Army Arrests 3 Igbo Traders Supplying Ammunition to Boko Haram

Igbo traders suppliers of arms to Boko haram
The three suspected gun runners of Igbo origin, who were heading to the North from Imo State, were intercepted in Nsukka, Enugu State, by officers and men of the Nigerian Army while travelling in a bus.Items recovered from them include 40 AK47 magazines, 4 boxes of AK47 live ammunition,100 pieces of live cartridges, one piece of Denim Mopol khaki and charms concealed in a cap.
One of the army officers who spoke to reporters under anonymity disclosed that a police corporal serving in Imo State Police Command was also involved in the arms running.
He said: “When we asked the occupants of the vehicle to come down, we discovered a police corporal in uniform among them. The corporal on getting down pretended to be pressed; he later ran away.
– Source: Abuja Voice

Nigerian military now monitoring the social media

The Nigerian military says it is now monitoring the social media for comments that could be “anti-government, anti-military or anti-security”.

John Enenche, director of defence information, said this when he appeared on Channels TV on Wednesday.

He said the measure became necessary in the wake of hate speeches and comments threatening Nigeria’s unity.

Eneche spoke two days after President Muhammadu Buhari expressed worries that some comments on the social media “have crossed our national red lines”.

Enenche said as part of measures aimed at tackling this, the military has established “strategic media centres”.

“Imagine when the president came back and addressed the nation, not up to 30 minutes later, a fake speech of the commander-in-chief was being circulated in order to do what? To derail the people,” he said.

“If you are not very sharp and if you didn’t listen to the speech or you don’t have a copy of it like I had it almost immediately, you wouldn’t know. So, looking at it from that perspective, it is a challenge everywhere.

“What are we doing? In the military, we are now taking on it more seriously than ever. We have our strategic media centres that monitor the social media to be able to sieve out and react to all the ones that will be anti-government, be anti-military, (and) be anti-security.

“We tackle them appropriately with appropriate responses. Ahead of that, we are also proactive.

“We have measures in place, scientific measures to be able to sieve this information and also to get the public and let them know that some of this information they are getting is not genuine are not true and their objective is an anti-corporate existence of this country.”

The Nigerian Army Kill 10 Insurgents in Marte, Borno

The Nigerian army on Thursday said it killed 10 Boko Haram insurgents in clearance operations in Marte local government area of Borno.

A statement issued in Maiduguri by Timothy Atigha, the spokesman of the 8 task force division, said the troops also recovered bicycles and cows from the insurgents.

He also said the troops launched two separate attacks against the insurgents at Maza, Danari and Mowo villages of Marte and Monguno local government areas.

“In continuation of ongoing efforts to deny terrorists freedom of action in its area of responsibility, troops of the 8 task force division have neutralised 10 terrorists in Maza village of Marte local government area of the state” he said.

“The terrorists fell into an ambush laid by troops at about 9: 00 p.m. on Tuesday as they attempted to sneak back into their swampy hideouts in the Lake Chad Basin.

“The troops also recovered 52 rustled cows from the insurgents at Danari and Mowo villages in Monguno local government area.”

Atigha said the troops recovered 10 bicycles, carts and food items.

He disclosed that the insurgents had resorted to bicycles and carts as means of transportation due to the intensified offensive of the military against the insurgents

Inauguration of Mobile Strike Force Against Boko Haram

In a renewed onslaught against Boko Haram insurgents in the north-east, the Nigerian army has inaugurated special mobile strike force.

Ibrahim Attahiru, theatre commander, operation Lafiya Dole, made the announcement on Tuesday at the inauguration of the force at Maimalari cantonment, Maiduguri.

He said the special strike force was one of the new approaches evolved by the military to end insurgency and enhance security network in the region.

He said soldiers deployed to the force were exposed to modern terrorism combat techniques to enable them to crush the insurgents.

“The mobile strike force (MST) is launched to deny the insurgents freedom of action and finally decimate them,” he said.

“This specially selected force with mixed equipment and platforms were deployed to achieve the conduct of long range patrols and ambush deep into the hinterlands.

