officials in the search for the schoolgirls taken captives and being reportedly used as sex slaves by the Islamist extremist group, Boko Haram, the US Secretary of State, John Kerry and the defence department, Pentagon, said.

According to Kerry, “Our inter-agency team is hitting the ground in Nigeria now and they are going to be working with President Jonathan’s government to do everything that we possibly can to return these girls.” 

A news channel also quoted the U.S. Navy Rear Admiral, John Kirby, who serves as Pentagon press secretary, as saying that the small team of seven would join advisers supporting local efforts to find the girls abducted over three weeks ago.


Kerry said the US team, working with the Nigerian government, would do everything possible to free the girls and everything possible to stop the atrocities of Boko Haram.

“We are also going to do everything possible to counter the menace of Boko Haram. The entire world should not only be condemning this outrage but should be doing everything possible to help Nigeria in the days ahead,” he added.

Update: Us Marines locate Abducted Girls, Arrest one of the Boko Haram Leaders

However, military sources said that apart from abducting the girls, the insurgents also carted away food items and vehicles as well as killing undisclosed number of people in Chibok on that fateful night.

A source in Abuja said that members of the United States Marines who are already in Maiduguri following the promise by the US President to help Nigeria in rescuing the abducted girls, located the girls inside the forest, using some Satellite equipment which combed the forest, located an assembly of the young girls and sent the images back to the Marines on ground in Maiduguri.

Beside locating the girls in the dense forest, it was also, further gathered that one of the leaders of terrorist group who participated in the abduction of the girls was arrested by a combined team of the US Marines and Nigerian forces.

Sources said that the Boko Haram leader was arrested, through an advanced interceptor equipment which was used to track the terrorist while exchanging information with his colleagues in Sambisa Forest about the movements of American and Nigerian soldiers in Maiduguri.

The source said the suspect’s phone was traced to a location in Maiduguri where he was arrested and handed over to the Nigerian military.

The location of the girls in the forest is contrary to widespread reports that the girls had been distributed and ferried to the Nigerian border towns in Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic.

Senator Ahmed Zanna, representing Borno Central District in whose Maiduguri home, an alleged Boko Haram top commander was once arrested told the Senate last week that he gave the Military an up-to-date information on how the girls could be rescued, but lamented that his information was ignored.

He spoke against the backdrop of the claim by the Boko Haram leader, Sheik Abubakar Shekau, last week that the girls were booties of war, who would be sold into slavery.

Friday, May 9, 2014

On This One Condition We Will Release Your Abducted Girls – Former Boko Haram Negotiator!


On This One Condition We Will Release Your Abducted Girls – Former Boko Haram Negotiator! HT: OsunDefender ; kayefi ;
A former mediator of the Boko Haram group, Shehu Sani has revealed that the over 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in Nigeria by the Islamist militants could be released in exchange for jailed comrades. 
The girls were snatched from their boarding school in Chibok in the lawless Borno region in the north of the country.

The former mediator of the group told newsmen that he believes the video, where Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau threatens to sell the girls as slaves, shows he plans to use them as ‘bargaining chips’ rather than kill them. He said the footage, released on Monday, was an attempt to persuade the Nigerian government into a prisoner trade.

He told the newspaper: “From my knowledge of the group, to have him saying that he will sell them is proof that this issue can be resolved. The group is most likely to want to attach some kind of conditions to the girls being released, such as the freeing of some of their own prisoners.”

Hmmm........I think they're right #BringBackOurGirlsAlive

Thursday, May 8, 2014

The Story Behind The Life Of The Leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, 'Lone Wolf, leading the pack'


The Story Behind The Life Of The Leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, 'Lone Wolf, leading the pack' HT: OsunDefenders.
He is the face of terror. A ruthless leader with a twisted ideology. And the sadistic architect of a campaign of mayhem and misery. And yet, very little is known about Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram.

Shekau was born in Shekau village that borders Niger and speaks several languages fluently: Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri and Arabic. But English isn’t one of them. After all, he heads a group that rejects all things Western.He’s elusive. Even his age is unknown — estimates range between 38 and 49.

The U.S. State Department has Shekau’s year of birth listed as 1965, 1969 and 1975.

He was an unruly No. 2. Boko Haram was founded by Mohammed Yusuf, a charismatic, well-educated cleric who drove a Mercedes as part of his push for a pure Islamic state in Nigeria. He wasn’t too effective as a leader and had a hard time keeping his second-in-command in check.

