₦airaland Forum

Boko Haram/ ISWAP: Group appeals to Borno elders, political stakeholders to evolve new approach towards defeating terrorists' ideology




The Centre for Africa Liberation and Socio-Economic Rights (CALSER) has challenged elders, leaders and political stakeholders in Borno State to adopt new approach and strategy to defeat terrorists’ ideology.

In an emotion laden speech delivered at the Unity Fountain on Friday, the centre says it will take collaboration of the elders, politicians and other stakeholders in condemning the antics of Boko Haram/ISWAP ideology for peace to return to the north east.

CALSER’s convener, Princess Ajibola, in an open letter to Northeast elders, stakeholders and politicians, called on these leaders to help build the region and defeat terrorists’ ideology.

According to Converner, Princess Ajibola, the northeast must realise that “we are our own enemies” and the “time has come for us to get out of this shell that has tied our hands and tongues”.

CALSER, therefore, called on elders, political leaders and other stakeholders to join hands with the government and the armed forces to extend the maximum level of support needed to succeed in the fight against insurgency and for Nigeria to defeat the Boko Haram/ISWAP ideology.

The Centre reckoned that this can only be achieved if a more pragmatic approach towards defeating terrorist ideology is adopted.

Read full letter below:

Our respectable elders, esteemed stakeholders and political leaders in North-east Nigeria, this is an appeal for us to stand up and take our destiny in our hands. The time has come for us to sit and reason together concerning what has been happening in our country, particularly the North-east region.

We cannot afford to pretend that all is still well when our well-being as a people has been violated and the future for us and our children threatened. The overall essence of our humanity is being threatened by evil, wickedness and foreign conspiracies against our country.

We can no longer pretend that all is well with us, when we are being attacked on a daily basis by evil minded men, when our sources of livelihood are being destroyed, the social order we once enjoyed is being eroded, our people are being killed and the very foundation of our existence shattered. Life losing its true meaning and our core values being overtaken by a new posture of malice, envy and jealousy.

In the past 10 years and more, our situation has become one of the most pathetic and unfortunate conditions any group of humans have been subjected to live with on the globe. We have been through the worst forms of human experiences, forced on a daily basis to pass through the most devastating circumstances known to man. This includes suffering by innocent children who have committed no crime against us but simply being born Nigerians at this point in time.

We have experienced and are experiencing bombs, land mines and other forms of devices that do havoc to both our physical forms and psyche that the sound of any of these no longer mean anything to us. We have seen lives cut short in the most brutal manner, limbs chopped off and other horrors that are better not mentioned.

We have seen innocent people butchered that the red colour of blood does not evoke blood-curdling emotions any more. We have seen children orphaned in seconds and women widowed in their thousands in the twinkle of an eye that such sights no longer evoke sombreness as it used to.

We can say without fear of contradiction that our situation is worse that than those of nations at war.
Those who under the throes of war are enabled to idèntify the casus belli and thereby work towards a plan of action to bring an end to the crisis and make for reconciliation to avoid treading similar paths in future.

But in our case, we are daily confronted with despair and despondency owing to the fact that while war has been declared on us, we cannot say what the reasons are for the belligerence neither can we descry its duration.

The fact is that we are not even sure who the enemy is as the more we try to point accusing fingers the more the fingers keep curving towards us. We are told that the terrorists want to conquer and bring the nation down, but who are the insurgents if not our blood brothers, uncles,.sons and other relations.

They are people known to us as there is none of us who can claim not to know at least one or two of these persons causing the damages to us

We looked the other way because we thought they were aggrieved and that perhaps their anger would last only for a little while.
We were wrong as there was no anger in the first place and the evil that is driving them seems to have no end.

We thought that if we stop the onslaught on them and talked to them in a tongue they understand, that they would drop their guns and come home. But our pleas on their behalf seems to further aggravate the situation.

Our silence has crept in on us and we have now realised that we are our own enemies. Our children are being recruited and trained to turn their guns and bombs on us and we remain silent.

Our daughters and sisters are forcefully taken captives, defiled and humiliated and we look in bewilderment, our lands are being desecrated with blood and we say nothing, our people are being killed and we look the other way.

The time has come for us to get out of this shell that has tied our hands and tongues, the time has come for us to take action and speak out against these heinous crimes being committed against our people.

The North east used to be the home of peace and example of perfect social and economic order that people from other parts of the country and indeed West Africa send their children to come and acquire Islamic education on our shores.

From Bauchi to Gombe to Borno to Yobe, Adamawa and Taraba are vast fertile lands for agriculture, mining and tourism that others not so privileged come to share in our God-given assets.

It is not a coincidence that some of the most beautiful landscapes in the country with captivating allure are found in this region.
For example the Yankari Game Reserve, the Lake Alau, the Gwoza hills and the Mambilla Plateau are all here.

The strategic importance of the zone to the rest of the country are captured in the numerous dams and river basins we have across the zone.

But all these cannot on their own yield the economic potential to the country and humanity unless we the people put efforts to harness them.

And these cannot be harnessed in an atmosphere of bringandage, brouhaha, chaos, cataclysmic social liquidation and war.

By the time we realise the effect of these years wasted in chaos and social interruptions, it may be too late.

We therefore appeal to our elders, political leaders and other stakeholders to join hands with the government and the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to extend to them the maximum level of support needed to succeed in the fight against insurgency and for Nigeria to defeat the Boko Haram/ISWAP ideology.

This we can achieve by evolving a more pragmatic approach towards defeating the Boko Haram/ISWAP ideology that is targeted at breaking Nigeria into pieces.

Cooperating with the Federal Government will send negative signal to the terrorists that it is not business as usual and will put them out of business. Our unequivocal condemnation of the terrorists and their evil habits will send a signal to them that we are now united and want to see the final end of terrorism.

Lasting peace will come if only the elders and stakeholders are passionately involved and work hand in hand with the Federal Government to see that the wounds begin to heal.

Perhaps the insurgents have mistaken our lukewarmness to mean we either condone what they are doing or that we are too scared to talk to them. No one should be too precious to live when the lives of our children and women are not guaranteed.

We must condemn with every ounce these barbaric and dastardly acts and talk to the insurgents to desist from the path they have chosen that normalcy should return to the North east as we all would be the better for it if the force of evil is overthrown.

The time for us to speak against the evil is NOW and not tomorrow. We must defeat the Boko Haram/ISWAP ideology before it breaks us into pieces.

Thank you and God bless you.

Ex- gov Yari allegedly planning to destabilize Zamfara peace, economy-- peace envoys


The Peace Advocates Network of Nigeria (PANN) has accused former Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, of plotting to destabilize the state through sponsored banditry.

In a press conference in Abuja on Friday, PANN called on concerned patriots to be on the watch and for proactive actions to be taken.

According to National President, Chinedu Okoli, Mr Yari has been mobilizing bandits and other criminal elements to unleash terror in the state after Governor Bello Matawalle introduced some policies which wasn't well taken.

Among such, the peace envoys revealed, was stoppage of the state’s pension law that would have seen the former governor and other political office holders go home with vast amounts of monies at the detriment of the development of the state.

The group further stated that the ex-governor recruited the services of some local government chairmen to actualize his inordinate ambition.

The Peace Advocates Network, therefore, resolved that Mr Yari should be held responsible if upsurge of crime and criminalities is recorded in Zamfara and other states in the northwest.

The group, however, advised the erstwhile governor to desist from this act that could potentially wreck havoc in the state else face the consequences.

Read full statement below:

The Peace Advance Network of Nigeria, a civil society organization in Nigeria at the vanguard of the entrenchment of peaceful coexistence and religious harmony wishes to bring to the attention of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the unholy plot by the former governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari to cause mayhem in the state through the sponsorship of criminal activities.

We wish to state that we have it on competent authority that Abdulaziz Yari has been mobilizing bandits and other criminal elements to unleash terror in the state since the governor, Bello Matawalle introduced some far-reaching measures aimed towards putting the state on the path of progress.

We also wish to state that one of such measures was the repealing of the state’s pension law that would have seen the former governor and other political office holders go home with vast amounts of monies at the detriment of the development of the state.

This move, which has been applauded by all and sundry in Nigeria, did not go down well with former governor Abdulaziz Yari, and he indeed set up the machinery to make the state ungovernable for the incumbent governor for having the audacity to repeal the pension law in the state.

The Peace Advocates Network of Nigeria wishes to state that former governor Abdulaziz Yari has also recruited the services of some local government chairmen to actualize his inordinate ambition by recruiting bandits and other criminal elements from various local government areas to begin a campaign of violence on the good and peace-loving people of Zamfara state all in an attempt to discredit Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle. We challenge Gov. Yari to deny this fact or tell Nigerians nothing but the whole truth.

The Peace Advocates Network of Nigeria wishes to state emphatically that former governor Abdulaziz Yari does not have the interest of the state at heart, not minding the fact that this was a state he governed for eight years and with all the attendants benefits that he derived from office. The high scale insecurity that greeted the State during the last few months or his tenure has a firm root in his mismanagement of the state resources and inability to engage restless youths for any useful purpose.

Former governor Abdulaziz Yari had vowed to make the state ungovernable since his anointed candidate lost the last governorship elections to the incumbent governor. And this much he has attempted to do in times past but for the intervention of the security agencies in Zamfara state. This wicked, evil and malicious action of Yari has caused the state so much resources to curtail and in most instances death of countless innocent citizens.

The Peace Advocates Network of Nigeria wishes to also bring to the attention of the world that should there be a resurgence of criminal activities in Zamfara state, former governor Abdulaziz Yari should be held responsible as impeccable report at our disposal indicates that he purchased over 1, 000 guns and ammunition for militia under the guise of state-sponsored vigilante services. Majority of these elements still bear arms, have refused to subscribe to ongoing efforts by the current administration for amnesty and have co continued to breach the peace of Zamfara State and her neighbouring towns.

Former governor Abdulaziz Yari is indeed a great disservice to the people of Zamfara state in particular and Nigeria in general through his actions while he held sway as governor for eight years and since his reign as governor ended through his various attempts at instigating one form of conflict or the other. His vow that Zamfara State will know no peace has become the people's nightmare and doing everything possible to keep the state boiling with its attendant humanitarian crisis.

The Peace Advocates Network of Nigeria wishes to state that it is also a known fact that the ex- governor, Abdulaziz Yari harbors disdain for the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari for standing on the side of truth and the great efforts towards ending the menace of armed banditry and other criminalities in Zamfara state that were instigated by former governor Abdulaziz Yari.

It is also instructive to state that since the coming into office of Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle, the various efforts instituted to fight the menace of armed banditry indeed revealed the nefarious role of former governor Abdulaziz Yari in entrenching crime and criminality in Zamfara State.
We do not intend to hold brief for the State Government as our major concern is hinged on the need for peace to reign in the country.

The fact that his anointed candidate that was meant to cover his dirty tracks lost at the elections did open a Pandora’s Box of illegalities that were perpetuated by former governor Abdulaziz Yari in Zamfara State. Whilst the anti-corruption agencies are invited to do their job thoroughly, we as peace advocates will not fold our hands and watch any criminal element deliberately sabotage the peace and healing ongoing across the country and hence the need to cry to the world through this press conference.

This included the notoriety with which he enriched himself with state resources to the detriment of the people who elected him — sufficing to add the debacle of the Paris Club refund that indeed left a sour taste in the mouth of Nigerians who were shortchanged by ex- governor Abdulaziz Yari and his co-travelers.

