₦airaland Forum

A former military officer and historian, Capain AI Adeleke (rtd) has said the current victories of the Nigerian Army over Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists are products of deep strategic thinking on the part of the Nigerian military top brass.


Adeleke, who spoke with our correspondent in an interview in Lagos, said it is part of strategic military planning to lure the enemy into thinking it is gaining the upper hand in a battle only for full arsenal to be unleashed to overwhelm in ways they cannot recover.


He said the fact that Boko Boko Haram terrorists have become sorry sights the battle field after proclaiming they were unstoppable shows that superior and sophisticated approach to combat have been  deployed on them. 


The expert,  however said the string of victories being recorded by Nigerian troops  did not come as a surprise as the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General TY Buratai, is one of the most strategic thinkers and repertiores of intellect in the military today.


He said from the frontal engagement carried out by troops based on precise intelligence reports with almost zero casualty, it is obvious that Buratai is taking after respected past war heroes who won their battles through  application of strategic planning and tactical drills.


"You don't record such victories repeatedly through trials and errors but through conscious systemic and deliberate tactics," he said.


Adeleke said  it is not unlikely from the results being recorded against the Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists that the Chief of Army Staff must have observed closely the staying power, resilience and master stroke strategies of people like Julius Caesar, Hannibal,  Khalid ibn Walid,

 Alexander the Great , Frederick the Great, Gustavus Adolphus, Prince Eugene of Savoy and Napoleon Bonaparte. 


Citing the war pattern of  Gustavus Adolphus, Adeleke said it was his invasion of Germany that helped the Protestants clutch victory from defeat at the hands of the powerful Catholic League, headed by a then world-dominating Spain.

He added that Gustavus became one of the most famous military leaders in history,  when he turned Sweden into one of the superpowers of Europe after he, like Buratai, won a series of great battles "through innovative integration of infantry which included cavalry and artillery and which provided the foundation for modern military warfare."


He said Khalid ibn Walid, who is known as the greatest war General in the Arab world on the other hand, must have inspired Buratai with his outmaneuvering of a much larger Byzantine force in a brilliant campaign that culminated in his great victory at Yarmouk. 


He said Khalid compares with Buratai in the manner he remained undefeated in all of the 100 battles  that he fought, which paved the conquest of the Middle East, Persia, India, North Africa and Spain.


Adeleke said Frederick the Great on the other hand, must have served as an inspiration to Buratai going by the way he defended Prussia During the Seven Years’ War.

He said it took the exceptional resilience of Frederick the great when Prussia was surrounded by much stronger enemies of Austria, Russia, and France on all sides, to  survive, and later snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

He said another remarkable influence on the Chief of Army Staff must have been the Roman army commander, julius Caesar.

He said Caesar, after the conquest of Gaul showed his brilliance in warfare when he led the Roman army into Germany and Britain and established the dominance of Rome over western civilization.


He also said Hannibal who led the single greatest logistical triumph in military history must have inspired Buratai.

He recalled that Hannibal almost destroyed the armies of Rome by ingeniously marching an army of elephants from Africa, through Spain and over the Alps into Italy. 


He said Alexander the Great on the other hand conquered  almost the entire world then and was known for his ruthlessness to completely eliminate the enemy.


He said Buratai definitely shares part of Napoleon's military genius which the latter demonstrated by his destruction of the Third Coalition and the defeat of the combined armies of Austria, Russia, Portugal and others in a series of battles that culminated in what is known the Battle of Austerlitz.


He said, "As a retired military officer, I cant help but notice some of the traits of these renowned war heroes in the current Chief of army staff which reassures me that the man not only knows what he is doing, but is capable of enacting further breathtaking strategies to bring terrorism and insurgency to an end in Nigeria. 


He said, " When you talk about true grit and military Professionalism there is  no way you will not commend Buratai and the troops in the field especially with application of sophisticated strategies and intellectual depth to warfare.


Adeleke said  for an officer who has passed through some of the best military instutions in the world and acquired recondite trainings coupled with having gained valuable experience before his present assignment, no less should be expected from Buratai. 


He said, "The chief of army staff was already heading the multinational task force before  he was appointed to present  position hence the ground work for the current victories have  being laid have been laid by him.


"It was under Buratai as the commander of the multinational taks force that Nigeria was able to clear insurgents from Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states in 2015 for elections to hold there ."



He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his foresight and ability to discover someone like Lt. Gen TY Buratai to lead the war against the enemies of Nigeria. 


"You know Buhari himself is a military tactician who has seen much action  in his days in the army, so he recognises talent, skill and mental acuity when he sees one and I'm happy that he made the right choice in appointing an Army Chief with the necessary grit and qualification to deliver," he added.

The Young Political Leaders Forum of Nigeria (YOLN) has praised the Nigerian Army’s incredible exploits in the war against terrorism.

The group made this known in a letter signed by its President, Prince Timothy Atuluku, to President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday.

According to the political leaders, Nigeria would have been consumed by the Boko Haram insurgency had the president and the gallant troops of Operation Lafiya Dole, led by Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General T.Y Buratai not intervened.

The group stated that but for the coming on board of Buhari's administration, Nigeria would have become the mockery of the world.

The leaders, thus, hailed the sterling leadership of Mr President and his COAS which indeed filled the leadership vacuum over the years to prosecute the war against terrorism has been phenomenal.

The political leaders, however, assured the president and COAS that Nigerians are behind them in the quest to wipe the Boko Haram insurgents in North-East Nigeria.

Read full statement below:

His Excellency
Muhammadu Buhari
President and Commander-in-Chief
Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
Aso Villa,
Abuja-Nigeria.

Dear President Muhammadu Buhari,

LETTER OF COMMENDATION IN THE WAR AGAINST TERRORISM IN NIGERIA

The Young Political Leaders Forum of Nigeria brings its warmest regards to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces for the sound leadership in the country since 2015.

We wish to state that, but for the coming on board of your administration, Nigeria would have been consumed with the myriad of challenges confronting it chiefly the Boko Haram insurgency in North-East Nigeria.

Mr. President may wish to recall that upon assumption of office in 2015, the military hierarchy was relocated to North-East Nigeria. That singular act indeed set the country of the path of progress with regards to the war against terrorism in Nigeria.

Mr. President may also wish to recall that the appointment of Service Chiefs in the country was indeed the game-changer in the sense that the various Service Chiefs hit the ground running and Today the multiple successes recorded in the war against terrorism is evident for all and sundry to see.

The Young Political Leaders Forum of Nigeria is, therefore, using this medium to inform Mr. President that the efforts of the Nigerian Military have been outstanding since 2016 when the military gained ascendency over the Boko Haram terrorist group that culminated in the sacking of the operational headquarters of the Boko Haram terrorist group in Sambisa forest.

We are more than appreciative of the operations of the Nigerian Military in North-East Nigeria and other parts of the country. We wish to exbeen consumed with the myriad of challenges confronting it chiefly the Boko Haram insurgency in N

Mr. President, you may wish to know that the overwhelming votes by Nigerians in the 2019 elections are in recognition of the outstanding show of commitment to the war against terrorism that has yielded tremendous results over the years.

The Young Political Leaders Forum of Nigeria indeed states that the confidence reposed by Nigerians has not been betrayed by His Excellency and hence this letter of commendation, as well as appreciation to our loyal and committed troops that have continued to do the country proud.

We wish to state that in the annals of our democratic experience since 1999, Nigeria has never gotten it right like now when our country is indeed blessed with a leader that has exhibited sincerity of heart and purpose and also a leader that has shown significant commitment towards setting Nigeria on the path of greatness among the comity of nations.

Mr. President, it must be stated that your sterling leadership has indeed filled the leadership vacuum in Nigeria over the years, and your commitment to prosecuting the war against terrorism has been phenomenal.

The Young Political Leaders Forum of Nigeria also commends the efforts of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai. He has led the Nigerian Army with utmost professionalism and dedication in the discharge of his duties.

Mr. President, you may wish to be informed that the Chief of Army Staff has led the troops in battle in an exemplary manner that has seen the activities of the Boko Haram terrorist group confined to the fringes of the Lake Chad in absolute disarray and with nowhere to run to.

The sacrifices of our troops have indeed been felt in all nook and cranny of Nigeria, and this is made possible by the ingenuity of the Chief of Army Staff and the political leadership who has made it a habit to undertake routine visits to the theatre of operations in North-East Nigeria.

Mr. President, the outcome of the routine visits of the Chief of Army Staff in recent times has seen to the killing of over 250 Boko Haram terrorists in recent operations carried out by the Nigerian Military.

The Young Political Leaders Forum of Nigeria wishes to inform Mr. President that Nigerians are with him and the administration towards a final victory on the war against the Boko Haram insurgency in North-East Nigeria.

The Young Political Leaders Forum wishes to encourage the President and Commander-in-Chief not to relent in this final push against the remnants of the Boko Haram by the Nigerian troops by providing that conducive atmosphere for the overall success in the war against terrorism in Nigeria.

Nigerians are eagerly waiting to come out en mass after the COVID-19 pandemic is over to celebrate these milestones from city to city in appreciation of what the military has done for the country through their numerous sacrifices over the years.

Mr. President, you have indeed done well and set Nigeria on the path of greatness through your laudable initiatives and the Young Political Leaders Forum in Nigeria wishes to state in unequivocal terms that it is indeed passing a vote of confidence on our gallant and loyal troops fighting day and night in executing the war against terrorism in Nigeria.

We consequently encourage the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai not to relent in its final push in bringing the Boko Haram war to an end.

Mr. President, a true leader, has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.

Timbuktu- Triangle Victory: Coalition of Activists laud Nigerian troops over successful outings

The Coalition of Nigerian Activists for Greater Nigeria (CNAGN) believes that troops of Operation Lafiya Dole deserve special laurels for their tremendous feat against Boko Haram terrorists in the northeast.

This special recognition trails the troops’ recent onslaught around the Timbuktu-Triangle in Borno State which was once reported to be under the control of the radical jihadists.

Led by Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukut Buratai, the Nigerian troops have gained massive grounds in its final clearance operation, with the latest consuming 134 insurgents.

And in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Dr Kenneth Anayo, on Tuesday, the group of activists hailed the “troops for their uncommon efforts, patriotism and gallantry in the past few weeks especially their most recent exploit in neutralizing over 134 terrorists”.

CNAGN expressed confidence in the COAS and his troops as they match closer towards victory over the terrorists who already appears to be depleted.

The activists, however, urged the Federal Government to carry out a similar operation on the civilian and non-combatant wings of Boko Haram, who arm them with information.

Read the full statement below:

The Coalition of Nigerian Activists for Greater Nigeria has urged the Federal Government and Nigerians to specially commend the troops currently carrying out the final phases of the operation to wipe Boko Haram terrorists out from the northeast of Nigeria and all over the country. The Coalition’s reachtion followed reports that the Nigerian military neutralized as many as 134 Boko Haram terrorists in the Timbuktu-Triangle while arresting 16 informants that had helped the terror group’s operation in the past.

The punishment that the Nigerian Army has inflicted on Boko Haram terrorists is a befitting gift to Nigerians at a time that people are eager for good news in the midst of the COVID-19 scourge. The terrorists that once made themselves into a scourge and a torn in the country’s flesh are today getting the kind of treatment they deserve being the disease that they are. For this the Army, its leadership and troops that are taking part in the operation deserve laurels to spur them on.

We at the Coalition of Nigerian Activists for Greater Nigeria laud the troops for their uncommon efforts, patriotism and gallantry in the past few weeks especially their most recent exploit in neutralizing over 134 terrorists as part of the final onslaught in the war against terrorism. The troops have left everyone talking about their gallantry and patriotism in the their continuous display against the terrorists.

This group, which has always had the highest level of confidence in the capacity of our military to defeat the terrorists without any doubt, is proud that a time has come for all Nigerians to stand behind the troops to defeat the terrorists and their agents of darkness.

The Coalition of Nigerian Activists for Greater Nigeria, however, wants to appeal to the Federal Government to reciprocate the good work the military is doing in flushing out the leftovers of Boko Haram elements by unleashing a similar operation on the civilian and non-combatant wings of Boko Haram. By this we mean that the government should act on intelligence at its disposal about the sympathizers, sponsors, enablers and collaborators of Boko Haram.

The fact that the military has arrested as many as 16 informants for the terrorists showed that they have seriously infected the national space. Consequently, we demand that the government take action in freezing bank accounts linked with terrorism financing, close down businesses connected to Boko Haram commanders and their associates, including those that have been used as fronts for laundering funds to the terrorists.

It is also time to take a firm stand against propaganda deployed in support of Boko Haram and those behind such poison. We equate this with the Nigerian Military being on the threshold of cutting off the head of the beast but the government and the rest of the country must take active steps to incinerate its carcass so that is has no prospect of spawning miniatures or clones in its dying moment. We urge that Boko Haram is atomically defeated on the battlefield in the northeast, defeated in the media and cyberspace, defeated in the socio-political and economic space in order for all Nigerians to enjoy peace.

Even as they commend the military for destroying Boko Haram, Nigerians must now take the next crucial step of collectively freeing their minds grip that terrorism once held over them. It is in the hearts and minds of Nigerians that the terrorists will be finally defeated. The days of Boko Haram are over.

A security expert, Richard Murphy has said the killing of 135 Boko Haram terrorists in the Timbuktu Triangle around northeast Nigeria has exposed the terror group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau as a liar who is now under pressure to maintain an influence he never had.