“All these are in an effort to ensure the success of Operation Lafiya Dole and enhance our operational efficiency.”

The commander tasked the soldiers to be resolute, disciplined and determined to achieve victory in the campaign.

He urged them to be guided by their professional ethics to enable them win the war.

Attahiru told the soldiers that successful campaign against the insurgents would have an indelible mark in the history of counter-insurgency campaign in the north-east.

In the past two months, the army has intensified its campaign against the insurgents.

Dozens of insurgents had been killed and arrested while a bomb factory in Borno was destroyed.

OPERATION LAFIYA DOLE INTENSIFIES CORDON AND SEARCH OPERATIONS FOR BOKO HARAM TERRORISTS IN MAIDUGURI

PRESS STATEMENT
OPERATION LAFIYA DOLE INTENSIFIES CORDON AND SEARCH OPERATIONS FOR BOKO HARAM TERRORISTS IN MAIDUGURI

As part of ongoing counter insurgency operations, the Theatre Command Operation LAFIYA DOLE has been conducting several clearance as well as cordon and search operations in urban and rural areas within the Theatre. The clearance operations effort has been yielding several successes. It has forced the Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs) to change tactics and resort to employment of suicide bombers to target military locations and the populace.  This necessitated the need to intensify Cordon and Search in Maiduguri metropolis and environment. 

In the last one week cordon and search operations were conducted in Jiddari –Polo, Muna Garage, Jakana amongst several other areas. On 10th August 2017, Theatre Command received information from one of its credible sources that some high value BHT suspects had infiltrated into Pompomari Bye Pass.  It therefore became expedient to take preemptive action by combing the general area through a cordon and search operations.  The operation was successfully conducted as over 30 houses were searched.  One of such included a property which was said to be occupied by United Nations Staff, although the property did not carry a UN designation.  On the whole, operation in the general area was successfully concluded but no arrest was made because the suspects were not found.

The command wishes to assure the general public that these operations are being conducted to safeguard lives and properties but not targeted at any individual or group.  The general public is cautioned to avoid peddling rumours which may cause disaffection and to remain law abiding.
You are please requested to disseminate the information to the general public.

KINGSLEY SAMUEL
Lieutenant Colonel
for Theatre Command Operation LAFIYA DOLE

161 Members of the House of Representatives yet to sponsor a bill in 2 years

By Musa Abdullahi Krishi

At least 161 members of the House of Representatives are yet to sponsor a bill more than two years after assuming office, Daily Trust findings have shown.

Of the 360 members in the House, only 199 have sponsored at least a bill since their inauguration on June 9, 2015.

They have spent 26 months out of their 4-year tenure, with only 22 months left.

Within the period, the 161 lawmakers pocketed at least N32 billion in allowances and salaries, investigation by this newspaper has revealed.

Each lawmaker gets N7.6 million as running/overhead cost and additional N660, 000 as salary monthly, which amounts to N8.26m monthly.

In the 26 months they spent so far, each lawmaker has pocketed about N214.7m each, totalling N34.576bn.

There are 1066 before the House, with 53 of them coming from the Executive arm, and 23 forwarded from the Senate.

Members without bills

Official records of lawmakers without bills obtained by Daily Trust showed that the North West has the highest where 60 of its 91 members have not turned in any bill. Of the 72 members from the South West, 32 have no bills to their names.

The North East has 48 members, 25 members of whom have no bills, while out of the 55 lawmakers from the South South, 19 failed to sponsor a bill.

Similarly, the North Central, with a total of 49 members, 16 members fail to sponsor a bill, while only 8 members out of 43 from the South East do not have a bill in their name. Only one member out of the two from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) sponsored bills.