The Peace Advocates Network of Nigeria wishes to use this medium to inform the members of the general public that should there be an upsurge of crime and criminalities in Zamfara state and other parts of northwest Nigeria, ex- governor Abdulaziz Yari should be held responsible.

The Peace Advocates Network of Nigeria wishes to advise Abdulaziz Yari to desist from his criminal tendencies in the interest of peace. He should have a rethink about sabotaging the state and his acts of economic terrorism. YARI should also stop taking Nigerians for granted as he is not bigger than the constituted authorities in the country.

The Peace Advocates Network of Nigeria shall not hesitate to call for a demonstration march in protest of the nefarious activities of former governor Abdulaziz Yari. We will also drag him to the ICC for war crimes committed during his tenure and on the radar of the international police for him to answer questions.

We wish to say Enough is Enough and must be enough for Yari and his agents of darkness.
Thank you and God bless you for listening.

Boko Haram/ISWAP: Borno Elders, Stakeholders complicit in the continuous existence of terrorism despite FG's efforts-- CALSER


The Centre for Africa Liberation and Socio-Economic Rights (CALSER) has accused the Borno Elders Forum, politicians and other stakeholders of complicity in the continuous existence of terrorism in the state.

CALSER said some elders, political leaders and stakeholders in the state were frustrating the efforts of the federal government to end terrorism in north east Nigeria.

In a letter addressed to BEF, The letter signed by the Convener, Princess Ajibola attached below posed several questions begging for answers from the elders and stakeholders. It gave a 7-day ultimatum to Borno Elders to initiate necessary actions in consonance with the concerns expressed in its open letter:

Let us start by commanding the Commander-In-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari for his focused, spirited and result-oriented counter-terrorism warfare in the country.

We are very conversant with the difficulties of combating terrorism anywhere in the world. But the Buhari Presidency has demonstrated commitment, purposefulness and seriousness in ending the scourge of terrorism plaquing Nigeria, with deep roots in the Northeast. Of course, none of the members of BEF needs an extra binocular to spot the difference before and now under this government.
CALSER also, most objectively believe in the strategies being put in place by President Buhari and the security. But must be unequivocal that military action alone with the current posture of the Borno State Stakeholders will yield no meaningful result or deliver the kind of results to restore peace and normalcy.

President Buhari has repeatedly proved that he knows the sensitivity of this national assignment, the indispensability of security in the country and has determinedly confronted the hydra-headed monster to a standstill. Let’s be frank with you that the Nigerian military has considerably obliterated the shadows of Boko Haram in the Northeast.

But it is not edifying for us to think the United Nations (UN), government or any other authority is not doing enough to end Boko Haram. Our people say, charity begins at home. So, fighting insecurity of the identity and magnitude of Boko Haram insurgency anywhere in the world demands concerted efforts by all stakeholders to record and sustain the desired impact.

It is unfortunate that BEF, politicians and other stakeholders in Borno state have wrongly perceived and interpreted the entire Boko Haram insurgency which has devastated and ruined, not only Borno state, but the rest of the Northeast region as the exclusive business of President Buhari.

However, what other stakeholders in this collective battle against insurgency in Nigeria, including BEF have failed to do is to also contribute their quota to this battle to save humanity and their own remaining kith and kin trapped by remnants of insurgents.

What has remained confounding to the rest of us and the world is the unconcealed politicization, indifference and urbanian inclination of BEF to the total elimination of Boko Haram terrorism in Borno. BEF has postured as more interested in condemning the Presidency, or lobbying Mr. President to change leaders of the Nigerian troops in the frontlines for not doing “enough.”

BEF consistently leads bogus delegations of prominent elders from Borno, armed with a plethora of demands of what they think should be done to end Boko Haram terrorism. Which is good in itself. And overtime, President Buhari has responded by implementing some of these demands he deems sensible within the context of finally routing out Boko Haram in Borno, the Northeast and Nigeria.

Disappointing though, BEF has abandoned its crucial part of the bargain or contributions to this collective warfare on anti-terrorism or has gleefully neglected it, while they wake up every day looking unto outsiders to solve a problem in their own house. It’s like members of this forum derive pecuniary benefits from the deaths, devastations and ruination of their land by insurgency or indeed, pleasure in its festering.

Or else, how is the rest of the world supposed to understand that BEF is completely unconcerned with the sixth of United Nations Security Council of June 8, 2018, on “UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy” delivered on a four-point plan of action to member-nations, one of which states unambiguously as “…addressing the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism, including but not limited to prolonged unresolved conflicts, dehumanization of victims of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, lack of rule of law and violations of human rights, ethnic, national and religious discrimination, political exclusion, socio-economic marginalization, and lack of good governance….”

Another clause in this resolution, specifically addressed BEF and states that stakeholders are enjoined; “To promote a culture of peace, justice and human development, ethnic, national and religious tolerance, and respect for all religions, religious values, beliefs or cultures by establishing and encouraging, as appropriate, education and public awareness programmes involving all sectors of society...”

All of us are aware of the history or evolution of Boko Haram insurgency which has blossomed for 10 years into a national and global security monster. Candidly, politicians in Borno state started it by importing political thugs from Niger and Chad Republics in 2002 to assist them rig elections by hook or crook in the state.

After the electoral victories, these imported armed political thugs were abandoned to hunger and starvation. They devised other means of survival and brought up the idea of Boko Haram, recruited your sons and daughters into the fold, and gradually morphed into the berserk terrorists they are known today. This is a sad history unworthy of recollection or recounting. But it has become necessary at this point to call a spade a spade.

The pioneers of this queer version of Islamism have probably all been killed in combats while battling Nigerian security forces over the years. But the inheritors and promoters of this awkward and satanic project are your children, who answer your calls as fathers, uncles and brothers.

It’s absolutely indiscernible that BEF had never ever contemplated penetrating the rural populace to dialogue, interact and appeal to their own kith and kin for armistice over a decade of battle or expression of anger in bloodbath. How come they are suddenly afraid of their own children?

CALSER has challenged BEF to show even one instance they embarked on peaceful dialogue with their people on Boko Haram or attempting to win the confidence of the people to sheathe their swords? We guess it will be a hard nut to crack.

Is this not shameful enough that elders who are by African tradition supposed to lay down their lives for the younger generation would in reverse order, pleasantly allow the destruction of their posterity and land for whatever reason? What has prevented BEF from fostering persuasive and meaningful dialogues among communities and groups towards ending insurgency?

Each time BEF voices out in the media, its either they are requesting President Buhari to sack Security and Service Chiefs or change the anti-Boko Haram Strike squads on the battlefield. The conduct inspires a lot of suspicions and raises dust on the sincerity of BEF members as a whole on ending insurgency.

Borno state has worthy, wealthy and influential sons and daughters, both former and serving government appointees. Honestly what are they doing with this clout and affluence when their land is on fire? Who else do BEF members expect to exclusively blight the fire, while they covertly instigate it and stand on the fence to curry sympathy from the world in undisguised blame games of government and security agents?

We are asking the elders in BEF that where is their impact now that Borno is boiling? Where are all those who have hibernated in BEF as former governors, former or current Senators or House of Reps members? Where are all the current and former ministers, all the former and current and former state assembly legislators?

We want to know the efforts of dialogue all the rich businessmen and women from Borno as well as all the government bureaucrats at both national and state levels have done collectively or individually to quench the fire of insurgency? What role has this rich assemblage of worthy sons and daughters played in bringing an end to Boko Haram insurgency in the state or in complementing the efforts of government and security agents?

It is the greatest shame of a people staring BEF elders in the face before the rest of the world. We are tempted to believe incontrovertibly that while Borno state burns, these wealthy and influential elders revel in affluence and squander in safe havens far-flung from home. And so, they think it is the exclusive responsibility of others to quench the fire of Boko Haram.

It is completely unacceptable. Insurgency started in Borno and it must end in Borno where it has receded to concentrate now. The time to tell ourselves some sacrosanct truths is now! We cannot flinch from it forever. BEF must know, the time for the truth and the necessary action to salvage our suffering, deprived and dehumanized people is now!

So, every BEF member must dust the toga aloofness and move into the communities and villages of Borno to speak to their people; invest or spread the wealth through poverty alleviation schemes. BEF must service the cord of fraternity for the rest of us to have peace and security. Again, Boko Haram started in Borno and currently nourished by majority of masked Borno people and BEF must find a non-military solution to it.

It’s a mistaken notion to leave this arduous task solely in the hands of the Nigerian Army. Its time all of us must move to either the trenches or invade our communities with messages of peace and reconciliation. If Niger Delta elders can achieve it with militants, it’s not impossible in Borno, the Northeast and Nigeria.

Finally, we wish to state clearly that we are issuing a 7-day ultimatum to Borno Elders to initiate necessary actions in consonance with the concerns expressed in this open letter. If after the expiration of the ultimatum and nothing is done, CALSER would be forced to activate other peaceful and lawful instruments in order to give peace and security to our distressed and traumatized humanity in Borno state.

Who between Bayelsa and Rivers states owns Soku oil wells? In resolving the conflict of ownership, stakeholders believe that it is pertinent to first determine the ideal location of Soku in the administrative map, reports Mike Odiegwu from Yenagoa.

Are the disputed Soku oil wells located in Oluasiri, a community in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, or are they situated in Kalabari, a kingdom in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area in Rivers State? This is the major question begging for answers as two Niger-Delta states, Rivers and neigbouring Bayelsa, fight dirty over an oil rich border area.

Bayelsa State’s claim of ownership to the disputed oil wells stemmed from the 11th edition of the country’s administrative map. The map, which was published by the National Boundary Commission and the Federal Surveyor-General’s Office in 2000, located the boundary between Rivers and Bayelsa at the San Bartholomew River. The delineation situated the oil wells within Oluasiri in Nembe Local Government Area.



Shortly after the publication of the map, Rivers State raised an objection protesting the boundary adjustment. The Rivers State government, under Dr. Peter Odili, reportedly petitioned the then chairman of the National Boundary Commission and former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar. The Rivers State government in its official communication on the matter has always cited a response to the Odili’s letter dated July 3, 2002 by the Director-General, NBC, where the commission acknowledged that the delineation was an error and promised to correct it in the 12th edition of the map.

But without holding briefs for the Bayelsa State government, stakeholders following the matter observe that while the matter was raging, it was agreed by all the parties that the revenue from Soku oil wells should be paid into an Escrow Account pending the resolution of the case. Despite the agreement, in the year 2000, former President Olusegun Obasanjo established a Presidential Committee on Disputed Oil Wells headed by one Major-General A. B. Mamman (Retd.).

The committee in its report recommended that the proceeds from Soku Oil Field be given to Bayelsa State. Former Governor Peter Odili objected to the recommendations of the committee and filed a legal action against the committee at the Federal High Court. Rivers government withdrew the matter following an objection by Bayelsa and filed another action at the Supreme Court. Based on the recommendations of the Mamman Committee, about N7.3bn was released to Bayelsa State from escrow account on March 19, 2007.

Angered by the development, the Rivers government continued to pursue the matter at the Supreme Court vigorously. Delivering judgement on Suit N0 SC/106/2009 Att. Gen of Rivers State vs. Att. Gen of Bayelsa State & Anor, the court washed its hands off the matter, saying it could only make a declarative order on ownership after the final boundary delineation by the NBC.

The apex court said: “It is on account of the foregoing and because of the technical nature of the dispute and the claims of the parties that the court finds that the NBC as an authority vested with authorities and expertise, know-how in dealing with this matter, should have, once and for all, conducted an exhaustive exercise of delineating the disputed boundary, hence the long awaited 12th edition of the Administrative Map when completed soonest would have been of tremendous assistance in settling the lingering dispute.