Murphy, who spoke against the background of the series of military operations that resulted in the killing of the terrorists over last weekend, noted that the development has forced Shekau into a situation where he could be killed by his own commanders owing to the repeated losses they have suffered.

According to Murphy, “The pace at which the Nigerian military is going has made it clear that any terrorist that does not personally broker a deal to surrender is most likely to end up like those that have been killed in recent operations. Dead.

“Interestingly, there is a facet that some analysts are not seeing in the present military operations. These Boko Haram terrorists are being killed as they flee the battlegrounds. It is not that they were being repelled in the course of attacking a military base, it is not that they were killed while springing an ambush or launching a surprised attack against troops. They are being decimated by an army that took the war to them in their hideouts.

“I have an explanation for this. It is that the fundamentals changed in a way that Boko Haram terrorists and their commanders are yet to appreciate. They have lost the capacity to retreat into neighbouring Chad after launching attacks in Nigeria and the same can be said of Niger and even Cameroon. The Nigerian military also took delivery of certain hardwares, which was not the case as at the time decision makers in the west were being swayed by fabricated human rights violations report.

“Add the compelling leadership exhibited by the Nigerian Army Chief, General Buratai, and you begin to get a picture of why Shekau will do well to close shops, possibly consider a surrender, if that window is still open,” the security expert posited.

He said the number of terrorists killed by government troops in recent weeks have exposed Shekau’s “numerous lies” that have spurred his minions to their death in the ongoing war being waged against their insurgency.

Murphy explained that “War is not all about the bombs and the bullets. It also entails psychological warfare, which is what propaganda is directed at achieving. This must have been what Shekau thought he was doing when he recorded the latest audio he published. But within hours of the clip making it to the public it became apparent that it was a bad call given the mix of situations he currently faced. The desperation showed through just as each sentence of the recording is now proving to be a lie.

“Shekau lied that he was not considering any decision to surrender. Yes, in the business he is currently engaged in he wouldn't say otherwise until the final whistle, which we are not likely to wait for given the division that now dominate his camp.

“From all indications, he is on the run and his capacity to do any further fight with the troops is zero. He has lost over 300 men in just one month and such a rogue wants the world to believe that he is still able to fight? That's not correct. He is finished and his end has come,” he declared.

The security expert however said the Nigerian Army must sustain its offensive against the terrorists to ensure recovery is impossible for them while noting that the country had given Shekau enough time to surrender while he failed to take up the offer even though it was presented several times.

He warned that the Army must fight and ensure that the last terrorist is killed and not allowed to escape into Chad or any other neighbouring nation, “Nigeria must learn from the past in two different respects. The first is that any terrorist left behind in this onslaught is like the rhizome of an invasive plant species left in the soil, given enough time and the right conditions it will grow and take over the whole place; this is what happens each time the military defeats Boko Haram and leaves behind some remnants of the fighters. The second thing Nigeria must learn from is the history of Boko Haram itself, if you killed its founder or leader without mopping up the followers, they will always find a mad man to lead them into battle,” Murphy stated.

Boko Haram 134: Our military have lightened our spirits in spite of Covid-19 – African women network

The Africa Women Arise for Change Network (AWACN) has hailed the Nigerian military’s final clearance operation against Boko Haram terrorists as the sole bright spot in an utterly gloomy COVID-19 season.

AWACN, in a statement on Wednesday, said the troops of Operation Lafiya Dole have gladdened the hearts of African women with its recent onslaught on the fleeing terrorists.

Led by Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General T.Y Buratai, the Nigerian Army has recorded tremendous success over the insurgents, with the most recent exterminating 134.

In a statement by its President, Lady Nkechi Odoma, the group expressed delight with the COAS and his men for this magnificent feat amidst the rampaging coronavirus that has consumed nearly 300,000 lives worldwide.

As women, AWACN said they were the worst hit by terror activities ranging from deaths of their husbands, children and even rape.

The women network congratulated the COAS, describing him as “ a responsible husband and family man who feels our pains and who has been in the theatre of operation with the troops for the past five weeks”.

AWACN, however, urged the Army Chief and his troops not to take their foot of the peddle as they are only a stone throw away from victory.

Read full statement below:

Recent news coming from the theatre of the military operation in Northeast Nigeria and the Lake Chad region has gladdened the hearts of African women like no other thing has done in the recent past.

Women in Africa are happy that Nigerian troops by their gallantry and patriotism are proving that evil can never have a permanent victory over good and that finally, our tears as key stakeholders in the family unit would be permanently wiped away.

You may wish to know that women have borne the brunt of the activities of these terrorists the more as they have made many of us widows, many have been victims of rape and forced marriages, while many have been dispossessed of all they have including their children.

It comes to us therefore as not only cheery but reassuring that Troops of Operation Lafiya Dole (OPLD) eliminated 134 Boko Haram/Islamic States of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists and arrested 16 informants in Borno State, Nigeria recently.

These are the groups responsible for the worst horror visited on African women in recent times.

Though the general mood the world over is that of angst and grief occasioned by the ravaging effect of the Coronavirus, which has also claimed hundreds of thousands of lives the world over, bright sparks that illuminate the horizon should not be neglected.

We see the recent victory of Nigerian troops as one of such sparks that is worth celebrating because of the overall impact it would have on bringing the inhuman carnage in Northeast Nigeria and the Lake Chad Region under control as well as restore peace and development in Nigeria.


By now, the world is aware that the ongoing subsidiary operation in the North East Theatre of Operation, code-named ‘Operation Kantana Jimlan, led by no other than the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, is yielding great success.


Since the Chief of Army Staff relocated to the theatre of war, Nigerian troops have moved from one success story to another and these have given us hope that a total victory over the evil forces of ISWAP and Boko Haram terrorists is not only certain but will be sooner than expected.


To our pride and happiness, Nigerian troops through a coordinated artillery bombardments on Timbuktu triangle conducted on May 1 and 2, destroyed seven Boko Haram Gun Trucks while 78 Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters were killed through both aerial and human intelligence and within the same period, another successful artillery engagement to Buk in Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State resulted in the neutralization of an additional 56 BHT criminals bringing the total of the terrorists liquidated within a spate of two days to 134!


Such acts of bravely being repeated by Nigeria troops in recent operations will surely hasten the liquidation of the evil terrorists groups in Nigeria and will make way for a return to normalcy in many of the ravaged communities and make us, the women, happy.

It will also send a strong signal to other insurgents that the days when their evil activities were being tolerated are over.

We note the precision on targets and assault on the strongholds of the Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists in the most professional and efficient manners.

Indeed we can say that the Nigerian Military is one of the best in Africa if not the entire world.

Another commendable aspect of the exercise is that 16 high profile Boko Haram and ISWAP informants have also been identified and apprehended.

With the rounding up of these informants, the intelligence and information gathering network of the Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists would be weakened and it is not unexpected to hear very soon the insurgents begging to surrender since their sources of information have been blocked and their further resistance would be akin to groping in the dark.


We congratulate the Chief of Army Staff, General Buratai, a responsible husband and family man who feels our pains and who has been in the theatre of operation with the troops for the past five weeks.

We note that his presence and participation in operations has greatly inspired the troops leading to.the success being recorded at the battle field.

We also commend the troops who have by their acts of gallantry given the citizenry a course to rejoice at a time of when the general mood the world over has not been that bright.

We urge the chief of army staff not to relent but pursue the fight to its logical conclusion more so as victory is at sight.


We assure the Chief of Army Staff of the cooperation of the citizenry especially women towards ensuring that the battle is won.

God bless the Chief of Army Staff and God be with our troops until the final victory over evil is achieved.

Former Lagos State Commissioner of Police and human rights crusader, CP Abubakar Tsav (rtd), has given the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General TY Buratai and the Nigerian Army a pass mark for their success in recent military operations at the Lake Chad Region.


Our correspondent reports that Nigerian troops in two operations on the 1st and 2nd of May, coordinated artillery bombardments on Timbuktu triangle and destroyed seven Boko Haram Gun Trucks and carried out another artillery engagement in Buk, Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State eliminating 134 number of Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists. 


The retired police commissioner and elder statesman,  in an interaction with newsmen, said the recent decimation of Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists by Nigerian troops in the Lake Chad region serves as a sweet reminder that the Nigerian army has not lost the efficiency and professionalism it has been known for over the years.


Tsav in the interview explained that he is full of commendation for the Nigerian troops not  because they succeeded in liquidating terrorists but making it further difficult for them to carry out any attack within Nigerian borders.


The retired police commissioner said it is evident that all the operations were executed with clinical military precision and professional efficiency. 


This, he said, is obvious from the total avoidance of collateral damages despite attempts by terrorists to hide in civilian populated communities and their  'cowardly' use of humans as shields when overwhelmed.


He stressed that the manner the insurgents were taken out can only be achieved if troops are abiding by the highest forms of professional ethics under the right leadership. 


Tsav said he noticed there have been  differences in the approach and outcome of military operations since the Chief of Army Staff relocated to the Northeast.


"When the Chief of Army staff moved to the theatre of operations, the message he was sending to his troops is that he doesn't mind putting his life on the line for results to be achieved and that he is expecting no less from the soldiers.


"He is also stressing the seriousness of the operations and the need to impart on troops the highest level of strategy and tactics to win the war but before one could even say 'go' the results have started showing. That means not only has he sent the right signals, but the troops have been able to decode the message and act accordingly," Tsav said.


The retired police commissioner said he was happy with last week's liquidation of 134 number of Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists terrorists recalling  that only last month, 105 number of terrorists were liquidated during an encounter at Buni Gari in Gujba Local Government of Yobe State by troops of Sector 2, Operation Lafiya Dole.

                        

Tsav said he is impressed because while the number of terrorists taken out is important, it is also worthy to note that high calibre weapons including  five  AK-47 Rifles, three GPMG, one  Duska Anti Aircraft Gun, one PKT Gun, two handheld radio,  several ammunition and ammunition links  magazines and assorted hard drugs were also recovered from.


He said this will further weaken the insurgents by depriving their remnants of weapons they have been using to unleash terror on hapless citizens," he said.


The elder statesman said it is worth noting that it was not quite a month after that succeful operation that the troops of Operation Lafiya Dole have again eliminated 134 Boko Haram/Islamic States of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists and arrested 16 of their informants.


He said while the insurgents are in disarray and desperate to put up a face, Nigerian troops have been calm and calculated in their operations which has made them to achieve high and excellent  results.


Tsav said Gen Buratai and troops of the Nigerian Army have by these victories shamed the prophets of doom who had predicted that Boko Haram insurgency would bring an end to the entity known as Nigeria.


He said what is happening in the field of operation is the complete opposite of what the prophets of doom predicted saying rather than disintegrate, Nigeria is waxing stronger and stronger while citizen confidence on military instutions has been fully restored.


"From the over 20 local government captured by the terrorists and the hoisting of their flags in some, what we have now is that not an inch of the Nigerian territory is under either Boko Haram or ISWAP control. This is kudos to the Chief of Army Staff and the troops'" he stated.


Tsav added that apart from being happy that normalcy is fully returning to the Northeast, Nigerians are beginning to feel proud of their country once again. 


He said with the current records of onslaught against the terrorists, no dissent or insurgent group would contemplate taking up arms against the Nigerian state without fearing the consequences.


"I expect the Army Chief to live up to his promise to stay with troops until total victory is attained as his presence is a great morale booster to the officers and men in the field," he added.

Exclusive: We are finished, Boko Haram Commanders cry out over sustained onslaught by Army

Feelers from North-East Nigeria indicate that the Boko Haram group is seeking avenues for a dialogue with the federal government in a bid to put an end to the recent onslaught against it by the Nigerian Army.

According to credible sources conversant with the happenings in North-East Nigeria, it was stated that the recent onslaught led by the Chief of Army Staff that resulted in the death of over 135 members of the group, which included some top commanders is indeed the final straw that broke the camel’s back.

A source who pleaded anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information stated that the leader of the Boko Haram group, Abubakar Shekau is indeed battling for his life as some top commanders of the group have turned against him and are ready to take the bulls by the horns to negotiate for a soft landing by surrendering and seeking forgiveness.

“After the last operation by our troops, over 135 members of the group were killed including a top commander who has been at the forefront of surrendering as there seems to be no way out of their dilemma.”

“The death of the commander indeed shook Abubakar Shekau who is battling to avert a revolt from his members over his insensitivity to their plight and also the death of one of their top commanders who has advocated for a ceasefire in recent times.”

The source also added that the situation in the camp of the Boko Haram group is that that of despair and lamentations.

“We have been able to scoop that Abubakar Shekau is trying his best to keep the spirits of his fighters high, but the challenge they faced in recent times has not yielded the desired results as our troops are closing in on them as the day goes by”

It was also gathered from reliable sources that the death of the top commander had been blamed on Abubakar Shekau who is still maintaining a tough face as regards the war believing that the situation could still be remedied.

Our source informed this medium that what is left in the Boko Haram camp is a group of disgruntled fighters that are lacking in everything from food to arms and ammunition.

“You might have read in some daily newspapers on the efforts of some Boko Haram members reaching out to the federal government for a ceasefire. This is very true, as there have been several attempts to get the Nigerian Army to a ceasefire which has not yielded the desired results since the Chief of Army Staff is personally coordinating the operations.”