Shekau was more radical and had grander designs. And merciless as No. 1. Mohammed Yusuf was killed in a security crackdown in 2009, along with about 700 of his followers. That left Shekau in charge. He vowed to strike back, and his group has spared no one: government workers, police officers, journalists, villagers, students and churchgoers. Human Rights Watch estimates that in the past five years, more than 3,000 people have been killed.

He’s come back from the dead. The military has touted Shekau’s death several times, only to retract its claim after he appeared alive and vibrant in propaganda videos.

They almost got him in September 2012 when they raided his home, where he had snuck in for his six-day-old baby’s naming ceremony, according to the International Crisis Group. He managed to get away with a gunshot wound to the leg; his wife and three children were taken by the military.

Abubakar Shekau operates in the shadows, leaving his underlings to orchestrate his repulsive mandates. He resurfaces every once in a while in videotaped messages to mock the impotence of the Nigerian military.

And he uses his faith to recruit the impressionable and the disenfranchised to his cause.

He’s a loner. Analysts describe Shekau as a loner and a master of disguise. He does not speak directly with members, opting to communicate through a few select confidants.


He uses many aliases: Abu Bakr Skikwa, Imam Abu Bakr Shiku and Abu Muhammad Abu Bakr Bin Muhammad Al Shakwi Al Muslimi Bishku among them.

Shekau was born in Shekau village which has boundary with Niger and exclusively studied under a Islamic cleric for many years before he attended Borno State College of Legal and Islamic Studies for higher studies on Islam.

That’s why he’s also known as ‘Darul Tawheed,’ which translates to an expert in monotheism, or the oneness of Allah

He uses Islam to recruit and radicalize. The northeast, where Boko Haram has been most active, is economically depressed and among the least educated regions in Nigeria.

There’s no firm evidence as yet that Boko Haram has ambitions beyond Nigeria. But its campaign of terror has spilled into remote parts of Cameroon and it appears to have informal links with militant Islamist groups in Mali and Niger.

It was in May 2013 that Shekau first announced in a video that Boko Haram would start kidnapping girls. The kidnappings, he said, were retaliation for Nigerian security forces nabbing the wives and children of group members.

The most horrifying instance was last month’s abduction of 276 girls from a girl’s school.

“I abducted your girls,” he taunted with a chilling smile in a new video that surfaced this week. “There is a market for selling humans. Allah says I should sell. He commands me to sell.”


There’s a $7 million bounty on his head. Shekau has been on the radar of U.S. officials since he came to power in 2009. Last June, the United States put a bounty on him, offering a reward of up to $7 million for information leading to his location. But that’s yet to yield results.

Related: Flashback : June 2012, Obama 'admin' designate three members of Boko Haram as terrorists,'Will diminish the capacity of Boko Haram to execute violent attacks'

Flashback : June 2012, Obama 'admin' designate three members of Boko Haram as terrorists,'Will diminish the capacity of Boko Haram to execute violent attacks'


Flashback : June 2012, Obama 'admin' designate three members of Boko Haram as terrorists,'Will diminish the capacity of Boko Haram to execute violent attacks'(Reuters).
The United States on Thursday named three alleged leaders of the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram as "foreign terrorists," the first time it has blacklisted members of the Islamist group blamed for attacks across Africa's most populous nation.
The State Department identified the three as Abubakar Shekau, calling him the "most visible" leader of the group, and Abubakar Adam Kambar and Khalid al-Barnawi, who it said were tied both to Boko Haram and to al Qaeda's north African wing.
"These designations demonstrate the United States' resolve in diminishing the capacity of Boko Haram to execute violent attacks," it said, saying that Boko Haram or associated militants were responsible for more than 1,000 deaths in the past 18 months.
The action by the State and Treasury Departments, first reported by Reuters on Wednesday, followed growing pressure on the Obama administration to take stronger action against Boko Haram, which has stepped up attacks on Christian places of worship this year in its drive to establish an Islamic caliphate in northern Nigeria.

U.S. officials say the decision to list individual Boko Haram members, rather than apply the more sweeping "Foreign Terrorist Organization" label to the group as a whole as some U.S. lawmakers have demanded, reflected a desire not to elevate the group's profile.

"We took this measure to designate these three because they are clearly kingpins of Boko Haram and clearly all of them have advocated terrorism as a weapon," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told a news briefing.


"We're continuing to look at the question of a broader designation."

Two Republican lawmakers who led the campaign for a broader designation said the move against the three was insufficient, saying the intelligence community needed every available tool to combat Boko Haram

"Given Boko Haram's trajectory and intent to carry out terrorist attacks against Western targets, including possibly the Homeland, we must take the growing threat seriously," Representatives Peter King and Patrick Meehan said in a statement.Read the full story here.

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