“In the light of the observations I have clearly expressed above, I do not feel comfortable to grant the declarations sought until the NBC concludes its exercise of delineation of disputed boundary to finality. It will be futile and premature to determine the boundary of the two parties in the present circumstance.”

Amaechi, Dickson tango



But the crisis raged on as former Governor Rotimi Amaechi engaged the then President Goodluck Jonathan, who hails from Bayelsa, and his counterpart in Bayelsa, Governor Seriake Dickson, in verbal warfare over the oil wells. Amaechi then warned Bayelsa to steer clear of the oil wells, saying “we will not allow Bayelsa State government to collect our oil wells.”

The then Rivers State deputy governor, Tele Ikuru, while addressing Kalabari Chiefs Ikuru said all federal agencies the state approached to help redress the problem ignored them. He wondered why Soku, an oil rich community in the state, was suddenly ceded to Bayelsa. He said despite the agreement that proceeds from oil and gas in the area should be paid to an escrow account, about N17bn from the account was transferred to Bayelsa.

“The issue of Soku has been known to be part of Rivers State. Suddenly we woke up to hear Soku does not belong to Rivers again. While we were challenging this, we asked that the whole money from there be paid into an escrow account. Suddenly they paid the money to Bayelsa State,” Ikuru lamented.

But Dickson in a statement signed by his then Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, replied Amaechi. He said Amaechi was a mischievous liar for claiming that President Goodluck Jonathan ceded the oil wells to his home state in his bid to punish Rivers people. Dickson insisted that there was no controversy over the ownership of the Soku oil wells since the issue was resolved by the Supreme Court, the National Boundary Commission (NBC) and several presidential committees.

The statement said: “It is instructive to note that not only are the survey coordinates of the affected areas within the geographical area of Bayelsa State, it is also in Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) delineated electoral constituency as electoral ward 13 in Nembe Local Council Area of Bayelsa State.”

Quoting chapter three of a report of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) dated August 2006, the statement said: “The Bayelsa/Imo/Abia State governments complained that the naming of oil fields was often done arbitrarily without any regard to the culture and particular environment of the people where the wells or fields are located. This has given rise to wrong attribution by relevant agencies.

“Incidentally, Soku village in Rivers State is about 10 kilometres, as the crow flies, from the flow station while the Oluasiri/Soku oil wells/field is completely surrounded by various Oluasiri communities such as Etukekiri, Ijawkiri, Fredkiri, Adokonikiri etc, all in Nembe Local Council Area of Bayelsa State.”

The statement also quoted sections of a report of a committee set up in October 2000 by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo and headed by Maj. Gen. A. B. Mamman (retd), which said: “Soku Oil Field: The team relied on the legal notice captioned “The Eastern Region Local Government Law, 1955 E.R. NO 26 of 1955. Instrument Establishing the Nembe District Council” tendered by Bayelsa State on Pages 40-41 of its submission.

“It should be noted that while the Kalabari of Rivers State call the area Soku, the Nembe people of Bayelsa State call it Oluasiri, which is one of the councils mentioned in paragraph 5 of the above mentioned instrument. In the light of the above, it is recommended that the production from Soku Oil Field be attributed to Bayelsa State.”

The reports, according to the statement, paved the way for Bayelsa to apply for the monies that had been placed in an escrow account.

“From July 2004, the Revenue Commission officially attributed the Oluasiri (Soku) Oil well to Bayelsa State and the amount of N7,292,218,892 was subsequently released from the ESCROW account to Bayelsa State on March 19, 2007, during the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo.

“The Bayelsa State government made the application for a refund of N17,405,702,164.34 during the administration of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua on the reconciliation of Nembe-South oil field in Bayelsa State and was found by RMAFC to be true.

“Amaechi, failed to disclose that Rivers State made a similar claim on Nda and Okwori oil wells from Bayelsa, Imo, Abia, Akwa Ibom and Delta states, and got a refund of N17.5 billion.”

Wike keeps the battle raging

The incumbent Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, shocked Bayelsa State at the twilight of Dickson’s administration. Unknown to Dickson, Wike engaged his legal team in a fresh battle to reclaim the Soku oil wells. A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja awarded the Soku Oil Wells to Rivers State. Delivering judgement in a suit filed by the Attorney-General of Rivers State and the National Boundary Commission, Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court said based on the facts before the court, the oil wells belonged to Rivers State.

The court then issued an order compelling the NBC to rectify the 11th Edition of the Administrative Map of Nigeria, which contained the erroneous interstate boundary between Rivers State and Bayelsa State in the 12th Edition. The court declared that the failure of NBC to rectify the admitted mistake in the 11th edition of the Administrative Map of Nigeria since 2002 which erroneously showed St Batholomew River instead of River Santa Barbara as the interstate boundary between the two states was a breach of its statutory duty and a flagrant disobedience of the order of the Supreme Court.

But an indication that the Soku oil well conundrum is yet to be rested despite the recent judgement emerged following the decision of Bayelsa State to challenge the order of the federal high court. Immediately the judgment was issued, the Bayelsa state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Andrew Arthur, said Bayelsa was not a party to the application filed by the Rivers State government.

Describing the judgment as unfortunate, Arthur said the application was cunningly hidden from the Bayelsa government, adding that the government only got to know about it on the judgement day. He said though he would restrain from making further comments until he received a copy of the judgment, Rivers State government had brought similar applications on about four occasions but they were all dismissed by the court.

He asked the people of the state to remain calm noting that the government would challenge the order of the court at the appeal. Arthur said the processes that led to the judgement fell short of court rules, which mandated the court to include parties that could affected by its order to an instituted action. He said: “Don’t forget that we were not party to the said action that was brought by the Rivers State. We were not even aware of the pendency of the action up to the stage of this morning.

“I had to call the governor to intimate him of the fact that there was a judgment. I have not seen the hard copy of the judgment apart from what I read from papers. I can’t be making a comment on the basis of what is written in papers.

“But I will be in Abuja and I can assure you that Bayelsa State will have a robust defence by way of an appeal as an interested party. It is quite unfortunate. Rivers State had brought similar applications on about four occasions before the Federal High Court.

“All those applications had been dismissed on one ground or the other. What they did was to cleverly and cunningly not make Bayelsa State a party to the application. I quite understand that the application was for an order of mandamus compelling the National Boundary Commission. If they are simply compelling the NBC to do an act, that is what it is. Maybe that informed the reason why we were not made party to the application. The rule of court says that where a party is to be affected by the order to be made, the court shall direct that the processes be served on that other party.

“All these were not done and I can assure you that not later than Wednesday we would have taken the necessary steps to ensure that the wrong that had been meted on the people and government of Bayelsa State are dealt with. Bayelsans should remain calm. We understand that this government is almost at its terminal point, but we still owe a duty to protect the interest of Bayelsa and the government of Bayelsa will not shelve that responsibility at this stage.”

Also in an elaborate statement, the Bayelsa government further clarified its position on the matter. The government in the statement signed by Andrew said the lower court’s judgement was contrary to a decision of the Supreme Court on the matter. Andrew said despite the decision of the Supreme Court, the Rivers government instituted an action against the NBC to justify its “false” claims on the Soku oilfields, which he said are located within Nembe Loval Government Area.

He said: “From Monday 16th December, 2019 the media had been awash with reports that the Federal High Court, sitting at Abuja had delivered a judgment awarding the ownership of the said Oluasiri Oilfields/Oil wells to Rivers State purportedly pursuant to the judgment of the Supreme Court in Suit No. CS/106/2009 between Attorney-General, Rivers State v. Attorney-General, Bayelsa State & Anor

“It was also reported that the judgment of the Federal High Court was made to give effect to the decision of the Supreme Court, and purporting to direct the NBC to fix the boundary between Rivers and Bayelsa State at Santa Barbara River.

“It is worthy of note that the Supreme Court in Suit No. CS/106/2009 struck out the action on the ground that it was futile and premature to determine the boundaries of the two states insofar as the NBC had not delineated the boundary between Rivers State and Bayelsa State.

“The Supreme Court never made a specific order directing the NBC to delineate the disputed boundaries. Albeit, it is part of the statutory function of the NBC to deal with, determine and intervene in any boundary dispute that may arise between any two States of the Federation with a view to settling such dispute.”

In the Supreme Court judgement, Andrew quoted Galadima JSC to have said: It is on account of the foregoing and because of the technical nature of the dispute and the claims of the parties this Court finds that the NBC as an authority vested with authorities and expertise know-how in dealing with this matter should have once and for all conducted an exhaustive exercise of delineating the disputed boundary.

“Hence the long-awaited 12th Edition of the Administrative Map when completed soonest would have been of tremendous assistance in settling this lingering dispute.

“In the light of the observations I have clearly expressed above I do not feel comfortable to grant the declarations sought until the NBC concludes its exercise of delineation of disputed boundary to finality. It will be futile and premature to determine the boundary of the two parties States in the present circumstances. However, the appropriate order to be made in the prevailing circumstance is that of striking out the Plaintiff’s suit, and I so order accordingly. Each party to bear its costs.”

Andrew said following the judgement, the NBC in exercise of its statutory functions commenced the efforts to exhaustively and finally resolve the boundary dispute between Rivers and Bayelsa State with the constitution of Joint Technical Committee on the Bayelsa/Rivers Interstate Boundary and the deputy governors of both states leading their respective delegation.

He said: “After a couple of meetings of the aforesaid committee, on the 30th of January, 2013, the Rivers State delegation led by the then deputy governor, Engr. Tele Ikuru, formally announced the withdrawal of the state’s delegation from further deliberation and participation in the joint delimitation and demarcation exercises until certain conditions articulated by the deputy governor of Rivers State, are met, which amongst others, included the payments of all revenue from the disputed oil wells into an Escrow Account under the Accountant-General of the Federation.

“Given the background and the state of affairs necessitated by the voluntary withdrawal of Rivers State from further deliberation and participation in the joint delimitation and demarcation exercise in respect of the disputed boundary.

“It is therefore surprising that Rivers State could resort to instituting the action at the Federal High Court, Abuja against the NBC and without the knowledge and participation of Bayelsa State, and proceeded to obtain a judgement to the effect that the Oluasiri Oilfields/Oil wells, belong to Rivers State on the same unchanged facts and issues as was the case before the Supreme Court in Suit No. SC/106/2009.

“This to say the least, is highly unusual, curious, and clearly untenable and cannot be allowed to stand despite the media frenzy orchestrated and sponsored by the government of Rivers State.

“Bayelsa State is confident of its historical claim of ownership over the lands on which the Oilfields/Oil wells in issue are situate and had always expressed its willingness to fully participate in any joint delimitation and demarcation exercise in respect of the disputed boundary.”

By all indications, the Soku oil well controversy will continue and may be inherited by the next administrations of Rivers and Bayelsa. It is only when the NBC updates the administrative map of the country in its 12th edition that the matter may be resolved. The 12th edition of the mapping will determine whether the rich Soku oil wells and oil fields belong to either Bayelsa or Rivers states.

The PDP Leaders of Thought have said the recent media attacks by the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Nyesom Wike on Bayelsa state Governor, Honorable Henry Seriake Dickson in an affront to civility and arrogance taken too far.

In a statement in Abuja, and jointly signed by the Chairman and Secretary, Elder Akin Shomolu and Alhaji Kabiru Alhassan, the group strongly condemned the media attacks by Rivers State Governor on his Bayelsa State counterparts, a situation it described as the "arbitrariness that Governor Wike has become known for."