“I can tell you that the situation is quite tensed as the directive of the Chief of Army Staff is to get Abubakar Shekau wherever he is, and I am not sure any of the sector commanders can go against that directive. So in a way, it is a tough situation for everybody, unless the Chief of Army Staff orders a ceasefire, and so far he hasn’t done so.”

According to a top staff of one of the humanitarian agencies in North-East Nigeria, he stated that the Boko Haram group is seriously rooting for dialogue as a way of ending the war. He also added that overtures had been made and from the look of things the Nigerian Army is not disposed to the idea of dialogue.

“We have done our best in asking the military echelon to dialogue with the Boko Haram group, but we have not received any favorable response so far. You know that there is a limit to how far we can push because it is a very sensitive issue. As such, we must respect whatever decision from the military authorities.”

When asked if indeed the Boko Haram group is seeking for a genuine dialogue with the federal government, the source stated that the Boko Haram group is truly seeking for a way to end the war as they have run out of ideas and stock to prosecute the war further.

“They have reached out to us to plead with the military authorities to halt further attacks on them as they are ready to dialogue and drop their arms. This much we have passed to the theatre command, and as we speak, we have not gotten a response from them.”

“We are treading carefully so as not to incur the wrath of the authorities, and so this is where we are as it stands. If the military hierarchy so decides to dialogue with the Boko Haram group we shall welcome it because we are interested in the return of peace to North-East Nigeria.”

According to another source who has worked in the North East for several years, stated that the probable option for the Boko Haram group is to seek the support of world leaders in prevailing on the Nigerian authorities to dialogue with them.

“From the feelers, we are getting; it doesn’t seem likely that the Nigerian President is ready for a dialogue. The option left, in my opinion, is the intervention of world leaders and organizations, and that can only happen at the diplomatic level, which is clearly outside our purview.”

“I can tell you in confidence that many of the Boko Haram fighters are ready for a dialogue and they are insisting that the government should withdraw the Army as a sign of goodwill. However, how that would play out is left to be imagined.”

“They have cried out on numerous occasions for the Army to a ceasefire so they can have a dialogue, but from the look of things that situation seems much tensed as the troops are advancing daily.”

This medium was able to gather that the Chief of Army Staff who has been in the North East has ruled out the possibility of a dialogue with the Boko Haram members. A top commander who doesn’t want his name in print stated that the Army Chief is not disposed to having a dialogue with Boko Haram.

“The Chief is not interested in any form of dialogue and as such the troops have continued to advance in recent weeks. Not unless the Army Chief shifts his grounds, the likelihood of dialogue is ruled out as it stands.”

“I do not see that happening in my opinion as it seems the big man in Abuja would not condone such options with the way things are. The option of dialogue would have happened years back if indeed they were serious.”

It would be recalled that the Nigerian troops have carried out sustained operations against the Boko Haram group in recent weeks led by the Chief of Army Staff that has seen to the death of hundreds of Boko Haram fighters.

By: Benedict Agu

They said He wasn't a democrat, he proved them wrong by conducting an election that has become a reference point on the continent of Africa today. They said He was corrupt, yet five years after leaving office, not a single case of corruption have they been able to bring forward against him. You then begin to wonder what his continued rising profile have psychologically and emotionally done to the Muhammadu Buhari regime, who still curiously and outrageously appears to be embroiled in a  wild goose chase of their imaginary corruption allegations, against former President, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

While it somehow sounds laughable, one is also sincerely concerned about the latest drama of the regime, which media reports claim, is requesting all documents from American banks concerning any alleged transactions to, from, or for the benefit of Dr Jonathan and his wife between 2009 and the present day.
The latest revelation is scandalously an obvious witchhunt and tendentious at best. It is visible to the blind and audible to the deaf, that this is another in the series of the usual diversionary antics of the Buhari's regime, whenever it is battling with its aviodable mistakes and irretrievably nosediving popularity.

Well, in the latest instance of the mendacious allegation, the regime flagrantly failed in its usual manner, to link any verifiable asset or the purported foreign bank accounts directly  to Dr Goodluck Jonathan, but instead resorted to media rascality and propaganda, which has become the regular trademark of the Buhari's regime.

It is important  to remind this regime once again, that Nigerian political culture has advanced far beyond this regime's characteristic blame game, rumours and innuendos.  They should perhaps be reminded that the era of rumormongering and government propaganda is well past its sell-by date.

For the benefit of unsuspecting members of the public, particularly Nigerians,  Dr Goodluck Jonathan today remains one of  poorest former President in the whole of the African continent. And this is because he refused to appropriate public funds to himself, contrary to the design of the unconscionable propagandists desperate to sell a different narrative to the public. His lifestyle before, during and after office attests to the fact that this illustrious son of Nigeria has always lived within his means and was driven by patriotism for all his actions and policies as President.

How many Nigerian leaders, including President Muhammadu Buhari can find the comfort of having his residence in such part of Yenagoa, in Bayelsa State,  where the Jonathan modest residence is located, or is it the rented duplex which houses the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Office in Abuja that speaks to his opulence? For the avoidance of doubt Jonathan has no investment or property anywhere in the world today that could be described as  a choice possession befitting of a man who has served this country as former Deputy Governor, Governor and later Vice President and President of the Federal republic of Nigeria.

Despite all the harassment and empty boasts of the Buhari regime targeted at his predecessor, none of the so called corruption allegations against Dr Goodluck Jonathan has been personally linked to him. Goodluck Jonathan is only a rich man, in the imagination of his detractors and shadow chasing agents of this regime.

Nothing can be more duplicitous of a serving government than to surreptitiously without recourse to Dr. Jonathan subpoena American banks to produce his non-existent bank documents despite the former President's consistent insistence that he has no accounts abroad.

The fact that the Federal Government admitted in the US court judgement that was not under investigation on the matter being that the signing of the P&ID contracts preceded the Jonathan administration, points to the fact that there must be more to the endless witch-hunt than pursuit of public good.

It is as well that the former President has not only  not restated his innocence but has gone further to urge the American authorities to cooperate with the blundering Attorney General of the Federation in his request for bank details senior officers that served in the past administration.

It is instructive that Jonathan through his spokesman reminded the Buhari government that it found itself in a big whole today with the P&ID imbroglio because it willfully ignored appropriate counsel stemming from a negotiated settlement offered in 2015 by the preceding administration that could have ended that matter without the threat of  impending financial doom.

Despite the foregoing, it is obvious that operatives of  the embattled Buhari regime will definitely stop at nothing in continuing on this path of infamy.

They will not give up on attempting to demonise Dr Jonathan and members of his family, especially as it has now become very obvious that the woeful performances of the regime, can never earn President Buhari the kind of popularity and influence, being enjoyed by Dr Goodluck Jonathan, after his tenure of office. But they fail to realise that Nigerians are no fools.

The Coalition of Arewa Youths for Good Governance (CAYGG) has charged the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai and the troops on the frontlines to sustain the momentum against Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists.

According to the group, the onslaught must be intensified, so as not to give the terrorists any space to recuperate.

CAYGG made this appeal in a statement signed by its President Haruna Ochimana on Monday.

From experience, the group said the radical sect leverage on “any lull in attacks against them to recruit more hapless youth into their ranks and also pick up arms and provisions supplied by their sponsors”.

The group, however, expressed confidence in the troops of Operation Lafiya Dole, especially with the COAS leading from the front.

It assured that the “ hour for a final victory is now and nothing should be spared in smoking those vermin out of those vermin out of their warrens”.

Read full text below:

After taking time to assess the ongoing war that the Nigerian Army has taken to the camps of terrorists in the northeast of the country, the Coalition of Arewa Youths for Good Governance is appealing to the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai and the Nigerian Army to sustain the upper hand they now have over the terrorists be it the Boko Haram elements or those dealing death under the franchise of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

The onslaught against the terrorists must be intensified and slowed down on any account in order not to allow them any breathing space to reorganize. Past encounters have taught that the terrorists use any lull in attacks against them to recruit more hapless youth into their ranks and also pick up arms and provisions supplied by their sponsors.

We further appeal to the COAS and his commanders not to be distracted by the recent gimmicks of the terrorists and their sponsors as the singular objective of the military presence in the region is to ensure that the terrorists are sent into oblivion and the communities in the area can again resume their places as the agricultural, commercial and entrepreneurship hubs that contribute a huge chunk to the economy of Nigeria.

The trick that Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, is playing by being indecisive with whether he wants to surrender or be killed in battle is one that the COAS should not allow to slow down the efforts to bring this war criminal to justice. We rather see Shekau and his sponsors being caught in the confusion ensuing from the intensity with which the troops have descended on them.

We expect that the military anticipate the next front in the ongoing war, which would be fought in the theater of public opinion and populated by international NGOs that will publish fictitious reports to continue the strategy of distracting the troops. The military must put itself in a position to appreciate that patriotic Nigerian youth like the Coalition of Arewa Youths for Good Governance is more interested in having peace and security restored to their country and not given unnecessary consideration to what pro-Boko Haram international NGOs think about the rights of sociopathic murderers.

The news feeds are replete with the how troops of the Nigerian Army under the leadership of the COAS, who has relocated the fronts, have continued to dominate the winning streaks against the terrorists that once tormented the peace of the country. While not behaving like Oliver Twist, the Coalition of Arewa Youths for Good Governance sees now as the best time to sustain the momentum against the insurgent and eventually finish them off once and for all time.

We nonetheless greatly appreciate and thank the Army for putting the terrorists in their place because it would have been a calamity had the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists continued to torment Nigerians at a time when COVID-19 is ravaging the world. We are consequently grateful to the Nigerian military that they have sustained the war and maintained the tempo of victory against the insurgents, who would have added to the dread that the virus is instilling in hearts.

We believe our troops will do more especially at a time that the COAS is busy in the theatre of war to see to a final defeat of the insurgents from all angles. Nigerians both at home and abroad appreciate these selfless sacrifices, the tenacity of purpose and resilience being displayed by our gallant troops, their commanders and the Chief of Army Staff.

The troops should see that the hour for a final victory is now and nothing should be spared in smoking those vermin out of their warrens while also cutting off the head of the serpent as this amount to tackling the problem from its the root and bringing us the desired trophies from the war front. This is one battle that the world has been eagerly waiting for Nigeria to win and enthrone its long-standing superiority in the continent as the force against insurgents and terrorists.

By Ibrahim Kabiru Dallah

The Boko Haram crisis in North-East Nigeria means different things to different people. While to some, it is a war against Nigeria, few others perceive it as propagation of their ideals. For another category, however, it is just a business venture that must not come to an end.

The recent audio purportedly released by the factional and delusional leader of the Boko Haram group, Abubakar Shekau and its rabid interpretation by Ahmad Salkida, leaves a lot to be imagined. For starters, it smacks of a puerile attempt at changing the narrative since the Nigerian troops launched an offensive against the Boko Haram group because of their avid interest in ensuring that blood continues to flow in fulfilment of their evil desire against Nigeria.

I stand to be corrected; Ahmad Salkida needs to tell Nigerians more stories on the fact that the Boko Haram group is not decimated and that they are hinting on dialogue instead of surrender. The sensibilities of some of us conversant with the operations of the Nigerian troops in North-East Nigeria will be insulted if this narrative pushed by Salkida and his gang is allowed to gain traction.

While his actions might not be entirely new, Ahmad Salkida has, in times past and on numerous occasions, acted as the mouthpiece of the Boko Haram group. He has displayed an impeccable sympathy to the group, which is manifest in audios and videos when the chips are usually down.

This time around, Ahmad Salkida again interpreted purported audio with the voice of Abubakar Shekau claiming that the Boko Haram group is in strong spirits and its commanders and fighters are not on the verge of surrender but instead disposed to dialogue.

While it is commendable that they admitted to the dialogue option that in itself indicates that all seems not well in the camp of the Boko Haram group regardless of the propaganda Ahmad Salkida is pushing on their behalf.

There is also no doubt that the offensive launched by the Nigerian troops has indeed left the group in disarray hence this face-saving measure by Ahmad Salkida and those that do not want an end to the Boko Haram insurgency for apparent reasons.

Two things struck me in the treatise by Salkida. He stated thus: “The Boko Haram leader also derided social distancing measures against COVID-19, saying members of his group were observing congregational prayers and engaged in trading in their hideouts.”

I am sure he didn’t think through this strategy before going public. How can a group of people holed-up in their hideouts be engaging in trading? What are they trading in and whom are they trading with? Are they trading with Nigerians, Chadians, Malians or Cameroonians? Your guess is as good as mine.

He also stated that Abubakar Shekau had urged his members to be patient and resilient in the face of trials. I agree with this position because the Boko Haram group is indeed faced with trails of immeasurable proportion since the renewed offensive against it by the Nigerian Army with the active collaboration from the Multinational Joint Task Force consisting of troops from Chad, Mali, Niger, and Cameroon.

It is obvious that they have reached a point of no return as their escape routes have been taken over by troops from the Multinational Joint Task Force and as well as cutting off their supply chain for arms and ammunition as well as other logistics supplies.

These are critical questions that must be asked by discerning minds when the likes of Ahmad Salkida attempt to push forward a misleading narrative. However, the beauty of it all is that indeed times have changed as far as the war against terrorism in Nigeria is concerned. The tide has turned and the end of the Boko Haram group is around the corner, and this much the likes of Ahmad Salkida must come to terms with.

This is not the time for propaganda as the only option left for the Boko Haram group is to surrender in this circumstance. It also behoves of Ahmad Salkida to take this message to Abubakar Shekau that there is a need for him to surrender as it is evident that all his commanders are disillusioned and not willing to fight anymore.