The breakdown showed that Chief Whip, Alhassan Ado Doguwa from Kano State, who is the leader of the North West Caucus in the House, has no bill in his name. Others from Kano are Ibrahim Sani Umar, Abdullahi Mohammed Gaya, Garba Umar Durbunde, Nasiru Baballe Ila, Suleiman Aliyu Romo, Sani Mohammed Rano, Munir Babba Dan-Agundi, Nasiru Ali Ahmed, Shehu Usman Aliyu, Musa Ado Tsamiya, Mustapha Bala Dawaki and Badamasi Ayuba. Only 11 members out of 24 have bills from the state.

In Katsina State, there are 12 members without bill. They are Saidu Sani Fago, Kabir Shuaibu, Danlami Kurfi, Ahmed Dayyabu Safana, Murtala Isa, Ibrahim Murtala, Amiru Tukur, Muntari Dandutse, Suleiman Salisu, Babangida Ibrahim and Mansir Ali Mashi. Jigawa is next where nine members out of 11 have no bill. They are Adamu Mohammed, Magaji Aliyu Da’u, Abubakar Hassan Fulata, Yuguda Hassan Kila, Rabiu Garba Kaugama, Usman Ibrahim Auyo, Mohammed Gudaji Kazaure, Mohammed Gausu Boyi and Ibrahim Abdullahi Dutse.

In Kaduna State with 16 members, seven lawmakers namely: Lawal Mohammed Rabiu, Sunday Marshall Katung, Yakubu Umar Barde, Simon Arabo, Muhammad Musa Soba, Mohammed Abubakar and Yusuf Bala Ikara have no bills.

The lawmakers without a bill from Sokoto State are Hassan Bala Abubakar, Aminu Sani Isa, Kabiru Marafa Achida, Bashir Isa Salihu, Mohammed Sa’adu and Shehu Aliyu. There are 11 members from the state.

There are six lawmakers from Kebbi State out of 8 without bill. They are Aliyu Danladi, Bello Dantani, Suleiman Hussaini Kangiwa, Abdullahi Hassan Suru, Salisu Garba Koko and Mohammed Dantani.

Only one member from  Zamfara State has sponsored a bill.The six without bills are Lawali Hassan Anka, Abdulmalik Bungudu, Aminu Sani Jaji, Yahaya Chado, Ibrahim Isah and Lawal Mu’azu.

In the South West, Lagos has the highest members without bill, 10 of them out of 24. They are Joseph Adebayo, Diya Babafemi, Olufemi Adebanjo, Taofeek Abiodun, Abiola Olatunji, Bolaji Ayinla, Raji Olawale, Tajudeen Obasa, Abayomi Danda Kako and Nurudeen Akinwumi, a new comer who replaced late Adewale Elijah who had a bill before his demise.

In Ondo State, six members have no bill out of nine. They are Afe Oluwookere, Babatunde Kolawole, Olemija Friday, Akinfolarin Samuel, Akinlaja Joseph, Baderinwa Bamidele. The same thing obtains in Oyo State where six out of 14 members, namely: Adedapo Lam-Adesina, Segun Ogunwuyi, Olasupo Abiodun, Olugbemi Samson, Ayoade Olugbenga and Sunday Adepoju have no bills.

Five out of the nine members from Ogun State have no bills. They are Akinlade Adekunle, Adekoya Adesegun, Ojugbele Olusola, Mukaila Kazzim and Williams Olusegun. There are three out of six lawmakers from Ekiti State, namely Akinyele Awodumila, Thedeous Akinola and Agboola Emmanuel Kehinde, without a bill.

Osun has two out of 10 without a bill. They are Akintayo Gafaru Amere and Albert Abiodun Adeogun.

In the North East, seven members out of 10 from Borno State have no bill. They are Mahmud Lawan Maina, Jibrin Santumari, Mohammed Nur Sheriff, Mukhtar Betara, Mohammed Sanda, Mallam Bukar Gana and Abdulkadir Rahis. 

Bauchi has six out of 12 without bills, namely Tata Omar, Halliru Dauda Jika, Adamu Gurai, Isa Hassan, Aliyu Musa and Lawal Yahaya Gumau.