"We wish to express dismay, at the conduct of Mr Wike, which was purely an attempt at intimidating the good people of Bayelsa State, whose mandate, Governor Seriake Dickson still holds, as an incumbent governor. The hostility of governor Wike to the people of Bayelsa State, has never been hidden and the recent actions of the Rivers, only attracts our attention and other well meaning Nigerians, because he went beyond every known boundary of civility."

They stated that the tantrums of the Rivers Governor is not only uncalled for but is capable of fanning the Amber's of discord between the niegbouring sister states.

The group further said, the resort by Wike to gutter language in describing Governor Dickson, his family and by extension, the people of Bayelsa State may have been borne out of the personal hatred and frustration, especially whenever Governor Wike is confronted with the popularity of Governor Dickson and his acceptability across the Niger Delta.

" The words used by His Excellency Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State is unbecoming of the office and title of "His Excellency, The Governor of Rivers State.'

“Mr Wike's attacks and subtle threats is nothing short of vituperation borne out of irritation with the role of Governor Dickson in unifying the Ijaw nation, both in and outside Bayelsa State."


“If we may ask, what has been the exceptional achievement of Governor Wike in adressing the mountains of challenges faced by the people of Rivers state today, including an upsurge of the violence across the state.? Why is he belly-aching about the clear headed leadership which Governor Dickson has continued to provide within and outside Bayelsa State?

His regular threats to the party leadership clearly shows a man who is uncontrollable, lacks respect for constituted authority, and sees himself as an Emperor who must be obeyed at all cost the group added.

The group advised Governor Seriake Dickson and the people of Bayelsa State not to be deterred by the antics of an arrogant political adversary who was out to fan the embers of disunity in the region.

They called on leaders,and men of Goodwill across the country to rise up in one voice to condemn the actions of the Rivers State Governor.

*Boko Haram/ISWAP: Centre decries tacit international support for, berates UN for doing little too late to address terrorism in Africa*

The Centre for Africa Liberation and Socio-Economic Rights (CALSER) has frowned at the United Nations and other international organizations for being relatively mute, without any strict measure to address terrorism in Africa.

According to the Centre, the UN is doing little and doing late by not sanctioning countries that promote and watch Boko Haram/ ISWAP spread its ideology of senseless killings across Africa.

This was made known at a press briefing on Saturday in Abuja on the “worrisome bid by Boko Haram/ ISWAP to regain relevance from the tacit support enjoyed from unscrupulous countries and international organizations”.

In a statement signed by convener, Princess Ajibola, the Centre revealed that the UN's failure to interrogate what is unfolding in the northeast of Nigeria and adjourning territories of Niger, Cameroon and Chad has encouraged nations backing Boko Haram to grow bold.

CALSER, forthwith, called on the UN to condemn the activities of the terrorists rather than destructive indifference.

It further advised the intergovernmental organization to create a coalition of willing nations that are committed to do what the right-thinking citizens of the earth expected.

Read full address below:




Gentlemen of the press, the Centre For Africa Liberation and Socio- Economic Rights (CALSER) is an apolitical, non-religious, not for profit humanitarian organization that was born in response to the untold rights abuses unleashed against the civilian populations by non-state actors in conflict impacted areas in Africa. CALSER’s focus on abuses by non-state actors was informed by the fact that the reported or alleged instances affecting government forces have been adequately taken care of by local, regional and international rights groups.

These rights groups have however not paid attention to the series of abuses committed against civilians by known non-state actors like separatists, terrorists and insurrectionists, who often get no mention in the slew of reports that emanate from established rights groups.

Ignoring the atrocities committed by such groups have further imperilled local populations. Because government forces are often wrongly accused for and credited with the human rights abuses, including murder, committed by these groups, they are able to continue killing knowing that there is no effort to hold them accountable or brought to justice for the crimes they have committed against humanity.

There is also the troubling pattern of rogue nations, even though they parade impressive democratic credentials, scaling up their tactical, policy and, material support for criminal groups such that they are able to continue launching attacks against non-combatant population while making attempts at staging spectacular stand offs against established militaries. These countries have a need to retrace their steps and begin to side with common sense and logic while stopping support for terrorists, something that CALSER is committed to achieving.

BOKO HARAM/ISWAP

In the period leading up to the Yuletide, Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) ratcheted up their activities ostensibly in a bid to cause the most outrage possible, with a troubling pattern to their strategy.

Specifically, on Christmas Day, Boko Haram killed 11 abducted persons. This act is condemned in its totality as it is despicable, wicked and barbaric. Equally condemnable are the attempts by both Boko Haram and ISWAP to increase their attacks in order to create a sense of terror in the affected areas and by extension in the rest of Nigeria and neighboring west African countries.

These attacks should provoke consequences from other countries that had asserted their commitment to deal terrorism crippling blows. These countries should be driven by the United Nations (UN), which should take the lead in guaranteeing that no set of the earth’s population have to be put through the horrors these terrorists are making Nigerians go through.

This failing on the part of the UN to properly interrogate what is unfolding in the northeast of Nigeria and adjourning territories of Niger, Cameroon and Chad has encouraged the countries backing Boko Haram to grow bold. This has in turn made these countries funnel more support to the terrorists. In recent weeks, it seems this support has. Now been further increased to include the recruitment of corporate media to help amplify terrorist propaganda. At such, the murders being committed by Boko Haram/ISWAP are being glamorized in a manner that not only trivializes the lives of the victims and trample on the emotions of their loved ones, the accompanying videos and the way they are reported have become materials for supporting the recruitment drive of terrorists.

MISSING ACTIONS
We are yet to see the UN condemning the activities of the terrorists, which it has not also called for actions against. This has given the terrorists and their state backers the boldness to commit more atrocities on daily basis. So long as they see the UN as incapable of playing its roles the situation will only get worse.

Yet, the actions that are needed demand that there is no prevarication. They demand that the UN immediately stops its culture of destructive indifference. It must step out to boldly demand an end to state support for terrorists. It must then back such demands with resolutions that impose sanctions for any country that breaks rank to support Boko Haram, ISWAP and any other terrorist organization.

Additionally, the UN must create a coalition, an alliance, of willing nations that are committed to do what the right-thinking citizens of the earth expected. Such coalition must condemn and a take a stand against any nation that fails to sell military hardware to nations that are being tormented by Boko Haram/ISWAP and their sponsors.

We demand that the UN immediately take these steps.

*Terrorism: Coalition lauds Nigerian troops over gallantry in Yobe, Borno on Christmas planned attacks*

The Coalition of Human Rights and Monitoring Groups in Nigeria (CHRMGN) has hailed the Nigerian troops for displaying sheer gallantry to abort proposed attacks on Yobe and Borno States.

Between 22nd and 24th December, the Nigerian military averted what would have been a major disaster, repelling Boko Haram attacks on Damaturu and Biu.

The gallant troops overwhelmed the insurgents, inflicting heavy casualties in their hundreds.

In a press conference on Friday in Abuja, the Coalition of Human Rights and Monitoring Groups in Nigeria described this latest feat as a “success”, deserving of adulation.

According to a statement by President, Gabriel Agibi, this was made possible through prayers, intelligence gathering, improved quality of weaponry, high morale of troops and exemplary leadership by the military too brass.

The coalition, hence, singled out Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai and other top military brass for praises for ensuring that troops are well taken care of and mobilised to be combat ready at all times.

The group further called on Nigerians to support and appreciate the troops for routinely raising to the occasion.

Rear full press statement below:

You're all welcome to this important press conference on the recent rounds of successes recorded by the Nigeria Armed Forces in quelling insurgency and defeating terrorism in Nigeria.

You are all aware that from the 22nd to 24th of December, 2019, the Boko Haram terrorists tried to take two major towns in North east Nigeria, namely, Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State; and Biu, a major town in Borno State.

You are aware that in both occasions, the terrorists were overwhelmed and roundly dealt with that they beat hasty retreats to their caves.

It is no longer news that they met their Waterloo in the hands of our troops who rose to the occassion and killed over 100 of the terrorists in Biu, Damaturu and other small villages where they were hiding.

Reports suggest that due to the manner they were defeated, it is unlikely that the terrorists will ever attempt to strike Damaturu again given their loss and consternation.

It might interest you to know that this is not the first time the terrorists had tried to take over both Damaturu and Biu and indeed other major towns within the North east axis.

You will recall that at a time, they succeeded in taking over Gwoza and sacked the legally constituted authority in about 10 local goverments in Borno State while visiting mayhem on urban commercial centers like Mubi and Potiskum in Adamawa and Yobe States respectively thereby disrupting normal life and causing untold hardship to residents.

We recall that during the past administration, they at a time were able to unleash mayhem in Damaturu for several hours leading to heavy casualties and at another time even gained entry into the Government House.

Though they were later repelled in the previous occasions, it had been at a heavy cost to the country in terms of human casualty and property.

But their latest attempt has been the most unsuccessful as only few of them barely made it alive to their trenches.

On their own account, the terrorists tried all their possible best to gain entry into Damaturu but were overpowered and pushed back by the Nigerian troops.

The terrorists in the process recorded heavy casualties and lost one of their General Commander who is said to be coordinating attacks around Lake Chad Fringes.

We learnt that after their initial defeat around Damaturu, they made an attempt to reinforce from one of their bases in a place called Gorgore Camp but the team could not muster the courage to move due to the stark reality of defeat that stared them in the face.

If the terrorists had succeeded in their evil campaign, the whole world would have been thrown into mourning due to the high casualty rate likely to be recorded as Damaturu and Biu being urbane centres are densely populated.

The success of the recent military operation has been made possible through prayers, intelligence gathering, improved quality of weaponry, high morale of troops and exemplary leadership by the military too brass.

We at this stage must commend the leadership role of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai and other top military brass who have ensured that troops are well taken care of and mobilised to be combat ready at all times in the sustained fight against terrorism in Nigeria.

We may not appreciate the magnitude of the sacrifice being made by the Nigerian troops until we realise that they also have families and would have wanted just like all of us, to be with their families tocelebrate both Christmas and New Year.

We also may not fully grasp the extent of the success of this operations until we realise that prior to the yuletide, the insurgents had mobilized heavily to cause unrest around the fringes of the lake Chad basin.

That they have failed has served as a boost to the psyche of the citizenry and renewed the hope of many in the capacity of the state to protect them, thereby preserving millions of lives and businesses.

It is instructive to note that the military in acheiving the latest feat also avoided colateral damages and fought with high professional standard maintaining a high level human rights record which is highly commendable in view of the recent attempt by some groups to discredit its human rights record.

We commend the Nigeria army for their bravery and gallantry and we want to let them know that they have regained our confidence and we totally have no iota of doubt about their professional competence.

We can say without fear of contradiction that what are seeing of the army now reaffirms the fact that the feat they achieved in keeping Nigeria one and in other international engagement like in Congo, Sierra Leone and Liberia were not by accident.

We call on all citizens of Nigeria to join us in commending the army and other security agencies that have made this possible and pray to God to continue to keep them and their families until we put a final stop to such criminal activities.

We call on all arms of government to continue to support our troops.

Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai are among top public officials with exemplary performances who will be honoured at a book launch in honour of President Muhammadu Buhari.