This much has been in the public domain and an indication that indeed the Boko Haram war is about to end. So, this feeble attempt by Shekau through Salkida cannot fly as the rational thing to do is to surrender in the interest of all and sundry.

It is indeed a situation of the voice of Shekau and the hand of Salkida and indeed the cry of a drowning man whose only rope he has to hold unto is to attempt to use proxies to paint a picture a fighting force, but in truth, a group that is holed up in hiding with nowhere to run to as troops have surrounded them with no escape route spells doomsday.

The efforts of the Nigerian Army in this renewed onslaught against the Boko Haram group are indeed commendable. They have somewhat put pains in the hearts of those that do not wish the country well by seeking an elongation of the war that has rendered millions homeless and hundreds of thousands dead.

That the Boko Haram group has been rendered ineffective in recent times spells doom for this category of people that sees their nefarious activities as the propagation of their ideals, as well as those that see it as a business venture that must not come to an end. Whatever the case may be however, a special commendation must be extended to the leadership of the Nigerian Army that has been relentless over the years.

The recent news emanating from the theatre of operations indeed corroborates the fact that indeed top Boko Haram commanders are seeking a truce with the federal government. If this is not the case, I wonder why Abubakar Shekau himself is muting the option of dialogue as a way out as propagated by Ahmad Salkida in his recent outing.

The Boko Haram group has been placed on the edge regardless of the feeble attempt by Salkida to change the narrative for whatever it is worth. It is indeed time for all and sundry to rally support for the Nigerian Army in this final push as we are all in one way or the other victims of the nefarious activities of Boko Haram.

Ahmad Salkida should also do well to understand that the Boko Haram war is coming to an end, and there is no need to push further narratives that they cannot sustain. He should do the needful by advising his friend to toe the line of his commanders and surrender. This war has ended. Business too.

Dallah is a patriotic citizen and wrote from Lafia

*Covid-19/ Boko Haram: Inter-faith congregation forecasts divine victory over pandemic, terrorists*

The National Inter-Faith and Religious Organizations for Peace (NIFROP) has prophesized that an end to the Boko Haram insurgency and COVID-19 pandemic is in sight.

NIFROP made this declaration on Saturday, the seventh-day of its Joint Prayer and Fasting for divine intervention and solution to Covid-19 and Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorism.

In his speech, NIFROP's president, Bishop Sunday Garuba said "God has given us a song of victory" over the terrorists, noting that Abubakar Shekau's days are numbered.

Despite meeting virtually, the cleric reckoned that its sessions have garnered over 500,000 views, a testament of the firm followership across religious lines.

With its numbers and intercessory prayers, Bishop Garuba said the fleeing Shekau and whatever is left of his group would soon be a forgotten issue.

NIFROP, however, urged Nigerians to continue to show support for President Muhammadu Buhari and the gallant troops of Operation Lafiya Dole led by Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai.

Read full statement below:


Dearly beloved of God,

I welcome you all once again to the 7th day of our simultaneous joint Prayer and Fasting programme put together in prayers and supplication to God Almighty for divine intervention in halting the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria and across the world, as well as the end of the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorism in Nigeria.

As we all know, this prayer session is being held online because we have been advised to observe social distancing as a precaution. We consequently developed this online platform, which started about six days ago.

I must commend those of us that have been consistent with the prayers and fasting even though it’s been done virtually; I also want to encourage some of us that have not been able to connect with us online in this critical national assignment do endeavor to do so. The pages are National Inter- Faith and Religious Organisations for Peace on both YouTube and Facebook and The Unity Church/ Unity Masjid.

Dear brethren, I am joyed in the Lord to inform you all that the first-day virtual meeting also witnessed the distribution of food to brethren across all creed and faith across the country. This is indeed phenomenal in the sense that we were able to put smiles on the faces of families regardless of their religious or ethnic affiliations.

I also wish to inform us that so far, we have had over 50,000 viewers who have followed our prayers and fasting programme online. This is indeed phenomenal, and it is our earnest prayer that the figures should continue to increase to the glory of God.

My dearly beloved in the Lord's vineyard, this is a great assignment that God has bestowed on our shoulders on behalf of our great country and let me announce to you all that by the special grace of God we shall emerge victorious at the end of the 21-day prayer and fasting programme.

In the book of Hebrews 4:16, the bible says, "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

Let me announce to all us that we shall receive mercy and find the grace to help us in our time of need by the special grace of God because God is not a man that he should lie, and his words are yes and amen.
The book of Psalms 90: 17 states that "May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
Establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands." This is reassuring because we are carrying out an important assignment, and God, in His infinite mercies shall establish the works of our hands.

The Holy Koran also confirms this in (Quran 42:26) "And He (God) answers those who believe and do good works, and gives them more out of His Grace."

My dear beloved, as we all know, the National Inter-Faith and Religious Organizations for Peace has been in the vanguard of uniting Nigerians across both faiths praying for the peace and progress of Nigeria, and this has seen us hold several programmes that has had a significant effect on our polity over the years.

I want to use this occasion to commend all of us from the pastors and imams that have been committed to our activities over the years. It is our earnest desire that Nigeria shall continue to experience peace and progress now and the years ahead.

I also want to use this medium to inform all of us that God is indeed merciful to Nigeria through the gift of President Muhammadu Buhari, whose commitment to the overall wellbeing of every Nigerian takes center stage.

President Muhammadu Buhari has, over the years, strived to keep the country as one. For that, we are grateful to God for his benevolence and His grace over the life of our president. We pray that God in His infinite mercies continue to grant him a sound mind and sound health in the discharge of his duties.

Dearly beloved in Christ, this body, which is also known as the Unity Church and Unity Masjid has been supporting vulnerable families with food items and direct cash transfer to those who have fallen on hard times within the period.

Our intervention was initially projected for 5 000 families. However, today we can tell you that the Lord is making more provisions and supporting brethren with more than expected. We shall continue to render this valuable assistance for as long as we can.

We will continue to do the little that we can and pray the Almighty God to heal the land and deliver us from the Boko Haram/ISWAP evil. I want to inform all of us that indeed our victory over COVID-19 and the evil deeds of Boko Haram is certain.

In the book of Deuteronomy 20:4 "…for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory." Dear beloved, our victory over COVID-19 and Boko Haram shall be indeed sweet to the Glory of God.

I want to use this medium to declare that the days of Abubakar Shekau are indeed numbered. I am convinced that by the special grace of God, he shall be captured, and the end of Boko Haram would come very soon.

Our dear father shall not lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Our pride often tricks us into thinking we can deal with evil on our own. We can't, and if we try, we will fail. We pray to our Heavenly Father and ask for deliverance.

Dear Lord, do not remember the iniquities of our forefathers against us; Let Your compassion come quickly to meet us in Jesus name.

I thank you all and encourage us not to relent until we receive redemption in Nigeria. God has given us a song of victory.

At a time when he is running from one camp to another to evade capture by soldiers that are hot on his trail, a foreign funding of €5 million from an international NGO has set the leader of Boko Haram, Abubabakar Shekau on a war path with some of his key commanders, as they accuse him of greed and unilateral decision making in how the funds should be shared.

Verified intelligence reports indicated that the International NGO, which operates in the northeast and with affiliations in other parts of the country informed the Boko Haram leadership of the receipt of the funds on their behalf with an advisory that disbursement will follow “previous channels and beneficiaries’ templates.”

Sources familiar with development in the war against terrorism in the northeast confirmed that the NGO in question would usually credit arms suppliers on behalf of the terror group using fronts, proxies and convoluted cut-outs that distances it from terrorism financing. It will then retain its handling fees and costs for providing relief materials and medical treatment to wounded terrorists while transferring the balance to the terrorists using similar channels as those for paying arms dealers.

There has been no mention of the organization or third-party country that made the €5 million available.

The outstanding amount to be remitted to the terrorists is now a subject of contention between Shekau and his key commanders. One of the sources revealed that “Shekau is hiding because some of the boys, who are angry over how he is handling the money, have threatened to kill him before the government troops get him.”

The Boko Haram leader is reportedly interested in using a chunk of the money for recruiting mercenaries as replacement for the fighters that have been killed in recent encounters with militaries while also paying generous compensation for those that have been killed in a desperate move to shore up morale. But some of his commanders reportedly expressed their preference for “taking care of and encouraging the living” while also prioritizing those that have put in time in killing for the group. The commanders are accusing Shekau of directing the money at expenditure lines that will either benefit him or for which proper accountability will not be possible, like paying compensation for dead fighters whose relatives are not known.

Another source who is a staffer of an international NGO working in the region, not the one that provided the funds, disclosed that "an international NGO gave Shekau €5 million to share to his commanders and their fighters pending full arrangements for their surrender. But instead of being appreciative, the fighters rather condemned Shekau for his greed and they are gearing up for a show down.”

A military source meanwhile said “Shekau is getting blind as such only the very close ones of his aides have access to him. The issue of €5 million is causing serious disaffection in their camps. We found out that the audio message he released was a sort of commitment to those who gave the money. He had to show that he is still in the fray and remains the contact they should deal with.

“Shekau has been receiving such funding in the past and he was never able to build his terror infrastructure beyond what is currently being dismantled. Our commanders have not concerned that he is still defrauding those sponsoring him, if there is any concern it is that we should be able to capture him before his own fighters kill him,” the source said.

The Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism (CATE) believes the leader of Boko Haram terrorist group Abubakar Shekau is playing double games with his sponsors, knowing he is almost at the end of the road.

Led by Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, troops of Operation Lafiya Dole have surmounted the jihadists in recent weeks with both land and air offensives.

Scores of the insurgents lost their lives while few others that survived like Shekau were said to be on the verge of surrendering to the troops, staring defeat on the face.

However, the factional leader, in a viral audio clip, refuted the Army’s onslaught despite overwhelming evidence.

And CATE believes this is just a coy to extort funds from his sponsors, bragging to satisfy them on one hand, retreating on the other.

In a statement signed by the National Coordinator, Gabriel Onoja, on Friday, the centre warned Shekau that he is engaged in an exercise in futility, one that will either end in his death or his eventual capture.

CATE, therefore, urged the Army not to keep the option of surrender on the table indefinitely, allowing troops to haul Shekau into custody with the speed of light.

Read full text below:

Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism (CATE) has followed the released of an audio recording of Abubakar Shekau, who leads Boko Haram which he likes to call Jama’tu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, with interest considering the positive connotations the recording has for Nigeria’s war on terrorism. In the recording, Shekau futilely attempted to shake off the decimation that has been visited on his band of terrorists by the Nigerian Army after they had taken a previousus beating from the military of Chad.

Contrary to what Boko Haram spin doctors like Ahmad Salkida want the world to believe, there are glaring facts to be gleaned from Shekau’s audio recording, which points to the reality that this sick terrorist leader is staring defeat and possibly certain death in the face unless he pushes ahead with his reported plan to surrender.

First, it took Shekau this long to record an audio from his bolt hole and he cannot even do a good job of it as he was only able to record eight-minute 22 seconds of rant before he had to scurry off again, afraid that he would be bombarded into oblivion. We are aware that he had to wait until it is Ramadan, knowing that true believers in God must make time out to fulfil their religious obligations; while others were praying and breaking their fast became for Shekau the ideal time to record his short audio clip. An unbeaten Shekau would have recorded a lengthy diatribe.

Shekau’s preference for audio over video that would have given him mileage for proof of life confirms how scared he has become since the military took the war to his hideouts. He is aware that a video shoot, irrespective of how well he attempts to disguise the background or strip the file of metadata would have resulted in his exact location receiving the deserving packages from our ever-ready military. The Nigerian Army has constricted the space around Shekau, and it is a matter of time before the serpent begins to feed on its own tail, the terrorists are narrowing their options to committing mass suicide like they did in Chadian prison or being killed in battles they are now poised to lose.

The period that Shekau and his fighters have been scrambling around in Sambisa Forest must have affected him to the extent that he is unable to appreciate how the world have moved on since he first manifested his mental illness. Democracy has taken root and its dividends is what has sealed Boko Haram’s fate in areas from which the Army has expelled terrorists.

We will not worry about Shekau’s glorification of his murderous group’s disregard for social distancing needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. That they are disregarding social distancing is enough proof that they have a collective death wish and are ready to commit mass suicide via mass coronavirus infestation instead of falling from the bullets of the gallant troops of Nigerian Armed Forces. He is aware that exposure to COVID-19 will wipe out whatever is left of his terrorists’ camps within three weeks hence the stall tactics to allow enough time for himself and his members to die off.

The Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism (CATE) is advising Shekau to die alone if he is so desperate to kill himself and to desist from his current attempt to lure more unsuspecting youth to join his doomed cause. He should jettison his ongoing drive to recruit unsuspecting youth as a replacement for the hundreds of his terrorists’ fighters that have been wasted by troops in recent weeks.

The overture that the Boko Haram leader made about surrendering is possibly the best decision he has even made in his lifetime. But, tragically for him, he allowed the allure of money to derail him into making the provocative audio recording that has shown him as a fraud, someone that will do anything to extort his sponsors.

Instead of accepting defeat quietly, he and his sponsors have decided to play a double game. He is bragging to satisfy the demands of his sponsors on one hand while they too are giving him the false hope that he would not be hunted down. He accepted to surrender at one end while promising his sponsors, particularly members of the Nigerian opposition at the other end that he will not surrender provided he is given more money to buy arms and ammunition to continue fighting.