Also, out of the six members from Taraba State, four, namely: Danladi Tijo, Aminu Malle, Garba Hamman Julde and Danjuma Usman Shiddi have no bill. The same thing obtains in Yobe State where four out of six members have no bill. They are: Ismaila Ahmed Gadaka, Sabo Garba, Sidi Yakubu Karasuwa and Abdullahi Kukawa, who, last year, replaced Khadijah Bukar Ibrahim, now a minister.

In Gombe State, two members out of six have no bills. They are Ismaila Hassan and Yaya Bauchi, both of whom replaced Barambu Kawuwa and Khamis Mailantarki respectively. Also, two lawmakers out of eight from Adamawa State have bill, namely: Gutuwa Philip and Talatu Yohana, who replaced Laori Bitrus last year. 

In the South South, nine members out of 13 from Rivers State have no bill. They are Dagomie Abiante, Gogo Bright Tamuno, Blessing Ibiba, Randolph Brown, Boma Goodhead, Jerome Amadi, Barry Mpigi, Chidi Wihoka and Maurice Pronen. Our correspondent reports that most of the Rivers lawmakers did not spend much time in the House as their elections were nullified. They only returned recently, while Mpigi, Wihoka and Pronen are new in the House.

Of the 10 members from Akwa Ibom State, four do not have a bill. They are Owoidighe Ekpoatai, Iboro Ekanem, Emmanuel Ukoete and Michael Enyong.

Similarly, out of nine members from Edo State, three members, namely Omosede Igbinedion, Aisowieren Patrick and Johnson Oghuma have no bills. Oghuma was sworn in last February, replacing Philip Shuaibu, who became deputy governor of Edo State.

Bayelsa, Cross River and Delta have one member each without bills and they are Jephthah Foingha, Christopher Ngoro and Julius Pondi respectively.

In the North Central, six members out of 10 from Niger State have no bill. They are Abubakar Lado, Abubakar Chika Adamu, Muhammad Bala Faruk, Umar Rofia, Abdullahi Garba and Salisu Shadafi.

Benue and Kogi have three each, namely Hassan Saleh, Adamu Entonu and Adaji Ezekiel (Benue) and Kabir Ajanah, Abdullahi Bello and Ikani Benjamin (Kogi).

Kwara and Nasarawa have two each, namely: Tope Olayonu and Olufunke Adedoyin (Kwara), Abubakar Sarki Dahiru and Mohammed Jafaru (Nasarawa). Jafaru replaced late Musa Onwana mid last year.

All the eight members from Plateau State have sponsored at least a bill.

In the South East, of the 11 members from Anambra State, four, namely: Okechukwu Eze, Anayo Nnebe, Chris Azubogu and Anohu Chukwuemeka have no bills. Three members out of the six from Ebonyi have no bills. They are Anayo Edwin, Nwazunku Chukwuma and Ogbee Lazarus.

Only Nkole Ndukwe out of the eight members from Abia State has no bill, all the members from Imo (10) and Enugu (8) have sponsored different bills.

Similarly, Zakari Angulu from the FCT has no bill to his name.

The highest bill sponsors

Lawmakers with the highest number of bills on regional basis are Rep Uzoma Nkem-Abonta (PDP, Abia/South East), 50 bills; Rep Ossai Nicholas Ossai, (PDP, Delta/South South), 46 bills and Edward Pwajok, (APC, Plateau/North Central) 41 bills.

Others are Gideon Gwani (PDP, Kaduna/North West), 20; Femi Gbajabiamila, (APC, Lagos/South West), 14.

Mohammed Tahir Monguno from Borno State (North East) has nine. Speaker Yakubu Dogara has 10 while his deputy Yussuf Suleiman Lasun has one.

Lawmakers lack capacity - CISLAC

The Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, told Daily Trust that the lawmakers’ inability to sponsor bills was because they lack capacity.

“It’s unfortunate that they spent two years collecting tax payers’ money. They should be accountable for all they have collected. Part of the reason for their being inactive is because they didn’t prepare for the job, so they lack the capacity. They don’t also understand the legislative work and they’re not ready to learn.