Makinde will receive the Award of Patriotism As “Human Capital Development Star of the Year" for dispensing uncommon and engaging leadership which prioritises  the interests of the masses in his state while Buratai will recieve the Award of Extraordinary Patriotism As “Most Outstanding Legend of the Year”  for leading troops in successful counter-insurgency operations and for devoting his life and energy to impressively combat Boko Haram terrorism and allied insurgencies in Nigeria.


The award is being organised by TheNigerian News,  a multi media news organisation with offices  in the United Kingdom and Nigeria.


The media organisation has been on top of news reporting via its Television, online and print media and in 2017 expanded its scope from news reporting to identifying and honouring outstanding personalities in Nigeria with awards in order to encourage such persons sustain the drive that had endeared them to the people through developmental projects and positive impact on the lives of people. 


This Year's award would be preceded by book launch on the life and leadership impact of President Muhammadu Buhari.


The book is entitled " Integrity vs : Power Play: Understanding the Buhari Phenomenon" written by the Publisher  of TheNigerian News, Chief Philip Agbese. 


A statement from the media organisation said Makinde has admirably proved his capacity as a visionary, who is focused with lofty initiatives and programmes designed to cure the age-long cancer of neglect, poverty, impoverishment and underdevelopment which has plagued the state.


It noted that, "Gov. Makinde’s barely six months’ leadership of the state has restored smiles on the faces of enslaved pensioners, civil servants, youths, farmers and communities with debilitating development issues.  


"The Emancipator-Governor has indisputably demonstrated that the public commonwealth of Oyo state belongs to the people."


The statement added that Governor Makinde  is deemed worthy for the award of “Human Capital Development Star of the Year,” for enhancing  and sustaining human capital development, securing the state against all criminalities, amazing investments into the promotion of agriculture, launching rewarding economic expansion windows  and a dutiful commitment to the  welfare of public servants.


TheNigerian News also stated that Gen. Buratai has dutifully etched on global psyche, the fact that the Nigeria Army has become a nemesis to Boko Haram and demonstrating a dogged determination to secure and  fortify the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Nigeria.   


It said, "The special recognition is spurred by his extraordinary dedication, sacrifices to the peace, unity and stability of Nigeria, innovations and technological advancement of the Nigerian Army on  the war against terrorism and protection of children and women from crimes against humanity induced by insurgency.  



The book launch and award ceremony are billed to hold on the 30th of December, 2019 at the NAF Event Centre, Abuja by 10:00 am and will be broadcast live on national television. 


Other public officials who have distinguished themselves in the course of rendering service would also be honoured.

.... as eight other govs, distinguished Nigerians bag awards

Following his historic victory in last November Bayelsa State Guber polls, governor-elect, David Lyon, has been recognised as “Man of the Year" by foremost media group, TheNigerian News.

Mr Lyon will be awarded at the third anniversary and book launch by publisher, Philip Agbese, in honour of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Against all odds, Mr Lyon of the All Progressive Congress (APC) was overwhelmingly elected to govern the oil-rich state, breaking the power of incumbency and ending the Peoples Democratic Party's (PDP) two-decade-long hegemony in last month's polls.

On the choice of the 48-year-old Southern Ijaw native for its most-coveted recognition, the organisation said “ like morning dew, he rose from political oblivion as an underdog to defeat two serving senators in a fair and transparent election to emerge as Governor-elect of Bayelsa State.”

The statement added that "his soft-spoken mien and humility saw him defeat vote-buying, thuggery and manipulations to win the heart of Bayelsans thus proving that power belongs to the people.”

Here's a rundown of other award recipients:

HE, Obong Udom Emmanuel, award for Infrastructure Star of the Year

Hajiya Hadiza Bala Usman, award for Role Model of the Year

Lt Gen TY Buratai, award for Most Outstanding Legend of the Year

Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, award for Public Order Personality of the Year

Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, award for Politician of the Year

Col. Muhammadu M Abdallah (rtd), award for Change Agent of the Year

HE, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, award for Education and Worker Welfare Star of the Year

HE, Mr Godwin Obaseki, award for Fiscal Policy and Transparency Star

Mrs Ibukun Awosika, award for Woman of the Year

Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, award for Most Valuable CEO of the Year

Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, award for Activist of the Year

HE, Rt Ahmad Fintiri, award for Grassroots Democracy Development Governor of the Year

HE, Engr David Umahi, award for Nationalist of the Year

HE, Engr Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde, award for Human Capital Development Star

HE, Dr Bello Muhammed Matawalle, award for Pillar of Security Vanguards

HE, Hon David Lyon, award for Man of the Year

OFAB Foundation, award for Most-Outstanding Pan-African Group in the Diaspora

Engr. Nuruddeen Rafinddadi, award for Social Service Icon of the Year

The book titled, “Integrity Vs Power Play: Understanding the Buhari Phenomenon”, meanwhile, aptly captures the first-term administration of President Buhari and many of his giant exploits as a five-star democrat.

The event is billed to hold on Monday 30th December at the NAF Conference Centre Abuja.

By Philip Agbese

This is indeed a serious topic. I choose to write on this topic for the fact that President Muhamadu Buhari has been receiving bashes from all fronts, and the media think tank appointed to rise to his defense has gone to sleep.

The slumber is so deep that one is tempted to ask if there is any sense of loyalty or urgency left in the way and manner they carry on with their duties. I will try to avoid delving into the narrative pushed by the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, even though she made some form of sense about the presidential media aides not doing enough to protect the President and project his numerous achievements since he assumed leadership of the country in 2015.

I have a verdict. My verdict is that the presidential media aides have performed below expectations in the task at their hand. They have carried on like rookies learning a new trade when in truth; most of them have seen it all in the journalism field. They have distinguished themselves before their appointments. The question thus is what went wrong?

The answer to this question lies in the apparent fact that there is a lack of either interest or commitment to the jobs they were hired for. I stand to be corrected; on a scale of 10, I would score the presidential media aides 4. This is in fairness to their years of experience over the years. However, the irony is that these individuals missed it along the line. They mistook the job for news reporting. They relegated the place of strategic communications and crisis management, either by omission or commission.

Make no mistakes; the presidential media team has performed woefully in the sense that they have allowed the many achievements of President Muhammdu Buhari to go unnoticed. They have also allowed critics of the government to dictate the narrative in the public space. And trust, this loophole has been exploited to the fullest, and at the detriment of the image of the President. Do they care?

We must come to terms with the fact that perception is the reality in this business. This much they should know with all their years of experience. This is not to say that they have been entirely lacking, but they are not in tune with the present realities. They have decided to engage in conventional strategies in a space that requires out of the box strategies and approaches. This could be deliberate or out of ignorance. If intentional, it is indeed a shame. If out of ignorance, it is indeed pathetic. And it behooves on them to brace up or leave the scene.

They must realize that this is not the era of press releases and pictorials. This is indeed the era of strategic communication intended at putting issues in proper perspective at the risk of losing the plot. I empathize with President Muhammdu Buhari with the level of bashing he has received on issues that ordinarily should not elicit harsh reactions from members of the public. But this is what you get when your media handlers are asleep.

President Muhammdu Buhari, in my opinion, has done well since he assumed leadership of this country. He has displayed a commitment to leaving Nigeria better than how he meant it. But the challenge is that those saddled with the responsibility of projecting his numerous achievements do not seem to be in tune with the urgency of now. They have left so many things to chance, and instead of being proactive, they have been reactive.

Trust the opposition; they have taken full advantage of this shortcoming to project the President as a dictator and one with little or no regard for the rule of law in Nigeria. This is indeed a sad tale. Whether we like or not, the achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari are in short supply in the public space. What we get to see are mostly press releases that are lacking in content.

I stand to be corrected; the approach deployed by the presidential media team has been lackadaisical. There is no urgency. There is no display of mastery of the game. For example, a situation where a presidential media aide would go on air to muddle issues rather than engage is most worrisome and does not speak well for the image of their principal.

I must add that the approach must change soonest. The bickering must be replaced by strategy. Their number one focus must be in the interest of their principal. And not their pockets. Those that can’t live up to expectations should tow the noble path because this is a serious business. If this approach is not embraced, then I am afraid there would be no justification for their continued stay in office.

The task at hand requires all hands to be on the deck where teamwork and cross-fertilization of ideas would rein supreme, where an avid commitment to projecting the achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari would take center stage.

The presidential media team must wake up from its slumber and live up to expectations. It is inexcusable for them to continue to rely on goodwill. There is a place for strategic communication. This much they know and his much they must admit.

Agbese is an author, publisher and human rights activist based in the United Kingdom.

By Abdulrahman Zakariyau
Abuja

The League of Civil Society Groups says purveyors of malicious petitions within the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) were behind the ordeal of its Director-General, Alhaji Modibo Kawu.

The group in a statement jointly signed by its National President, Activist Mohammad Baasah and National Secretary, Amb Akoshile Mukhtar, Tuesday stated that the NBC should rather change its name to National Petitioning Commission (NPC) since many of its workers has acquired better skills in petition writing than contributing to the Commission's efforts at delivering on its mandate.

"While petition writing is not new and unknown to the Commission since inception: in fact one would not be wrong to assume that the staff of the Commission take special lessons in petition writing: the practice has been taken to new height since the coming into office of the current Director-General, Alhaji ls'haq Modibbo Kawu, it observed.

It added that "As Human rights activist, we observed that this practice is as a result of interconnected factors involving both internal and external actors driving voices of dissidents against the Commission and its Chief Executive.

According to the group "it is not particularly unexpected that enemies will rise against any Chief Executive in Nigeria especially when the latter is one who stands to jettison past wrong ways of doing things. This is in view of the comfort of many Nigerian public servants with status quo and readiness to battle any new order meant to alter face of things.

Continuing, the statement read "In addition, there are many others always lurking in the corner waiting or precipitating the downfall of the man at the helm of affairs. This latter group usually belongs to categories that felt that they are more deserving of the position or felt that they were cheated out of the position or wrongly sidelined. Many are mere instruments being used to tight battle they are not privy to.

"In unrelenting efforts to encourage decorum and integrity in Public offices. All these categories are involved in the current state of affairs at the NBC in their varying degrees. But as stated above: Is it not time the purveyors of malicious petitions against Alhaji ls‘haq Modibbo Kawu back down and return to their shell? After numerous failed attempts to sink the man into the canal, would they not desist? These are legitimate questions begging for answers.

"The sole authority imbued with the power of appointment has appointed Kawu as the head of NBC. He is not only confident in his competence to deliver on the mandate of the Commission, he is so far satisfied with the performance of the man. We would rather think that masters of mendacity should recoil and allow the Director General to concentrate on his duties for the good of the broadcast industry in Nigeria.

"It is pertinent to note and set the record straight that the administration of Is'haq Modibbo Kawu is not only competent and focus. It is effective and efficient. This is the right way to go.

"We therefore urge the Chief Executive of NBC to remain firm and committed to discharging the onerous tasks of his office in line with the next level mandate of President Muhammadu Buhari's administration. The petition writers may continue. Their bubble of lies will continue to bust Into their faces".

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, Senator Ali Ndume, has given reasons why President Muhammadu Buhari cannot afford to change or appoint new service chiefs for now.

He told medium in an interview that Buhari could not afford to change the military leadership because Nigeria was in a complete state of war.

The Chief of the Defence Staff, Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar; and Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas.


Ndume told this medium that the president could not but retain the service chiefs because Nigeria is in a state of war, not only in the North-east, but all over the country with serious military deployments to quell crisis and maintain peace
He said: “We are in war. Definitely, we are in war. We are fighting the insurgents in the North-east and in the North-west.