CATE categorically warn Shekau that he is engaged in an exercise in futility, one that will either end in his death or his eventual capture that will amount to the height of ridicule for the persona he has built for himself with people’s blood.

We want to appeal to the Military not to keep the option of surrender on the table indefinitely. They should allow troops to haul Shekau into custody with the speed of light so that the terrorist and his sponsors will know that the military is not to be dared.

CSO  Cautions security agents over Intimidation and Harassment of former Edo State Chief of Staff.


A civil society organization, The Generational Citizens for Better Leadership Initiative in Benin City, Edo State. Has cautioned security agencies in the state to desist from intimidating and harassing the former chief of staff to Governor Obaseki, Comrade Taiwo Akerele.

In a press statement signed and released to the media on Thursday Morning in Benin City by the spokesperson of the group Comrade. Etinosa Uwangue cautioned security agents and implore them to desists from harassing and intimidating the former chief of staff or his private staff.

The former chief of staff to the Edo State Governor Taiwo Akerele is a law-abiding citizen of the state who has served the state meritoriously until his resignation and as such does not deserve the kind of treatment been melted down on him. If he is needed by the security agents, it is advised they follow appropriate channels provided by the constitution rather than the Gestapo style they are using.

The spokesperson for the group further demanded a probe into the alleged invasion of the former chief of staff residence in Benin city by armed security agents and also calling the state commissioner of Police and DSS Edo state command to call their officers and men to order.

By Nkechi Odoma

Assessing a phenomenon comprehensively at every point and dimension of history is quite difficult. It is impossible to get an accurately wholistic picture of any occurrence, so long as different people are involved in appraising it.

And philosophers have profoundly argued that the preceptory senses of all human beings do not function on same polar in exactitude. The sense of interpretation of reality by humanity functions in dissimilar patterns. What is often adopted as the confluence point is the preponderance of a baseline.

The Military like any other profession religiously relies on loyalty and the patriotism of those who operate under its temple. It means, everyone of them professes to its etiquettes and decrees regarded as sacrosanct. Where there is a betrayal or violation of the institutional oath or its operational creeds, the organization or institution becomes endangered in many facets.

The military subscribes to total obedience, professionalism, loyalty and patriotism in the discharge of its constitutionally defined responsibilities. It is central to the operations of the Military. That’s why acts of insubordination in the Military is ruthlessly handled and with all seriousness.

Many Nigerians have no inkling about the reasons responsible for the ravaging and festering of Boko Haram terrorism in the country which constituted a nationally perpetual source of agonies. What most people knew was the simplistic understanding that Boko Haram killed, abducted, committed acts of arson, and raped married women and teenage girls because they were mightier.

Even the critically-minded never bothered to deeply reflect on the menace of terrorism in Nigeria; its entrenched tentacles or fortress in the Nigeria’s neighbouring countries such as Chad, Niger and the Cameroun republics. What was frequently bandied in public domain was that Boko Haram factional leader and his top commanders were all powerful and had Nigeria on their palms, which they caress mindlessly in violent destructions or bloodbath.

To these minds, the Nigerian military, and in particular, the Nigerian Army was at best, a bunch of effeminate assemblage of men and women, who fed robustly on state resources, without justifying it in actions on the battlefield. Nigerian soldiers were ridiculed as an Army which could not fight a less trained ragtag army such as Boko Haram. People defamed our soldiers as weaklings and disingenuous in warfare, the reason for their existence.

But a plethora of factors accounted for the lackluster performance of the Nigerian Army before President Muhammadu Buhari was ordained leader of Nigeria. Thereafter, he appointed Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai as the Chief of Staff (COAS; an appointment he added an additional mandate as leader of the counter-insurgency operations in Nigeria.

An avalanche of reasons fired the glaring incompetency of soldiers in courageously and victoriously facing the Boko Haram insurgency in the preceding administration. Some people are aware of this water-tight fact and the masterminds are not in the dark too. But it is not everything on security that ought to be naked in public space.

Even a blindman discerned the lack of patriotism and loyalty of the Army to their Commander-in-Chief and other senior leaders of the time. Soldiers of the era were not even patriotic to their country. It was not questionable that they regaled in this unpatriotic act for suspected vicarious benefits.

Of course, when Nigerians persistently heard stories about instigated mutiny in the frontlines and soldiers shirking in the heat of battle before enemy forces, it only expressed the extent of degeneration in the Army as an institution. It was not surprising they failed to achieve any tangible results in the counter-terrorism combats.

And there was no option because the Army of the time was perilously populated by spies and betrayers of the country in favour of enemy forces. Secret information leaked easily and tales of ambushes were rampant. Several unpleasant and unprofessional acts occurred behind the scenes at the theatre of war and no one was apologetic about it.

But a knowledgeable and astute soldier, Gen. Buratai understood all the minutiae and challenges. It explains why he focused his initial days as the Army’s Chief helmsman to reposition the Army into a professional institution, responsible, responsive, loyal and patriotic in the discharge of their constitutional mandates.

With the right clan of comrades, adequately prepared for the task, Gen. Buratai has effectively utilized soldiers in the positive service of Nigeria. Today, Nigerians are seeing an Army which is ready to die on the battlefield in defence of their country than allow terrorists of whatever hue feast on blood of Nigerians.

Whichever direction the pendulum swings, one can say, it is Gen. Buratai or Nigerian Army. Or, whether option ‘A ‘or ‘B’ and even both, the destination is the same in the service of the nation in the Army of today.

Everyone can attest that their sacrifices have guaranteed them a prestigious place in history. Under the Buhari Presidency, the Nigerian Army has surpassed expectations and even those who shy away from confessing it publicly, exclaim it in privacy. It has handled the insurgency decisively and these deeds have not gone unnoticed.

But as usual, a lot of Nigerians only identify and align the perfection of Gen. Buratai and the Nigerian Army to the counter-insurgency and other Internal Security (IS) operations. But that’s the lacuna in human perception earlier hinted. The truth is that the Nigerian Army is also famed endearingly in handling other issues bordering on security in Nigeria outside terrorism. A Nigeria without an Army would have gone extinct by now.

Soldiers have been the rescuers and saving grace of Nigeria on many precarious public security threats. Normally, the Presidency issues the orders for the deployment of the Army over security issues that have overwhelmed civil security. And each of the interventions of soldiers on Internal Security has resolved the problem quietly in favour of Nigeria’s peace and security.

And manifold examples are handy. No Nigerian will dispute that Nigeria’s eighth democratic republic would have been an illusion if not because of the intervention of the Nigerian Army. The country’s politicians who are badged perpetually as power monks ganged-up to forcefully wrest power from the incumbent who was re-contesting for second term and the popular choice of Nigerian masses.

There were flyers from meetings in their secret shrines, especially by some opposition elements that the 2019 elections should be bloodily rigged in their favour. Political thugs and election riggers were empowered to execute the job. It was scary and disturbing.

Arms and ammunitions were stockpiled in different parts of Nigeria, ready to be unleashed on Nigerians on election-day. Bloodshed was already prepared and hovering in the air for Nigerians, only waiting in the offing to be unleashed on the d-day.

President Buhari got wind of it. He acted on intelligence reports immediately in national interest, by deploying Nigerian Army to complement civil security in the 2019 electoral exercise. Soldiers saved the day, as there were attempts of violence, but the initiators were not given a chance to carry out the evil by the Army.

All two segments of national elections were conducted with near zero level of violence and bloodbath. The professionalism and neutrality of the Nigerian Army in the exercise is applauded to date.

Those enjoying the success of that election and the stability of Nigeria’s transition from democracy to democratic government, least remember that Gen. Buratai and soldiers laid a smooth bed for them, by acting as defence bulwarks. The plotters were stopped and failed woefully to accomplish the deadly plots of violently disrupting the elections at the detriment of the lives of Nigerians.

Likewise, in the face of the ravaging deadly Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria, measures to control its spread in the country were brazenly abused by Nigerians. Civil security drafted to enforce lockdown and restriction of movements, with the imposition of stay-at-home order by the Presidency, undeniably compromised the process by assisting the populace to flout the order to imperil public health

Again, only Nigerian soldiers deployed to parts of Nigeria to enforce the stay-at-home order that has lessened the impact of Covid-19 spread in Nigeria. Or else, the country would have been in the hottest furnace of another national problem, recording thousands of infections and deaths daily.

Gen. Buratai has proved in this instance too, that the Nigerian Army is after public good. But how many Nigerians ever genuinely sit back and reflect on these to say, “thank you” to the Nigerian Army and Gen. Buratai? Therefore, it is not baffling when knowledge of Gen. Buratai or Nigerian Army’s messianic roles in service and protection of the nation is narrowed down to only Boko Haram.

It is amazing that people only talk about Buratai's heroism on terrorism combats and forgetting the other equally very sensitive areas where the Army has come first and stainless in the course of interventions. Has anybody ever cared to know what Niger Delta militancy, armed banditry and cattle rustling would have done to Nigeria without the Army?

And what ethno-religious crisis, herdsmen/farmers inferno, violent separatists agitations, and communal clashes would have done to the challenges of insecurities in Nigeria had the Army been unresponsive? Gen. Buratai and the Nigerian Army’s patriotism have indisputably earned them a colorfully prestigious place in the nation’s Hall of fame. The day of a formal festivity in celebration of these great heroes and heroines would certainly come.


Odoma wrote this piece from Abuja,

WE ARE COMMITTED TO PROTECTING THE PEOPLE OF KOGI STATE FROM ALL DISEASES


The attention of the Kogi State Government has been drawn to reports in sections of today's press credited to Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Director General, National Centre for Disease Control (DG NCDC) insinuating that states which are yet to record cases of COVID-19 are either negligent in testing and tracing, or actively hiding, the disease within their territories. 


Since Kogi State is one of only 3 states in the country yet to record any case of Covid-19, and indeed the DG NCDC is quoted to have mentioned us by name, we find the said comments, along with the unfair attempt to name, defame and shame us incredibly distressing. 


Kogi State confesses that she is not aware the Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria is a one-legged race to see which state can put as many cases as possible into the national incident basket, and even if such were to be the case, the current administration in Kogi State does not play such games with the lives and psychology of her people.


The Governor of Kogi State does not believe that increasing the burden on the overwhelmed NCDC and the other agencies cum resources labouring in the frontlines of our response to this deadly pandemic, when neither case nor cause for such has genuinely risen in the state, is helping the country in any way. 


Kogi State has religiously followed all the NCDC and World Health Organization (WHO) CoviD-19 advisories, both for identifying cases and preventing spread. 


We have also adhered strictly to the various guidelines from, and directives of, the Federal Government, customised to improve both efficiency and efficacy within the peculiarities of our own circumstances. 


While we are not surprised that they have worked for us so far in keeping our state CoviD-19 free, we do find it disconcerting that the lead agency in the fight is possibly expressing doubt in their efficacy while simultaneously denouncing us for following her own guidelines. 


In fact, we built our self-assessment app hosted at kogicovid19.gov.ng around the NCDC's checklist for 'suspected and high risk' cases and as at last week it has been visited nearly 200,000 times with over 14,000 completed self-assessments out of which only about 60 presented cause for further investigation which then failed to meet the Covid-19 spectrum. 


As of today being Tuesday the 28th Day of April, 2020 we insist that Kogi State has no confirmed case of Covid-19, or any case to the knowledge of our vigilant medical structures across the state which matches the suspected or high risk factors for it. If the situation changes at this very moment we shall not hesitate for a second before alerting the NCDC. 


Convinced that we have not erred in any way to deserve censure from a body we have obeyed without complaint, even when the result has been serious disruptions to our society and way of life, we however reiterate that we shall not capitulate to intimidation of any kind.


Accordingly, if the latest position is to forward all cases of cough, catarrh, fever and allied febrile and respiratory ailments occurring in Kogi State to the NCDC unvetted as possible CoviD-19 cases, we demand a firm and public advisory to that effect from the agency, and not the indirect (and documented) pressure which we have come under this week from high up the hierarchy of the agency.


We are thus left with no choice than to issue this rejoinder, both for the records, and to avoid being unfairly victimised or stigmatised howsoever the highly fluid coronavirus curve/situation develops in future. 


Such comments as were attributed to Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu in the offending news reports, if indeed the NCDC head was not misquoted by a mischievous newsman, can only be described as unfair, unfortunate and dubious. 


They are also inherently subversive of the Federal Government's herculean efforts to keep as much of Nigeria as possible free of CoviD-19, not to mention how they undermine the  good faith and trust displayed by Kogi and other states in complying with the NCDC's directives. 


Assuming, but not accepting, that the head of the NCDC was neither misquoted nor quoted out of context, and if a strategy is actually in play, for instance the development of herd immunity to the coronavirus in the general populace (with all the scientific gray areas and dangers of mass deaths associated with that model), should state governments not be officially informed and carried along?


We sincerely hope the NCDC and Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu will quickly come out to repudiate or retract those dangerous comments (whichever is applicable) in order to minimise damage to the mutuality of trust and cooperation which we need to continue working together through this pandemic.


For how can we, or for that matter, any other state in the Federation which cares for her people, continue to exercise faith in, and compliance with, the NCDC's guidelines if there is even a scintilla of suspicion that rather than working with us to prevent the spread of this deadly virus, the agency has an ulterior motive to see it spread through the length and breadth of the land?