“They’re just in the legislature for their personal interest and not to make laws. But let’s even look at the ones that sponsored bills. Some of them don’t even know how to go about sponsoring a bill. Look at the bills to undermine CSOs, encourage looting, grant immunity to themselves, whittle down the powers of CCT and EFCC and the rest.

“Nigerians must confront the lawmakers to do the work they were elected to do. Those that are doing nothing must wake up from their slumber,” he said.
©DAILY TRUST.

FG Acquired 5 New Super Mushak Aircraft to Boost Capacity of NAF Personnel – Osinbajo

Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has unveiled five Super Mushak trainer aircraft acquired by the Federal Government to boost the capacity of Nigeria Air Force personnel in the country.

The five aircraft are among the 10 acquired by the government from Pakistan. Osinbajo, who was represented by Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, said Nigeria would welcome more support from friendly nations in its efforts to bow down Boko Haram insurgency.

The Acting President, who also witnessed the graduation of 16 young Student Pilots from 401 Flying Training School, for the first time in 30 years, pledged that the administration would continue to invest in the country’s air arsenal.

He recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had two years ago pledged to build the capacity of the armed forces to effectively address Boko Haram insurgency and other national security threats.

Boko Haram Attacks Mildu Village at Madagali LGA in Adamawa

Boko Haram insurgents they have launched a night attack on Mildu village in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State on Tuesday, killing seven people and injuring about 10 others, residents and officials said.

The insurgents also burnt houses and shops during the attack. Fleeing residents said the rampaging insurgents stormed the village, which is about 6-7 km from Gulak, capital of Madagali Local Government Area, on the fringes of the dreaded Sambisa forest, around 12 midnight and opened fired on sleeping residents.

A source said locals were taken unawares as they did not expect such attacks especially as the Boko Haram had long been pushed out of the area.
One witness, who identified himself as Musa, said that the attack lasted for about an hour, and those killed appeared to have been earlier identified by the insurgents.

Speaking on the attack, the chairman of Madagali Local Government Area, Muhammad Yusuf, confirmed the death of seven people, but said the total figure was uncertain

A Write-up by a Concerned Citizen

It is not enough for Nigerian army to make public apology for telling lies to Nigerians on the issues of rescuing oil exploration team attacked and abducted by boko haram , somebody should be held responsible and that is call ethics. The truth is even the oil exploration team were misinformed by the military that they have "COMBED" the bush and so the oil exploration team went in and became cheap preys to boko haram. The oil exploration team were given 18 soldiers with three old hilux that broke down several times in the bush which prolonged the work from 23rd July to 25th July 2017. The area is about 50km away from Magumeri which fall within the area of influence of boko haram and of course a no-go area for the military surveilllance. So how and when did the military "COMBED" the bush to have given the oil exploration team a signal to move in? Whoever declared the area safe is an accomplice to this attack and should be held responsible. After the attack, no any military search for anybody, they only moved closer to the scene, shelled the area and waited for a long time before moving in to collect dead bodies of victims. How could boko haram make a successful operation and wait for military to come and shelled them? Was it only boko haram shooting that killed victims or subsequent military shelling of the scene? Since boko haram were targeting oil exploration team for abduction to get money, why would they killed some and abducted some since carrying all may fetch them more money? What criteria did they used in selecting whom to kill and whom to abduct? The soldiers attached to the oil team are grossly inadequate in number and weapons and were hungry because their food during the trip was soaked gari and groundnut. So how much did NNPC actually paid for security that the military officials could not provide new trucks, enough weapons, soldiers and food to combat imminent attack by boko haram within their territory? Why did the management of University of Maiduguri preclude the University security men from judging and advising on signals given by the military, given the fact that it is a common Knowledge that the military have often lied on security issues? This attack was avoidable if appropriate procedures were respected. The military command that gave the false signal should be held responsible for this attack. And please help me, I didn't hear anything from the Chief security officer of Borno State (Governor Kashim Shettima) on this issue or is it not worth talking about? May Allah (SWT) intervene and put an end to accomplices of boko haram which will surely end the project.