The military is so much involved and are being deployed in so many zones of the federation. The security situation is such that that the military is involved almost in all parts of the country. So, we are in war.

“The military is so involved in so many security challenges. In fact, in almost the 36 states, in fact, this is a pointer that we are at war.

“Coincidentally, the president is a retired army general and he knows this war situation better than most Nigerians; and he knows when to change his army commanders and when not to do that. As a commander-in-chief, he understands this war situation better than we the civilians.

“I’m sure he is doing the right thing as the commander-in-chief and when he finds it necessary, he will effect changes.”
He stated that he didn’t think that changing the service chiefs would solve the insecurity in the country.

“I don’t think that changing the service chiefs will be the solution to the insecurity in the country. I don’t think that this war is not won because the service chiefs are still there and have not been changed.”

By Nkechi Odoma



Christmas is here again. It is a season that brings people from far and near together in joy and celebration. It has been so for decades in Nigeria until some evil minded persons saw the assemblage of people occasioned by the conviviality of the season to perpetrate  their wicked plots.

In doing so,  they exerted maximum damage on an innocent and unsuspecting citizenry as they turned the soothing carols of Christmas to dirges and the gathering in social circles to hospital visits as families struggled to cater for loved ones who have  fallen  victims of the acts of evil.
This was what has been happening in Nigeria since a terrorist group invaded the erstwhile peaceful landcape by seizing certain portions of the land.


Between 2009 and 2015, the fun and fanfare of Christmas was gradually replaced with fear and trepidation as the insurgents deepened their resolve to create panic land leaving billows of  smoke almost everywhere. 
Nigerians turned captives in their homeland through no fault of theirs. They became like the proverbial Babylonian captives who sang in lamentation 'how can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? Though they weren't in any foreign land. The height of such inhuman  recklessness  was in 2011 when on Christmas Day, a day set aside for merry making and panoply, was  turned bloody and the season of happineness to a season crimson  blossom.
No fewer than 37 persons who went to worship at the Catholic Church at a small town called Madalla near Abuja were blown to their graves with 57 others left wounded in one of the most despicable and atrocious acts in recent times.


The bombs investigations later showed,  were planted near the  1,000 capacity church and its effect was felt in the whole vicinity as windows of the houses around were shattered by the explosion. As if that was not enough to shock a bewildered citizenry, another explosion hit the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church in Jos, Plateau State,  on the same day.

The terrorists had intended worse as two other bombs were found in a  building near the church and many testified to seeing gun wielding men fleeing the vicinity shortly after an alarm was raised.
Before people could recover from the shock of the two unfortunate incidents, two major towns in Yobe State, Damaturu and Gadaka also felt the  pang of the grim reality with multiple explosions happening there. The one on Gadaka was also in a church. 

The frequency of the occurrences within the same period subsequently made people to develop a different attitude towards spending Christmas in Nigeria. Rather than see the season  as an opportunity to roll out in resplendent robes and to seek  where to catch fun as they all want to do on such occasions, people began to see Christmas as the reason to stay indoors.

Churches cancelled their night programmes and built high walls around their premises while quickly dismissing the congregation  out of fear.
But as people troop out in preparation for this year's Christmas,  no such fears abound. Since 2015 when the current administration was inaugurated, so much effort was put in place to ensure the life of the citizenry is secured.
The first indication that it was not going to be business as usual for the terrorists was the directive by the president for the relocation of the operational headquarters of the Nigeria armed forces to the theatre of war.

Then followed the appointment of capable hands to head the armed forces.
General Tukur Yusufu   Buratai on assumption of office as chief of army staff wasted no time getting the troops ready for action.
Like Shaka, the great Zulu warrior who initiated military reforms and transformed a ragtag army to a well-organized and centralised millitary might that established the Zulu State, Buratai brought reforms that changed the orientation of the average Nigerian soldier.


Like Shaka's transformation of the army through innovative tactics and updated weaponry, Buratai brought reforms that served to boost the morale of officers and men and the inherited complaints of lack of proper welfare became a thing of the past
The reforms and  strategy introduced gave the military upper hand as they took the insurgents by surprise in their fortress and the concentration of such onslaught saw the Boko Haram terrorists running for dear lives. Weapons were procured at speed and mobilised across the theatre of war and positive results began to pour in.

The low morale of the army gave way to high spirits as men and officers which under  the previous dispensation were quitting due to lack of confidence became charged begging to be allowed to route out the terrorists. Many of the insurgents on seeing superior fire power and war strategies began to beg for forgiveness. The heavy casualty toll on their  side  caused  a split in their ranks as the centre could no longer hold. Our military took the dreaded Sambisa forest and established a base at Camp Zero.
Gwoza a local government headquarters which was previously captured by the insurgents and designated the capital of the Caliphate was recaptured by Nigerian troops and its people liberated.

Local governments areas in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States that were under Boko Haran were  liberated and the insurgents were pursued to precincts on the fringes of the Nigerian border and began to prey on soft targets to be able to eat.
What was taking place in those territories quickly gave Nigerians a new lease of life.
The miniser of information, Lai Mohamed announced that the insurgents were technically defeated and degraded. He was right as  IDP camps no longer surged with women  and children but were steadily being depleted of displaced persons. 


More and more persons in such camps relocated to their recaptured communities living normal lives as before. 
This implies that the current administration has lived up to one of its  cardinal promises to secure  the lives of the citizenry. For this, Nigerians are grateful to the president and the military top brass especially the chief of army staff that caused this to happen. 
As we wish ourselves happy Christmas, let us not forget the military men who are still at vulnerable communities to ensure we have a peaceful and secured Christmas.  And let us wish ourselves  a happy Christmas again under Buhari. 


Odoma is President, Africa Arise for Change Network.

By Philip Agbese
 
Military officers are men and women whose hearts are supposedly walled with hardness akin to rocks. They are usually thick and impenetrable! Like King Pharaoh, soldiers are brave, courageous and superbly, very daring specie of professionals, who flinch at nothing. This truism is even more of the badge of retired Army Generals.   Theophilus Danjuma flaunts the identity and shadows of a professional soldier.  
But recently, Danjuma's soundbites makes it extremely difficult for anyone to really address him a retired senior Army Officer and also as someone who once served as Nigeria’s minister of defence. His recent posture brings into doubt if he truly merited the rank of a General in the Nigerian Army prior to his retirement because he unswervingly displays feminine belligerency.
It is more consoling to believe Danjuma never earned the prestigious rank of an Army General. But as a yeoman in the corridors of power, his masters in the military bestowed and decorated him with the rank may be as a “compensation” for being a loyal subordinate. Probably, it could be a reward for Gen. Danjuma’s sadistic, cruel and unethical murder of the former Head of State, Gen. Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi.

 Outside of active service from the Army, Danjuma parrots on national issues in a manner of a child dreading a scary prey. The feeble willpower inside him severely restricts the strength to bark and bite, like the Army Generals known to Nigerians and the world.   
Danjuma is howling these days like a swine under perpetual heat. He is goaded, may be by some spirits to speak the so called truth, he claims is hidden under his cloak , about the dark side of Nigeria, but also dreads his voice simultaneously. He is often emboldened and mistakes his suspiciously stupendous illicit wealth for the innate courage of an Army officer. So most times, he mouths off sheepishly and cowardly, betraying the courage of military men, at the moment of decision, like the Biblical Peter, who denied Jesus Christ three times before the cock crow.     


Perhaps, pricked by an inner conscience that he cannot hold his head up proudly as a retired Army General, Danjuma  is desperately seeking for new identities in the last few years. He flaunts himself differently as religious activist and bigot, tribal warlord, a financier of evangelism and spy on his country.  

A few days ago, Gen. Danjuma spoke at the University of Ibadan during the launch of a book, “70 Years of Progressive Journalism: The Story of the Nigerian Tribune and the Presentation of Tribune’s Platinum Awards.” But he made curious and laughable statements by asserting; “If I tell you what I know that is happening in Nigeria today, you will no longer sleep.”
Danjuma proceeded to discourteously hurl tacit invectives at the entire Yoruba race by saying; “In Yorubaland, everybody seems to have lost their voice, scared.” But assuming anybody presumed Danjuma’s utterances had any modicum of conviction, you would be disappointed, as this retired Army General revealed his effeminate self within the same breath; “So, Chief Ayo Adebanjo’s warning and advice is very timely. If you want details, I will give it to you privately.”

By any nuanced consideration, Danjuma’s outbursts have no semblance of neither dignity nor courage akin to an Army General.  He accuses others of being scared, of speaking the “truth” he hoards, but dares others to speak it in public?  He prefers to blather it into the ear of those who wish to listen or at best, morph into a gossip before revealing the wrongs he wants the whole world to know about Nigeria?
Danjuma wants to be heard, but doesn’t wish to be quoted? What sort of elder statesman who perceives many “wrongs” with his country, but prefers to play the ostrich?  Even at the ceremony, Afenifere leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, a “bloody civilian” was more audacious than Gen. Danjuma.


The Afenifere leader has been vociferous and boldly even at that event; “that Yorubaland was in danger…We’ve been submerged…only few governors in the southwest are responsible for us. They’ve shut down. They cannot face the head of state because of their own shortcomings….”
But disappointingly, Gen. Danjuma sounded like the likes of former Imo Governor and Sen. Rochas Okoroacha. Having trapped himself in demonic political calculations to plant a stooge and in-law as successor, coupled with the tension generated by his senatorial victory, which his enemies suppressed, in consuming rage, exclaimed that if the APC pushed him to the wall, he would tell Nigerians what is in Aso Rock.  Some Nigerians are used to such tattling when their dubious intents or interests in the country are bruised. Danjuma is posturing like Sen. Okoroacha.
 
The former minister of defence cannot claim disenchantment with Nigeria or even feign knowledge of the “evil” allegedly “crumbling” the country. But at the sometime, maintain a very cold conspiratorial and destructive silence over the apparent ethnic cleansing agenda of his Jukun kinsmen  against the Tiv natives of  his home state of Taraba

Danjuma has been variously accused by various groups , such as the Tiv Youth Organization Worldwide and some Middle Belt  NGOs as the unseen hand in the sponsorship and sustained massacres of Tiv people in Taraba. He is also alleged to have been responsible for the renaming of Tiv ancestral villages with Jukun identities. What evil surpasses this one? If  Danjuma is not afraid, he is challenged to quote one public statement aired in condemnation of the killings in Taraba since it started  mid- 2019?

Danjuma claims to love Nigeria more than its founding fathers. Yet, this is a Nigerian billionaire businessman, who paired with the United Kingdom-based gas company, Process and Industrial Developments Ltd (P&ID) to pursue a dubious gas flaring contract with the Federal Government of Nigeria. Every sane person would know Danjuma  should be conversant with the conventional and business laws of Nigeria to detect a company or foreign business partners  with such suspicions links. But because of his questionable interest in shortchanging Nigeria, Danjuma even  offered P & ID assistance  of $40 million take-off fund through his company, Tita-Kuru Petrochemicals Ltd,  which executed it,  laced in underground politics ,  manipulations, conscious flouting of  laws  and  steeped in destructive operational intrigues against his own country.  
When the fake P & ID contract later fetched Nigeria a whooping judgement debt of  $6.6 billion, after closed legal proceedings in a United Kingdom-based  Court, Danjuma’s exposition that the Irishman, Michael “Mick” Quinn only served as a consultant in preparing  the contract,  using Danjuma’s funds and office space  only indicates how these latter-day “patriotic” Nigerians are unconcerned about Nigeria.
If the project was his original idea as he cared to explain and it latter dawned on him that “my consultant was going to steal my project,” there was no patriotic action from him to expose them. He never demonstrated patriotism to Nigeria by exposing how an incompetent P & ID company had strayed into Nigeria to dupe the country because they exhibited to him the character of dupes.   
According to Danjuma’s explanation, P & ID later promised a share of P&ID in return for his initial investment, which he refused to accept it. But to any discerning mind, Danjuma’s later explanation blows hot against reason, farcical and smacks of his knowledge of a dubious deal ab intio.
The EFCC’s later preliminary investigations revealed that the gas flaring contract was neither approved by the FEC nor captured by national budget. So, on what basis did Gen. Danjuma’s company, Tita-Kuru Petrochemicals Ltd contract the Irishman as a consultant?  This is the extent of Nigerian patriotism the likes of Danjuma regale in flaunting in public domain.  
 