For a better understanding of the forces truly at work behind this interview we now have some questions for the NCDC in the hope that her answers will shed light on recent events of a curious nature which we are investigating as a State:

Must every State in Nigeria record cases of COVID-19 considering that not even China, the origin and for a while the epicentre of the outbreak, experienced it in every province?

In the light of known science about diagnosis and prognosis of Covid-19 and given that it has been several months since we started hearing of the so-called asymptomatic carriers, is it possible for such individuals to remain so indefinitely - neither showing symptoms themselves nor infecting anyone else in proximity to them? 

What informed the position of Dr. Ihekweazu that states not yet affected with the virus in Nigeria are hiding cases or was he expressing an expected outcome? 

The NCDC set certain criteria for people who should be tested, have those criteria changed, and if yes, when, and why was it not communicated to states via the usual official channels? 

Are we moving to a stage of random testing? Does the Centre now have the resources and capacity to test all Nigerians?

Can the NCDC explain her certainty that Kogi State is among those who are hiding cases? 

Does the NCDC know anything about the recent rush by known fake news merchants on social media  to raise persistent false alarms on the alleged escape of COVID-19 patients from NCDC isolation centres in neighbouring States into Kogi State? 

If the answer to the above is affirmative, what informed such belief and why did the NCDC deny that there were such escapes when health authorities in the state approached her for confirmation after each rumour spread?

Given the devastation wrought by the disease in several locations across the country including in health institutions where patients or their doctors have tried to hide cases of COVID19, does the NCDC believe that any right thinking Governor will hide cases in his State? 

Assuming a Governor were to exhibit such mental imbalance as to attempt to hide cases of COVID-19, does the NCDC believe he will not only do so without the body count exploding but that he will also receive the connivance of the medical, media, civil society and traditional institutions in his state, as well as the general public? 

If Kogi State did not hide Lassa Fever cases which have killed more Nigerians comparatively, why should it hide cases of COVID-19 cases which is attracting more global attention at the moment?


The work at hand remains gargantuan, for the NCDC and for all the states, and while we await the answers to the above queries, we urge the NCDC to continue investing her whole focus on the daunting task of containing the coronavirus rather than generating needless controversies which  distract her and her partners from the fight at hand. 


As a Government, we are ever willing to follow the guidelines already set by NCDC to protect our people as well as all lawful upgrades to them in future. We will therefore not hesitate to present samples of people who genuinely fall into the established category of symptoms to the Centre. We shall continue to work with the NCDC and other health authorities to keep Kogi State free of CoviD-19 and other forms of diseases. 


The Kogi State Government also commends the leader of our nation, President Muhammadu Buhari for rising gallantly in defense of the Nigerian people at this trying time of global health apprehensions. 


Difficult times define great leaders and the President has proven to be a capable leader for Nigeria at this time characterised by a willingness to empower experts and give them the stage in the interest of the nation, and beneficiaries of that trust like the NCDC and state governments must not mismanage or abuse same for any subterranean motive.  


We thank the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19, the Federal Ministry of Health and of course the NCDC for all they have done and will continue to do until this pandemic is contained and crushed. 


We wholeheartedly accept our responsibility as a Government to ensure the wellness of our people. We shall continue to do whatever needs to be done to ensure COVID-19 does not set foot in Kogi State.


 We also urge the people of Kogi State to remain calm and rest assured that we have never hidden, we are not hiding, nor will we ever hide, any case of Covid-19 in Kogi State. We urge them to ignore all and every statement to that effect as nothing but malicious and dangerously instigatory rumours which government will henceforth deal with as appropriate. 


Signed: 
KINGSLEY FANWO 
Hon. Commissioner for Information and Communication

APPENDIX: HOW HAS KOGI COMBATTED COVID-19? 
 

Lest anyone accuse us of ineptitude or riding on sheer luck, we wish to point out that in addition to everything else, Kogi State has had an excellent history of managing epidemics in the past. 


The excellent network we already had in place for managing Lassa Fever and other disease outbreaks long before CoviD-19 appeared on the scene provided a framework upon which we founded our current structures for containing the virus. 


We inaugurated a CoviD-19 and Lassa Fever Squadron Committee chaired by the Deputy Governor of Kogi State to enable us tackle the former without losing track of the latter, which was already claiming casualties across the nation at the time. 


The Committee which is overseen by the Governor himself is composed of a broad spectrum of medical practitioners, Civil Society Organization, Religious Leaders, traditional institutions and other stakeholders has thus far done a great job in keeping both diseases at bay. 


The Kogi State Government has developed and deployed measures which have proved effective: 

Our people are adequately sensitised in all languages and locations throughout the state about the coronavirus. 

Our people and their properties are adequately secured in their homes and when they venture out by a state security infrastructure which is permanently on high alert. Since the lockdown began, we have arrested at least 21 kidnappers in addition to many perpetrators of other crimes.

We have set up 3 Isolation/Containment Centres in the State, which currently lie unused (as we indeed hope they will remain until this pandemic is over). 

We have, through the Kogi State Ministry of Health, deployed health personnel to all the 239 Wards of the State to help sensitize the people on the dangers of the virus and also in contact tracing. 

We provided emergency and toll free numbers for anyone who suspects a case of Covid-19 to call in at no cost and we have responded to many calls, all of which turned out to be false alarms. 

We ensured that the economic disconnect which drives people to risky behaviours at times like this are minimised through a curated lockdown system which sustains a level of business activities while reducing the risk of contagion. 

As part of our controlled lockdown procedures for social distancing we shutdown schools, places of worship and events with mass gatherings and sent state workers on Grade Levels 1 to 13 on paid furlough. 

We banned  certain means of public transportation like motorcycles and tricycles which tended to increase exposure. 

As mentioned earlier in this piece we were the first state to officially release a web application for self-assessment which has proved to be popular and effective in reducing panic among the populace. The Federal Government and several state governments have since launched similar apps. 

What we expect from the National Centre for Disease Control is commendation of our efforts to contain the outbreak of the pandemic.

A coalition of Civil Society groups have conlcuded plans to drag the Interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC, before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, over what it termed the ongoing monumental corruption, currently taking place at the Commission. The group which includes the Centre for Change, Centre for Public Accountability and others said it has become necessary, to demand for a thorough investigation of the commission’s activities, under the Interim Management Committee, whose activities it says has become counterproductive and may totally make it impossible for the Commission to futher deliver on its mandate, across the Niger Delta region.

In a statement signed on behalf of the groups by Comrade Atani John and Olufemi Lawson the coalition want the EFCC, to probe series of “frivolous” contracts being awarded to phony companies, among which it says were, the reported Lassa fever equipment contract, in which over N4 billion naira was alleged to have been misappropriated. Also is the fraudulent award of a N4.5 billion contract to a company belonging to a relative of the Minister of Niger Delta, Mr Godswill Akpabio. The coalition also accused the IMC of NDDC of already paying the company over one billion Naira, in clear violation of the due process and operational guidelines of the NDDC.

The group also said it is aware of plans, by some desperate officials of the commission, to conceal evidences that will aid a thorough investigation of the NDDC’s activities and part of steps being consider includes setting fire on some offices housing vital information and documents, regarding contract awards by the NDDC.

It urged security agencies to place special surveillance on the NDDC headquarters and offices, in order to avert the evil plan.

The group also said it is engaging stakeholders and relevant authorities in the niger Delta, to join the call, as this remains the only way, towards ensuring the survival of the agency, which has now been turned to a cash cow, for some greedy and self serving politicians.

The National Inter-Faith and Religious Organizations for Peace (NIFROP) has announced an extension to its 21-day fasting and prayer till the end of Ramadan.

According to NIFROP, this is in light of the prevailing circumstances in the country and a show of solidarity to its members as well as other Muslims around the country.

The group made this known in a statement signed by Chairman, Board of Trustees, Archbishop Julius Ediwe, on Tuesday.

NIFROP, however, encouraged all members to be steadfast in the prayer for Nigeria against the further spread of COVID-19, as well as an end to the nefarious activities of the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist group.

It further declared that the end of terrorism is imminent as “God has revealed to us during our fasting and prayers that indeed Abubakar Shekau would be captured and Nigeria shall be free from the clutches of the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist activities”.

Read full statement below:

The National Inter-Faith and Religious Organizations for Peace wishes to inform the general public of the extension of its 21 Day Fasting and Prayer session for divine intervention in halting the further spread of COVID-19, the impending economic meltdown as well as the capture of Abubakar Shekau and an end to the activities of Boko Haram/ISWAP in Nigeria.

The 21 Day Fasting and Prayer session would continue till the end of the Ramadan in light of the prevailing circumstances in the country and a show of solidarity to our Muslim brothers and sisters, and members of NIFROP, as well as other Muslims around the country.

NIFROP has been in the vanguard of uniting adherents of different faiths under one umbrella in prayer and supplication to God for divine intervention in the affairs of Nigeria.

We are standing by the word of God in the Book of Mathew 6:16 "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full."

We encourage all our members across the country to be steadfast in the prayer for Nigeria against the further spread of COVID-19, as well as an end to the nefarious activities of the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist group.

We wish to state that the end of the Boko Haram/ISWAP group is imminent as God has revealed to us during our fasting and prayers that indeed Abubakar Shekau would be captured and Nigeria shall be free from the clutches of the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist activities.

NIFROP has been connecting with our members all around the country through a virtual platform through sermons and words of exaltations from Pastors and Imams from different churches and mosques across the country.

We are mandated to pray together in the book of Ephesians 3:16-19 which states that "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

We wish to state that our prayers and fasting programme is structured through an online format where our members link up to an online platform where we pray together and after that break our fast.

In the past days, we have prayed for God's intervention in the affairs of Nigeria. We have also prayed for the grace of God upon the life of our leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, to continue to lead Nigeria with the fear and grace of God.

We have also prayed for our troops engaging the Boko Haram terrorist in North-East Nigeria. We pray for God in his infinite mercies to continue to protect them and grant them victory.

The leadership and members of NIFROP felicitates with all Muslims in Nigeria in the month of Ramadan fasting, prayer, and reflection.

NIFROP, since the commencement of its prayer and fasting programme, our Unity Church and Unity Masjid is reaching out to over 5000 families through the provision of food items and direct cash transfers to ease hardship brought about by the compulsory lockdown in the country and the negative impact of Covid-19 on our daily living. With the support of our brothers and sisters all over the world, we will be able to increase this number as it may please the lord of host.

May God, in His infinite mercies, continue to protect Nigerians and the rest of humanity in this challenging period.

...Donated to other maternity patients...

The Chief of Staff To The Executive Governor of Kogi State, Pharmacist Abdulkareem Moh’d Jamiu Asuku on Tuesday visited one of the beneficiaries of the Asuku4GYB Health intervention who recently delivered to a set of triplet.

The Chief of Staff through the NGO cleared the medical bills and donated generously to the family while he equally instructed them to reach out to his Head of Health outreach Comrade Abdulrahim Ohindase for future needs of the newly born.

Pharmacist Abdulkareem Jamiu also made generous donations to other maternity patients to meet up their individual financial needs.

The COS commended the Chief Medical Director of the Federal Medical Center, Lokoja who accompanied him to the maternity ward for the good work the hospital has done assuring that the hospital would continue to enjoy robust partnership with the State Government

The Chief Medical Director, Dr. Olatunde Oladeji Alabi lauded the usual efforts of the Chief of Staff in offering intervention to the down trodden in the society encouraging him to do more.

Signed:-
Abubakar Y. Mujahid
Special Assistant To Chief of Staff.
� - Yahaya AbdulMutoleeb

Clerics across religious groups have launched a 21 days of fasting and prayers to seek divine intervention for an end to the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and the success of Nigeria’s military against Boko Haram terrorists as they make a final push to contain terrorists’ threat to the country.


The clerics, under the National Inter-Faith and Religious Organisations for Peace (NIFROP) said the fasting and prayers will be remotely held with prayers sessions streamed online to conform with the requirement for social distancing as part of measures to curtail the spread of COVID-19. 


This round of fasting and prayer, which kicks off today is significantly different from previous prayer sessions held by the group for which its members congregated to pray while urging those that cannot be physically present to pray from their homes.


Bishop Sunday Garuba, who is NIFROP’s President said “For the fasting and prayers we have launched, clerics of the Christian and Muslim faiths will be joining the prayers from across the country and from several other locations from across the world. We are mindful of the need for social distancing at a time like this so each person will pray from the confines of their homes while we all connect through online streaming of key activities. In fact, we urge all faithful to obey the directive to stay at home and observe social distancing.


“This fasting and prayers is our contribution and support for the ongoing global efforts to prevent the killer Corona Virus from spreading and killing more people. We will be interceding for God to divinely stop the virus in its track while giving knowledge to our doctors and scientists to find the weak point of the virus and be able to develop solutions, be it vaccines or cures. Humanity need the mercy and compassion of God at a time like this.


“We are assured by the words of God in 1 John 5:14 that says, ‘And this is the confidence that we have toward him (God), that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.’ We are going to use our prayer session to ask God for forgiveness, as God for an end to the plague of Corona Virus, ask God for healing and recovery.” He said.


Bishop Garuba revealed that NIFROP, which is also known as the Unity Church and Unity Masjid, will be using the period to support vulnerable families with food items and direct cash transfer to those who have fallen on hard times within the period.


He explained that “During the 21- Days period, the Unity Church and Unity Masjid will be embarking on intercession for God's intervention, we will also distribute food stuffs with other essential palliatives and cash transfers on daily basis to indigent families.”