However, despite the heightened false sermons, raising needless tensions around the country against President Buhari’s administration by fake religious cum patriotic activists like Gen. Danjuma and co-travelers, the truth cannot be obviated.  At the peak of partisan campaigns’ in 2019, Gen. Danjuma specifically alleged President Buhari is sponsoring, a Fulani Jihadists agenda in Nigeria. He never gave details of this plot.
While Nigerians should think Danjuma hates “religious recolonization” of Nigeria, by the Fulani ethnic group; but he gleefully endorses ethnic cleansing of Tiv people by his Jukun kinsmen under his nose? What manner of patriotism from a supposed elder statesman?  
What the likes of Danjuma and his lonely voyagers on the path of destruction of Nigeria don’t know is that many Nigerians still believe, President Buhari is an ideal leader. Nigerians know Buhari is bad business for those ex-generals who enriched themselves through Nigeria's oil wealth.
 
Undoubtedly, the phobia of President Buhari gives them nightmarish dreams. And the verbal missiles from the likes of Danjuma who dread even their shadows is merely self-consolatory and diversionary.


Agbese is an author, publisher and human rights activist..

‘Go after Boko Haram, IMN that are guilty of extremism’ - Group queries US watch list on Nigeria

The Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism has faulted the recent report by the United States, which placed Nigeria under a special watch list of countries.

A statement by US Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo, explained that Nigeria was placed on the list for engaging in or tolerating “severe violations of religious freedom.”

However, the Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism in Nigeria, while reacting, urged the United States of America to go after members of Boko Haram and the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, that are guilty of extremism in the country.

According to the group, such assertion is insensitive and an affront to the efforts of the relevant authorities in Nigeria towards protecting the rights and privileges of the various religious groups and associations in the country.

Gabriel Onoja, the National Coordinator of the group, in a statement called on the United States to desist from making unsubstantiated statements that are highly misleading to the international community.

The statement reads in full.
As you all may be aware, CATE, as an organization over the years, has continually engaged the relevant stakeholders in Nigeria in ways to ensure that the menace of terrorism and violent extremism are curtailed and within the ambits of the law.

The Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism also over the years has seen to the protection of the rights and privileges of religious groups in Nigeria by continually engaging in advocacy visits, seminars and conferences that promote the unity of purpose and respect for the sanctity of religious beliefs that fosters unity and religious tolerance in Nigeria.

The Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism is therefore alarmed by the statement credited to the US Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo, wherein he stated that “Religious freedom conditions in Nigeria trended negatively in 2018. The Nigerian government at the national and state levels continued to tolerate violence and discrimination based on religion or belief, and suppressed the freedom to manifest religion or belief.”

The Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism views such statements as quite insensitive and an affront to the efforts of the relevant authorities in Nigeria towards protecting the rights and privileges of the various religious groups and associations in the country.

It is also a sad commentary that the United States of America has so decided to either by omission or commission feigns ignorance on the undeniable freedom of practice and association of religious groups in Nigeria.

The citation of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) is most despicable in the sense that an organization whose activities has resulted in violence in an attempt to impose its beliefs on others should not be used as an example of a worthy religious organization.

As it is common knowledge, the IMN, over the years in Nigeria through their activities, has brought sorrow and blood to innocent Nigerians in Zaria and other parts of Northern Nigeria. This much was also evident in the attempt on the life of the Chief of Army Staff in Nigeria by the IMN.

The CATE wishes to state that it would have been grossly irresponsible of the relevant authorities in Nigeria should such violent actions be allowed to thrive, which has resulted in untold hardship on innocent Nigerians going about their regular businesses.
It is expected that they should have designated the IMN as a terrorist organization due to its violent tendencies and not accuse the Nigerian government. This is rational and ought to be the case in the interest of objectivity.

This is also on the heels that Nigeria has been under the siege of terrorist groups masquerading under various religious nomenclatures to cause havoc in the polity.

A good example is the Boko Haram terrorist group that has been engaged in a violent campaign since 2009 in North-East Nigeria that has seen to the death and displacement of over 2 million Nigerians.

In the same report, it indeed confirmed that “Boko Haram and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-West Africa continued to perpetrate attacks against civilians and the military throughout the years.”

At this point, the Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism wishes to state that the culprits are the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, and the Boko Haram Terrorist groups are indeed responsible for religious intolerance and extremism in Nigeria.

The Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism wishes to highlight that the efforts of the relevant authorities in Nigeria towards addressing the menace of religious intolerance and extremism are quite commendable.

This much has been evident in the continuous engagement of relevant stakeholders by the Nigerian government. Consequently, the placement of Nigeria on the Watch List as one of the seven countries with religious intolerance and extremism is highly misleading and not credible.

The United States of Nigeria must do well to call a spade and spade and desist from making unsubstantiated statements that are highly misleading to the international community.

Elder statesman and former Chief of Army Staff, Gen Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), has come under fire over his recent comment on the state of the nation.
Gen. Danjuma, who was a former Defense Minister, had claimed while speaking at the University of Ibadan in Oyo State, on Thursday, that Nigerians won't sleep if he reveals what is happening in Nigeria.
He said: “In Yorubaland, everybody seems to have lost their voice, scared. And people appear not to care about what is happening. If I tell you what I know is happening in Nigeria today, you will no longer sleep.
“If you want details, I will give it to you privately,” the elder statesman had averred.
Reacting, however, the Middle belt Conscience Guard, an umbrella body of the states in the middle belt region in Nigeria, described the comment by Gen. Danjuma as diversionary and tactless.
The group declared that the statement credited to Gen. Danjuma was not a reflection of the mindset of the people of the middle belt region in Nigeria in its entirety.
Prince Raymond Enero, National President of the group in a statement signed on Thursday, stated that the statement by “Theophilus Danjuma is unpatriotic and highly misleading, and if care is not taken might lead to unrest in the country.”
The group warned the ex-military general to desist from making crude statements that could cause unrest in the nation.
The statement below.
The Middle belt Conscience Guard wishes to state that the statement credited to Theophilus Danjuma is not a reflection of the mindset of the people of the middle belt region in Nigeria in its entirety.
The statement can be best described as diversionary, tactless, and of poor taste, meant to unnecessarily heat the polity for no morally justifiable reason.
The statement can be best described as diversionary, tactless, and of poor taste, meant to unnecessarily heat the polity for no morally justifiable reason.
The Middle belt Conscience Guard views with concern the way and manner a supposed elder statesman who has benefitted immensely from Nigeria could throw caution into the winds by making statements that are not meant for unifying purposes, but for disintegration and to create chaos in the country.

We are constrained to ask Theophilus Danjuma what he stands to benefit by making such inglorious call in this critical point of our existence as a people and as a country. If this is not malicious, we do not know what to call it.

The Middle belt Conscience Guard wishes to state that there are certain conducts expected from elder statesmen in the country, and Theophilus Danjuma has fallen short of this expectation. As such, he should retrace his steps and tender unreserved apologies to the country for acting against common sense.

The Middle belt Conscience Guard also wishes to use this medium to inform Theophilus Danjuma that there are boundaries he should not cross in his futile attempt as portraying himself as a saint amongst sinners, while in the real sense of it; he is part and parcel of the anomaly that has been entrenched in the system from time immemorial. This attempt is nothing short of calling a dog a bad name to hang it.

It is expected that his likes should at this age and time sober reflect on how they have conspired to bring Nigeria to its knees the while they held sway at the helm of affairs in the country with their actions and inactions that were self-serving and inglorious.

The Middle belt Conscience Guard believes that Theophilus Danjuma is flying a kite aimed at promoting the interest of their allies that were rejected by the electorate in the recently concluded general elections in the country.

This is indeed a testament to the fact that the hawks that held Nigeria hostage had been rejected, and as such, the country must be made ungovernable in their bid to bring Nigeria to its knees as they intended.
The Middle belt Conscience Guard wishes to inform the generality of Nigerians to hold Theophilus Danjuma and his cohorts responsible should there be an attempt at truncating Nigeria’s nascent democracy in the days ahead as it evident that there is a grand plot by some disgruntled elements that are not happy with the progress been made in critical areas of the economy in Nigeria.

It is instructive to state that the generality of Nigerians can decipher between light and darkness. As such, any attempt to heat the polity unnecessarily through callous statements would be resisted in its entirety.

The Middle belt Conscience Guard wishes to admonish Theophilus Danjuma to retrace his steps and seek for forgiveness from the Nigerian people for his failure to put Nigeria on the road to progress and prosperity while he held strategic positions of authority including as Chief of Army Staff, and as Minister of Defense under President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The Middle belt Conscience Guard wishes to state in unequivocal terms that should Nigeria experience any form of unrest; the blame should be put at the doors steps of Theophilus Danjuma. Nigeria is indeed on the path of greatness, and as such, any form of a deliberate plot to truncate our progress should be resisted.

By John Odusote

The name John Campbell is not new to the debate on Nigeria. He was at a time the Ambassador of the United States of America to Nigeria. So it could be said that he knows a bit of the dynamics in the Nigerian setting. And he is exploiting it for the political advantage of some of the friends he made while he was in Nigeria.

John Campbell has a long history in Nigeria, one that cannot be wished away anytime soon when he indeed predicted in his book, 'Nigeria: Dancing on the brink.' that Nigeria would not survive 2015. The issues highlighted in the book drew much attention and generated enormous controversies both within Nigeria and around the world.

It was apparent that he enjoyed the attention that came with his puerile prophecy, as we are almost in 2020. That is a definite five years after, and Nigeria is still united. I wonder how he felt with the fact that Nigeria lived beyond 2015. Just maybe he felt disappointed with the way and manner things turned out, and since then, he has become a daily contributor to the discourse on Nigeria. So much so, that one wonders why the keen interest in the affairs of Nigeria. The reason isn't farfetched.

This situation has given rise to questions as to the real motives of John Campbell in his tirade against Nigeria. I say this because, for inexplicable reasons, he is in the news again in Nigeria. And this time around, he took his trade too far by stating that Nigeria's international reputation is damaged for disrespect for the rule of law in an apparent reference to the ongoing trial of Omoyele Sowore.

Initially, I was at a loss what he meant by 'Buhari's Dictatorial Past and the Rule of Law Today in Nigeria" In my opinion, that was indeed a handshake beyond the elbow given the enormity of his unsubstantiated postulations intended to mislead members of the unsuspecting general public.

As a start, I'm afraid I have to disagree with the fact the John Campbell is qualified to speak objectively about Nigeria in whatever capacity because it is on record that he shares an affinity with a major opposition figure in Nigeria. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of a university in Nigeria owned by this same major opposition politician. Thus, it can be understood where his rants are coming from, as well as where his loyalty belongs.