On the ongoing military efforts to clear Boko Haram out of Nigeria, Bishop Garuba stressed that NIFROP will specifically pray for the troops and their commanders to succeed in their quest to restore the northeast of Nigeria into an area where people are free to worship God according to their conviction.

He said the prayers will expose more about those that have been hiding behind Boko Haram and using the terrorists to torment Nigerians.

By Ahmed Badamosi

The Avocats Sans Frontières France (Lawyers Without Borders France), ASF France, has added its name to the list of foreign organizations who see nothing good in Nigeria.


It is well known that there are some groups which never pull the attention of the rest of the world to any positive happening in Nigeria but never miss the opportunity to cast the country in a bad light at the slightest chance.


ASF France has joined this army of naysayers, when in the bid to gain relevance, interfered in the internal matters of Nigeria by issuing a biased statement against its security agencies.


Nigeria, with a population of over 200 million people, is always of interest to the international community and its role as a stabilising regional force has long been established.


Due to its significance to the world, mushroom organizations, who have run out of ideas plying their trades in other climes without getting any attention, try to take advantage to seduce the needed attention.


This is what the Avocats Sans Frontières France (Lawyers Without Borders France), ASF France did recently by its so-called intervention in the internal affairs of Nigeria where it says it is condemning reported cases of brutality and extra-judicial killing of civilians by security agencies, in the course of enforcing the COVID-19 lockdown.


The ASF France, hd in a statement through its head of office in Nigeria, Angela Uwandu, said it views the action of security agents as reported by the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, “of having killed 18 citizens in the first 14 days of the enforcement of lockdown regulations on the COVID-19 pandemic,” as unacceptable and a direct disregard of their role as protectors of the society.


But in trying to appear as protecting the Nigerian citizenry, the ASF France has exposed the ulterior motive behind its so-called intervention and exhibited basic ignorance about the issues it claimed to be trying to address.


That the ASF France had set out from the beginning to do a hatchet job to discredit the security agencies is evidenced on the fact that it relied one hundred per cent on a report by an agency indicting other agencies, but did not conduct an independent investigation to verify the allegation in a matter as sensitive as alleged extrajudicial killings.


Neither did it make any effort to contact any of the agencies alleged to have carried out the judicial killing to confirm if the allegations are true.

As an organisation which claims to be defending the right of citizens, the ASF is well aware that the principle of fair hearing is fundamental to justice and should have in this case extended it to the security agencies before rushing to the media with what has turned to be a one-sided and obtuse report.


It would appear there are certain international bodies always out to hinder security agencies in Nigeria from doing their work and would always display their mischievous penchants for exaggeration of errors and witch-hunting at the slightest opportunity they get.


Not long ago, it was Amnesty International, AI, that advertised itself as ever willing to look the other way when terrorists blow up humans in their hundreds through either bomb or by the use of other devices but would find fault the moment the Nigerian Army or the other security agencies are called to stop the carnage by the terrorists who are well armed and who have made their intentions to overthrow the government of Nigeria known.


The hypocrisy and selfish intent of the AI were exposed by their constant claims that it is the security agencies that are killing the terrorists while not mentioning any atrocity committed by the terrorists.

It seems the ASF is now trying to continue from where the AI seemed to have stopped but has picked on the wrong issue.


The Government of Nigeria, worried by the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic, otherwise known as COVID-19, the world over, took certain measures which include the closure of international borders, restriction of internal movements, maintaining citizen social distancing and directing a stay at home order, to stop the spread of the pandemic.

To ensure compliance, the government then mandated the security agencies to monitor the stay at home order for their own safety.


The law enforcers, driven by a sense of patriotism and the need to serve humanity, did not mind the risks involved but stepped into action to ensure compliance with the government’s order.


In the course of achieving that, those found to have contravened the laws were brought to the mobile courts established for the purpose and tried. The speed with which the security agencies attended to the matter helped increase the level of compliance in all the states of the federation.


This in effect has resulted in a stoppage of community transmission, identification of those who had come in contact with positive cases and generally brought down the number of contraction as people began to stay at home.


While a vast majority of people, including the government of other countries expressed joy knowing well the impact of what an explosion could cause and are commending Nigeria for how it is handling the situation, all that the ASF France could see about the development is negative.


It is instructive that while the ASF France did not commend the efforts of the Nigerian government in halting COVID-19 in the statement, it made heavy weather out of some infractions that occurred in the course of ensuring compliance by indicting Nigerian security agencies of killings not minding that it is doing so on a false premise and without proper investigation.


Groups like the ASF must be reminded that Nigeria is a sovereign nation and is well aware of how to handle its internal affairs without undue interference by self-serving originations.


The issue of COVID-19 is a sensitive matter and it borders on the health, wealth, security and general well being of the nation hence steps taken for the general good should not be viewed from an adverse perspective nor misinterpreted and cast in a bad light.


The essence of deploying security personal is because they possess the requisite facility for monitoring, investigating and apprehending offenders and it is not only Nigeria that has involved the security agencies. South Africa, on Wednesday, mobilized 70,000 of its security personnel to ensure strict compliance.


The security agencies as far as COVID-19 are concerned,  have been going about their duties with the utmost sense of decency and decorum and should not be smudged with the tar of isolated but regrettable incidents.


So far, the mobile courts have heard and dispensed with 90 per cent of the cases brought before them. This is proof that the security agencies have not been arbitrary in handing the issues but observed, following due process.


So far, no Nigerian has reported that security agents broke into their home and dragged them to answer for charges they are not aware of.

All the cases have been of those that violated the stay-at-home order.


From the various reactions of the offenders, particularly in Abuja where a man even removed his clothes and another lady who drove past a blockade, it is clear that the security agents have made a tremendous effort to maintain civility even when provoked.


So, therefore, this is not the time for any organization to begin to query the role of the security agencies in their bid to ensure that COVID-19 is defeated. This early campaign to cast a slur on the conduct of the military is a subtle way of encouraging lawlessness and would not augur well for the country if security agents are blackmailed into not doing their jobs.


A responsible civil society organization should have occupied itself with contributing to the success of the campaign by championing the cause of defeating COVID-19 through focusing on issues like the regular washing of hands, maintaining social distancing and maintaining basic hygiene rather than devote its attention and resources on attacking agencies of government trying to do their best in the circumstances they found themselves.


If the problem of the ASF officials is that they only understand French and the French ways of doing things, they should have asked Nigerians who understand the English language to explain to them what is going on.

That way, they would have appreciated what the Nigerian security agencies are doing, thus saving themselves the embarrassment of advertising their ignorance and lending their services to unacceptably interfering in the affairs of a sovereign nation.

 

Badamosi wrote this piece from Abuja.

By Idoko Ainoko

Peter Ayodele Fayose’s theatrics during his time as governor of Ekiti State is sorely missed. In one episode, he chanted “I am in severe pains” after an incident involving the police. However, his exit may have birthed a new entertainer, with superior larks and mastery. Even Fayose would be proud.

Today, the convener of Concerned Nigerians and self-styled activist, Deji Adeyanju is in severe pains on a scale that rivals Fayose’s a thousand-fold. His anguish bothers on how our troops have been killing terrorists like flies and ants. A bitter fellow, he is depressed realizing that the end of Boko Haram terrorism has come. His resentment is that 105 terrorists were killed in Buni Gari. He is reeling from hot metal and fire meted on the jihadists, sending them to their graves. Adeyanju is in pains because Boko Haram terrorism is going to end soon and he will be out of business.

Crisis entrepreneurs like Adeyanju are facing hard times with COVID-19 and no longer see terrorism financing as lucrative at the moment. His pockets are dry and the economy is bad. He is in pains because Nigerians are united and standing by the Army. The end of Mr. Shekau has come and Deji will continue to remain in pains till death.

Adeyanju’s pains are about to get worse. A major source of his monetized pseudo-activism is about to get vaporized as confirmed by the news that Abubakar Shekau is weighing surrender as an option in his bid to avoid being killed in battle like his followers he fooled to their death.

Since Chadian President Idris Deby learnt to turn the heat on Boko Haram terrorists after understanding that wild predators cannot be kept as pets, Shekau no longer find safety slinking into Chad, Niger or Cameroon, after carrying out attacks in Nigeria.

A military operation by the Nigerian Army after Deby’s epiphany has turned the heat on Boko Haram terrorists, once wrongly perceived as invincible by those who didn’t know better, in a way that death is visiting the terrorists faster than their daily food ration. The seriousness of the operation can be gauged by the realization that the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai relocated to the battle front to direct the war from there.

The message is clear to Shekau, hence the reported overtures and his body language point to an eventual surrender. The Coordinator of the Directorate of Defence Media Operations (DDMO), Major General John Enenche, confirmed that much as a guest on a programme on national television. Refreshingly, the position of the military is that Shekau is welcome to surrender; he will be processed accordingly to internationally accepted procedures.

Herein lies Adeyanju’s pains. He cannot begin to consider life without the field assets that he and his cohorts of fraudulent activists persistently use to harass the government of the day. He rushed to post on social media that “The Military says it will accept the offer of Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau to surrender. Buhari is the number 1 enemy of this nation.”

The import of his post is that Shekau’s surrender should not be accepted. The only display of common sense is his decision not to outline in detail how the military’s willingness to accept Shekau’s surrender makes President Buhari the number one enemy of Nigeria. His track record as a Buhari abuser has attenuated one to disregard irresponsible barbs like this from Adeyanju but the opportunity should not be lost in educating him and his ilk since they need to understand that military engagement and prosecuting a war is not the same as being bankrolled by dubious politicians to constitute nuisance on the streets and in the public opinion space.

First, let us get the downside out of the way. By surrendering, Shekau will escape the fate and treatment he visited on others. He would escape a violent end and transit into being a high value inmate in whatever facility he is processed to. There is the outside risk of a handful die hard terrorist staging attacks to demand for his freedom – but that is an outside chance for the very reason that his surrender will be treated as a betrayal by his followers so they will not want to have anything to do with him. That said, it is important to look at the up sides of a Shekau surrender.

An immediate benefit of Shekau surrendering is that there will be no last stand on his part. Such last stand fight by a terrorist leader natural comes at a huge human cost. His ISIS counterpart, al-Baghdadi had explosives strapped to his body when he was killed. Shekau still has a handful of maniacs around him and they will do their outmost to make it an expensive victory for any unit that is capturing him. Is Adeyanju suggesting that one more life should be lost when the criminal in question is willing to turn himself in?

A capture of Shekau in battle will inspire whatever remnant is left of his terror group to attempt spectacular rescue bids similar to what Adeyanju’s associates in the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) had contemplated on several occasions. Perhaps Adeyanju prefers that Shekau is captured in battle like the IMN leader, Mr. Ibraheem el-Zakzaky so that he can again take to the streets in paid protest to demand the release of Shekau. Nothing can be put past this money-driven activist once it has a currency sign next to it.

A third possibility that Adeyanju possibly prefers is Shekau being killed in battle. While this is satisfying for the average person, it is the least desired outcome for several reasons. One, the killing of al-Baghdadi made it possible for ISIS to name a replacement, killing Shekau will allow the remaining terrorists to name a new leader but by surrendering the terrorist would have naturally help kill the group he led because some of his people will surrender alongside him.

Two, a Shekau that turns himself in alive will make an interesting interview subject for investigators – revelations that will come from him are bound to be earth shaking because persons, names, roles and complicity will be revealed. This must be what Adeyanju fears, his role in the Boko Haram days of terror and those of his associates could be laid bare if Shekau were to ever surrender.

The question can now be put forward. Who is the actual number enemy of Nigeria? A President Buhari, who stomached vile insults to his person from fake activists while dedicatedly wearing down Boko Haram, through his preforming military chiefs, to a point that Shekau is considering a surrender? Or, Adeyanju, a failed activist who has suddenly become jittery because a murderous terrorist’s surrender will either expose his shady dealings with deranged killers or lead to loss of revenue for him?

The answer is as clear as day light. It will be to Mr. President’s credit that he cleaned up the mess created by Adeyanju’s sponsors. The paid activist, on the other hand, will go through life with the pain of knowing that he stood on the wrong side of history.

Ainoko is a public affairs commentator and writes from Kaduna

By Ayokunle Adeniji

A couple of things must be involved when an individual with Omoyele Sowore’s assumed standing decides to downgrade his #RevolutionNow protest into #PotPanProtest. He might have finally seen #RevolutionNow for the aberration that it was, the very thing that made the movement collapsed even before it properly took off in spite of the fact that it was touted as the mother of all protests, Nigeria’s version of Arab Spring that will finally overthrow a democratically elected government and hand over the reins of power to the opposition the one led by a Sowore, who only garnered some 38,000 votes in the 2019 election.

It could be that introspection finally forced Sowore to re-assess his situation. Revolution is idealistic. Hunger is real. What better way to tell people that he is more about the culinary gains and not the improvement of the lots of Nigerians as he likes to pretend. He struck on a symbolic note with the genius result that pots and pans became the symbols of his supposed protest against the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. Afterall, the pots and pans have to be empty to be beaten upon and create the din that is sending Sowore into ecstatic mind trips.

A third possibility is even less palatable. Sowore is no stranger to megalomania, a twisted strain of god syndrome – a perverted assumption that he alone holds the answers to Nigeria’s problems. Could he have become bipolar in the period he was in custody while standing trial for treason, a sojourn that derived from his call for nationwide mayhem with the #RevolutionNow excuse. The choice of pots and pans, while on the surface may be symbolic of hunger, holds a deeper meaning for Sowore because the raucous noise from the affairs seems to be feeding the cravings of a manic-depressive.

Videos of participants in the distasteful protest, shared to Sowore’s Facebook wall, depict what is to be expected. An assortment of people with anger issues arising mostly from their perceived failure in life or in what they should have done better. Let’s ignore Senator Shehu Sani, who rolled out an expensive non-stick pan that gave away the game that this protest is more about political bitterness than it is about the suffering poor, who have been hit hardest by the lockdown imposed in scores of countries of the world to curtail COVID-19 from exterminating humanity.

Whatever Sowore’s mental status is, he has no justification for reducing a matter of human misery into comic relief for the twisted pleasure of his social media followers. It is like kicking those affected by the virus in the teeth and rubbing their faces in the mud. Such insensitivity from someone who boasts about fighting for human rights is irresponsible and condemnable irrespective of whatever justification is made for it. Reducing hunger into a joke creates the risk for those who should intervene becoming de-sensitized to the realities of families suffering deprivation.

The travesty is that Sowore works with international partners, who are given to political correctness, people that abhor referencing situations or persons in a way that disparages or attracts negativity. All he needed to have done was to run his #PotPanProtest through the matrix applied to international engagements and he would have possibly come up with an acceptable execution plan for his desired attack on the government. That way he will have a politically correct approach and terminologies that do not criminalize hunger or glamourized those that are well fed to the point of making mockery of the have-nots.

The ravages of COVID-19 are real and serious. The over 182,000 deaths recorded as at the time of writing pale into insignificance compared with what is to come for the living. The global economy has taken a hit. The International Labour Organization (ILO) is concerned that 195 million jobs can be lost to the impact of the virus. The United Nations has warned of biblical famine due to the virus, which must be noted is not peculiar to Nigeria.

Yet all Sowore can think of is to localize a global crisis as a result of the pandemic in a manner that suggests that only Nigeria is afflicted or that the blame lies on one political party or the president. This kind of slant should have anyone that has ever relied on Sahara Reporters, published by Sowore, to have a rethink about what mental, psychological and emotional poison they have been fed. They should be alarmed that this slanting of the situation was not a product of error, but a well-orchestrated plan that have other aspects being executed by people in the same circuit as the Sahara Reporters publisher.

Yes. The government response could have been better and that is the feedback from citizens to their governments the world over, even in the countries that were labelled as “advanced economies” before COVID-19 struck. But Sowore’s #PotPanProtest must be one of the few instances were recalcitrant elements are attempting to hijack the people’s pain to revive a failed revolution, which was misguided in the first place. This is cowardice. Bravery would have seen him retain his #RevolutionNow war chant and see how quickly he ends up in jail.

The reality is that the government is giving palliatives and food assistance, but we all know that this cannot go around. Mosques, churches and other religious groups are giving relief packages in addition to organizations and philanthropists that are throwing in their support. Even at personal level, individuals are being their brothers’ keepers and keeping families out of the grip of hunger. This is the story in several countries of the world as the virus brought out in most people the humanity that was once thought lost even though it also unmasked the monster in someone like Sowore.

If Sowore is truly interested in the starving masses as he put it, there are several channels available to render assitance without making mockery of those that will go to bed without dinner tonight and without hope of waking up to a breakfast. He can for instance distribute palliatives to the poorest and most vulnerable that have not been reached by government using the huge funds that he leveraged from people using Sahara Reporters as a battering ram. He could also go to his client and play his charm on them to take responsibility for feeding specific vulnerable communities while he can also convince the mega-Bishops in the land to consider increasing whatever charities they are already involved in.

It is painful that as lofty as these ideas are, they are beyond Sowore, who is too far consumed by the hatred he harbours for President Buhari, and whoever will occupy the office after him (he has a penchant for hating whoever occupies the office of the President). His manic episodes, as confirmed by the beating of pots and pans, and the resulting depressive aftermaths have taken such strong hold of him that he will most likely degenerate into being suicidal. Things must not be allowed to get to this stage since he would still be rushed to a hospital should he make any attempt on his own life, which would only drain the available medical resources at a time when slowing down COVID-19 is the priority. Sowore should be placed on suicide watch because #PotPanProtest has clearly confirmed he is losing it.


Adeniji wrote from Lagos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4cbRii5cts

Nigeria is one of the countries in a long list of places where the COVID-19 pandemic is wrecking havoc. All sectors of the economy have felt the debilitating effects of the ailment.
The education sector is one of the worst affected areas in Nigeria. Activities at all levels of the educational system have been put on hold by the federal government.
Students have seen their academic calendar disrupted by the pandemic.

Cessation of studies is however not the only challenge confronting the students.
Presently, many students are stranded at most campuses of higher learning courtesy of the lockdown order. Returning to their bases have become virtually impossible.

"Starving has been the order of the day since this lockdown order was pronounced", Godwin Enobong, a Computer Science student of Abia State Polytechnic, told our reporter.

In a bid to ameliorate the plight of most of the stranded students, the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Zone B (South South), led by its Coordinator, Comrade Etinyene Friday Offongekpe, has flagged off an intensive distribution of palliatives to the affected students.

The palliatives comprise mostly of food items.

So far, students of University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic and Akwa Ibom State College of Education have benefitted.

Sensitization on the pandemic was also done by the NANS Zone B team.

The exercise is scheduled to continue throughout the zone in the coming days.

Speaking at the visited campuses, the Coordinator, Comr. Offongekpe reiterated NANS commitment to ensuring that the welfare of students is prioritized.

While advising them from indulging in acts capable of marring their educational pursuit, Offongekpe expressed optimism that the concerted efforts at tackling the scourge will culminate in its eradication.

The benefitting students spoke glowingly of the leadership of NANS ZONE B.
Unwana Ibanga Michael, a Year 2 Chemistry student of Akwa Ibom State College of Education, called on relevant authorities to emulate the gesture: "My family is based in Port Harcourt, I have been unable to return home since the lockdown order was given.
I wish to thank Comrade Offongekpe and NANS for this gesture. May other quarters emulate this widow's mite gesture, I am really grateful."

On his part, Precious Azubuike Nelson, a Philosophy student of the University of Uyo, also lauded the NANS Zone B leadership.
"As the NANS Zone B has deemed it necessary to reach out to us at this point in time, we are very elated as you can see. At least, we will have something to keep body and soul together for some days. God bless NANS Zone B."

It is on record that Comrade Offongekpe was the first student leader of NANS to kickstart the campaign against COVID-19 by providing facemasks, hand sanitizers as well as educating the students on possible preventive measures.

Offongekpe, a Communication Arts Student of University of Uyo, was elected in October 2019 at the delegates convention at University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State.
A one time Worldwide President of Etim Ekpo Students Association succeeded Comrade Bishop Godson Okereke of Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State.

Since being inaugurated in December 2019, NANS ZONE B has been a beehive of activities.
The coordinator first embarked on campus facilities tour during which he met with management of institutions across the zone.
He had a closed-door meeting with the management of Ebonyi State University to resolve salient issues including tuition fees hikes, SUG election, students accommodation etc.
At Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma, Edo State, Comrade Offongekpe also intervened in students and management issue which led to the settlement of the hostel allocation problem.

These and other intervention of Comrade Offongekpe embolden the rife belief that NANS ZONE B is in safe hands.
Long may the good works continue.

By Nkechi Odoma

After an exciting display of photoshopped actions by President Idriss Deby, in a manner which glaringly spited our troops, the Chadian leader is surely having blissful nights. He feels accomplished not because he is fighting terrorists, but for the simple reason that his plots of mockery has been successfully executed.

Deby was extremely elated because he sold a hoax to a docile gullible population and it flowed with him excitedly. A few disgruntled elements patronized his counterfeit ‘triumph' and heaped accolades on him. Deby knows deep down his soul that he has duped a complacent continent.

In Africa, there is the resentful tendency of leaders to use every opportunity in exploiting the peoples consciousness in their favour to gain political mileage. On the political chessboard, all is fair insofar as it confers victory or shores up the popularity rating of the schemer.

Boko Haram insurgency has been a problem in West Africa since 2009, particularly around the axis of Lake Chad Basin. The infiltration of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists in the region is also concentrated in the area over a year now. President Deby and his satanic comrades romanced the havoc terrorists have wrought for the region noiselessly and unperturbed.

Deby suddenly woke up one day to stage a movie scene claiming to be fighting Boko Haram. What a repentant heart. Christianity and the season of Easter especially, preaches about repentance and salvation. From this prism, one is tempted to pardon President Deby’s hocus-pocus. But outside the periphery, Deby is a loathsome character, revoltingly satanic and a trickster in the fame of Ghanaian fables.

But who cares in Nigeria about his antics or the demonic inner contraption of his wretched and evil heart? Certainly, nobody gives a damn about him, after all, not many Chadians cherish him any longer . It’s their exclusive burden. The people have acquiesced to his wickedness and that’s why they still tolerate him as their leader. He is free to hatch any evil against them.

But Deby’s attempt to pollute Nigeria and instigate Nigerians against our military is provocative. It violates international conventions. Even Africans do say, a man who sleeps in his house and puts his legs in another man’s house is gunning for trouble. President Deby is standing on this keg of gun powder, which might finally explode on him.

In 2016, when the Nigerian Army demystified the dreaded Sambisa forest, Boko Haram’s most fortified fortress, President Buhari did not rush to Chad to celebrate photo fair of this victory over insurgents. President Buhari didn’t photoshop and released the pictures to the media.

It is inexplicable and inexcusable for President Deby to throw mud into the faces of Nigerians this boldly. He has nicely derided Nigerians with his pretentious confrontation with Boko Haram insurgents in Chadian territory.

It even pains more infinitely to realize that President Deby is a symbol of deceit and leadership degeneration in Africa. For the clear- minded, what is incontrovertible in Deby’s latest actions is that he is not fighting terrorism. If he pretentiously and cowardly flinched before terrorists yesterday, he cannot make such loud noise today as fighter of terrorists.

The world should understand clearly that Chad under Deby is not fighting terrorism. President Deby is fighting for his own political survival, but has found the plank of terrorism a necessary tool to nourish his ambition." This is made manifest in the open secret about to be ratified alliance between the terrorists group (Boko haram/ISWAP) and a tribal opposition group in Chad attempting to take over his job.

Real warriors do not brag; they do not boast. The real victory in any war is not the ephemeral type, but the permanence of victory. Nigeria has recorded more victories against Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists in the last four years under the Buhari Presidency than Chad and every other interest put together in all tinges. Nigeria has conquered the terrorists several times, but did not make a carnival out of it, like Deby because it has not reached the terminal point.

In President Buhari’s time, Nigeria has retrieved all the 18 local government areas in the Northeast coercively annexed and occupied by Boko Haram insurgents. Nigeria has destroyed countless Boko Haram armoury bunkers in the country, including Sambisa forest. Nigeria has regained the freedom of tens of thousands of Nigerians held in Boko Haram’s secret gulags.

Nigeria has restored religious and traditional rulers forcefully deposed by insurgents in the Northeast. Nigeria has forced terrorists to confine their operations to the Lake Chad area. Nigeria’s counter-terrorism combats have more success narratives than Chad can ever approximate. But it is silent because the battle is in its final stages.

So, the disgruntled elements celebrating Deby’s circuit show should reflect deeper. The intense noise about Idris Deby of Chad fighting Boko Haram better than Nigeria is baseless and vexatious. It is hollow and outlandish. It is another fake news by fake activists and their league of idle congregants.

That President Deby is leading Chadian troops to clear Boko Haram /ISWAP terrorists from the Lake Chad Islands is far from the truth. In all ramifications, this sort of news can only be peddled by idlers and people who have medals in falsity. The propagandists are devoid of any idea about what Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and ombudsman of the counter-insurgency operations, Lt. Gen. TY Buratai and Nigerian troops are doing in the Northeast.

Gen. Buratai is a terror to terrorists. He is a thorn in the flesh of terrorists. That’s why they attempted to kill him several times, but he defended himself and rather sent the insurgents who ambushed his path to their early graves.

However, what is indisputable is that Chad is not fighting Boko Haram in the Lake Chad. Even what President Deby did and garnished it with photo carnival had no nexus with terrorism. Deby and Chadian troops only summoned effeminate courage to confront Chadian rebels at Kelkoua, a tiny portion on the bank of the Lake Chad. Chad has the disreputable record of being a breeding ground for rebels.

The operation led by President Deby of Chad only cleared a mere 2% of the camps of Chadian rebels in the Lake Chad Islands. The whole world knows that 80% of Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists are Chadian rebels. Virtually all of them are found in Lake Chad Islands within the Chadian territory.

Criminals have neither strict morals or bounds, so they stray into Nigeria from Chad to commit atrocities. Therefore, Idris Deby is fighting his own rebels which they have romanced and petted over time, but have gone berserk. The rebels have grown in strength and have become monstrous hence the Nigerian military is not allowing them the liberty to freely operate in Nigeria.

So, Chad has discovered it’s foolery of courting and dinning with rebels and terrorists and now fighting for its existential survival; while President Deby is exploiting it for his survival in power. Without mincing words, Chad should face its consuming quagmire and never to contemplate dragging Nigeria into its morass.


Odoma is President, Africa Arise for Change Network and wrote from Abuja.