That is not all; sometime in 2017, there was a tweet from the handle of the same politician that states thus "With former Ambassador to Nigeria, and a great friend, Mr. John Campbell, on his first visit back to Nigeria in years. Welcome back home!" there are also many more examples of how these two individuals have cohabited over the years as 'good' friends.

Back to the crux on John Campbell, it is despicable how he has risen to the defense of his 'good' friend at the expense of truth. It is also despicable how he has continued to insult the sensibilities of Nigeria by advancing a self-serving cause that from all intent and purposes are geared towards causing an unhealthy distraction in the polity. I recall I was particularly fazed when some time ago John Campbell stated that the 2019 general elections were bad for democracy in Nigeria. He further stated that the presidential election does not inspire confidence in the democratic trajectory of Africa's most populous country. Initially, I could not come to terms with his outright provocative statement. But now I do because his 'good' friend lost and could not be consoled.

And as such, they threw all sorts of clogs in the wheel of Nigeria's progress, and the recent one is the Omoyele Sowore saga that the likes of John Campbell felt was the perfect opportunity to unleash their frustrations on Nigeria. I stand to be corrected; it is indeed a shame that John Campbell would denigrate so low despite been a former ambassador to Nigeria. I am not sure the money he receives from his 'good' friend is worth the trouble.

Nigeria has always defeated their evil postulations from time immemorial. Many fake prophets like Campbell saw Sowore and his RevolutionNow protest as the right time to unleash the devil on Nigerians. But they were shamed. And the latest attempt at it again is in the tirade launched by John Campbell recently.

I must not fail to state that John Campbell is Alhaji Atiku Abubakar's walking stick. Little wonder that he is on the Board of Trustees of the American University of Nigeria? Little wonder that his tirades have been against the present administration? It is thus evident that John Campbell and Atiku Abubakar still haven't recovered from the outcome of the general elections in Nigeria. As such, they must continue to embark on acts and actions that would distract and discredit the present administration.

In all, they forgot one major thing, which is the fact that Nigerians can see through their gimmick because no right-thinking Nigeria would deny the fact that John Campbell has been covertly advancing the cause of Atiku Abubakar. What this means is that moving forward; Nigerians should form the habit of disregarding whatever comes from the stable of John Campbell because they are all pieces of broken bottles.


Odusote wrote from Washington DC, USA.

Killing of aide workers: It is time for the world to sanction France, other terrorists' promoters for crimes against humanity-- SHAC





The Save Humanity Advocacy Centre (SHAC) has reacted to the recent killing of UN aid workers by members of the Boko Haram sect in Borno State.

The ISWAP faction of Boko Haram on Friday shared a gory video recording that detailed the execution of four out of the five abductees that remained in their captivity.

The four slain aid workers who were abducted on July 18 were staff of the Action Against Hunger (AAH).

The murder of the four aid workers has brought the number of the abducted humanitarian workers slain by Boko Haram to five this year.



Reacting to the sad development, SHAC said it is high time It is time for the world to sanctioned France, other terrorists' promoters for crimes against humanity.

Addressing newsmen on Monday, Ibrahim Abubakar, Executive Director of the group called on the international community world to speak with one voice against those promoting terror in Nigeria and other parts of Africa.



The group also called on the Nigerian Military to scale up efforts to trace and free the fifth aid worker, Grace Taku, a female, whom the terrorists have reportedly consigned to a live of slavery.

His statement reads in full.


Gentlemen of the press, the world has again been made aware, through media reports, of Boko Haram killing of four staffers of Action Against Hunger (AAH), whom they have held captive since July 19, 2019 after they were abducted from their vehicles in the course of carrying out humanitarian work in the northeast of Nigeria.

The killing of the aid workers is condemnable, utterly uncalled for and deserving of the stiffest retribution possible from the Nigerian state and all nations on earth that truly call themselves Nigeria’s friend. Barbarism of this magnitude call for the shedding of diplomatic pretexts as it should be met with the kind of response that will remind the terrorists that humanity is not to be toyed with on the scale on which they have done.

We condemn this act of cowardice as a dastardly evil against humanity that should not have happened if the international interests propping up Boko Haram had taken the sensible step of discontinuing criminal support to the bloodthirsty monsters that they have created to torment innocent civilians.

It is of note that while Boko Haram and its Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) iteration were taken successive heavy losses from the Nigerian Armed Forces, the reported escalation of French subversive activities in the region, including clandestine delivery of logistics to the terrorists, has given the terrorists the boldness to kill captives that they had held before France decided to strengthen their hands.

The blood of the four aid workers is therefore as much on the hands of Boko Haram/ISWAP as it is on the hands of the French government and that country’s nationals, who continue to aim for the comfortable life at the expense of human loss in the Lake Chad Basin. The world must rise up in unison against these terrorists and hold their French paymasters to account.

Time is running out for the world to speak with one voice against those promoting terror in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. If a bold statement is not made by the world at this time, then the whole of humanity would be put at risk because the twisted minds of these killers and their global sponsors have been perverted to a point where reason fail them. They must therefore be told in the clearest terms yet that enough is enough. The killing of the aid workers should be treated as a red line that has been crossed for which there must be repercussions.

As for NGOs and organizations that give covert support to Boko Haram, the murder of these aid workers is a wake-up call for them to retrace their steps because a group of terrorists that kill their colleagues do not deserve any form of support irrespective how morbidly such NGOs may detest the military.

In the meantime, we urge the Nigerian Military to scale up efforts to trace and free the fifth aid worker, Grace Taku, a female, whom the terrorists have reportedly consigned to a live of slavery. She remains the one ray of hope that the authorities will always go after those that threaten the wellbeing of citizens.

This briefing will not be completed without SHAC expressing its reservation about the manner in which news of the murder of these aid workers became public knowledge. The report emanated from the Twitter account of renowned Boko Haram propagandist, Ahmad Salkida, on whose hands the blood of the dead also flow. It can be argued that Boko Haram killed these people knowing that Salkida will do the dirty job of helping them publicize their heinous crime. We therefore hold Salkida equally responsible for this development as well.

Until the likes of Salkida are held to account for their role in the killings of innocent citizens of Nigeria, the rest of the world must accept that we have failed Nigeria and her citizens.

By David Onmeje

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”- Steve Jobs– Famous American businessman and management theorist.

From time immemorial, the military institution of the Army has been ensconced in the norms of self-reliance, self-dependence and self-preservation in all corollaries. A typical Army formation anywhere in the world, exists as an embodiment of a small nation, something akin to a fiefdom in existentialism.

Any Army formation has everything it requires to exist and function professionally in its own isolated world, but actually an elaborate one in the real sense. The Army has its own professionals of all specializations; schools and hospitals. It romances the pleasures and intricacies of science and technology, through the invention and manufacture of its own warfare weapons.

The Nigerian Army was also conceptualized along such thoughts and operational frameworks. But years of leadership decadence in Nigeria and the concomitant pervasive degeneration in the country, sadly obviated these cherished values. The Nigerian Army became a ghost of itself, very noticeable in the importation of all its arms and ammunitions. Special Army schools of military engineering or technology, with mandate to propel warfare technologies were ruined and abandoned.

However, the preachments of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, which de-emphasized a self-reliant economy, and attached premium on home-grown technology polity and the utilization of local content for goods and services. It offered a rewarding inspiration and window to the dynamic incumbent leadership of the Nigerian Army to harvest bountiful opportunities.

Nigeria has found itself in the age of bile, virulent and ravaging Boko Haram insurgency. And the current Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and chief armour bearer of counter-insurgency operations in Nigeria, Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai , who faced the extraordinary task of disfiguring the rage of terrorism on Nigeria had to adopt home-grown solutions to meet soldiers' equipment and kitting requirements for combating insurgency.

It was the famed French warlord and politician, Napoleon Bonaparte, who extrapolated that “To extraordinary circumstance, we must apply extraordinary remedies.” So, in spite of the scary and consuming insecurity condition of Nigeria, Gen. Buratai sighted a solution only in reviving the Army’s revered culture of self-sustenance in meeting its needs for professional and operational convenience.

Gratifyingly, Gen. Buratai has raised a template of confounding innovations and restored the dissipated technological endowments of the Nigerian Army within four years. He never rendered himself to excuses, in exposition of failure to curb the threats posed by monstrous Boko Haram insurgents because ab initio, he resolutely resolved to fight and defeat the terrorists hands down. In his famed speech on assumption if office, he termed this resolve as the 'promise.'

Again, Napoleon Bonaparte once counselled that “When you have resolved to fight a battle, collect your whole force. Dispense with nothing. A single battalion sometimes decides the day.” Like the Israeli experience in the ancient era of European persecution, Gen. Buratai devised ways of arming, equipping and kitting Nigerian soldiers, exploiting the sophistry of local technologies to make battles in the trenches a seamless exercise for Nigerian troops.

At the 2019 Chief of Army Staff Conference in Kaduna, Nigerians misgivings swept off their feet, President Muhammadu Buhari inclusive as Gen. Buratai’s exemplary leadership necessitated the exhibition of innovative and cutting-edge technological breakthroughs by the Nigerian Army. Gen. Buratai blazed the trail with home-grown solutions manifest in the exhibition of certified technological innovations. And the exhibitions included light weapons, Armoured Personnel Carriers and kitting, which three decades ago were fantasies to leadership of the Army.



The 2019 COAS confab climaxed with President Buhari, personally in attendance and commissioned the first batch of Nigerian Army's locally manufactured Mines Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) nicknamed “Ezugwu” vehicles. MRAP was manufactured by military engineers at the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria, Command Engineering Deport (DICON/CED), Kakuri, Kaduna state. Its potency and relevance in sustaining Army’s clearance operations on Boko Haram in Nigeria’s Northeast and similar operations around the country is adjudged as superb.

An impressed President Buhari remarked commendably; "I salute the gallant efforts of the Nigerian Armed Forces in routing terrorists and combating insurgency in the on-going operations in the North East. This administration will continue to support the military to achieve its goals in addition to prioritizing their welfare and that of their families. "

Visibly euphoric, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin endearingly eulogized the leadership ingenuity of Gen. Buratai, as he crooned; “The decision of Nigerian army to explore the full potential within its ranks to come up with reputable innovations would be a boost to ongoing counter insurgency operations’ It is in this regard that I wish to recognize and also commend the sterling efforts of the Nigerian army under the dynamic leadership of the COAS Lt Gen TY Buratai.”

He further enthused; “I equally make bold to state that the Nigerian Army's giant strides have opened up a new vista of opportunities for the country to become a global competitor in the manufacture of military hardware. Therefore, the proper harnessing of these efforts would help to facilitate the commercial production and sales of defence equipment and ultimately become a source of foreign exchange earnings for the nation. I am therefore proud to identify with the R & D efforts of the NA as I encourage its leadership to remain focused on this laudable objective.”

Even the critically insatiable Nigeria’s Minister of Defence Major General Bashir Magashi doffed his cap for President Buhari and the Nigerian Army; Magashi bowed in accolades to soldiers, “l salute the President for his continuous support to the Nigerian Army. The Federal Government would continue to support the military ahead of the final onslaught on Boko Haram in 2020. the Nigerian Army has had a hectic year with a lot of operations conducted to secure the territorial integrity of Nigeria.’’

It was indeed, Gen. Buratai’s glorious day of special honour. And the torrents of eulogies poured out endlessly, applauding his focused and result-oriented leadership of the Nigerian Army. Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai thundered;

"I commend the Nigerian Army for their roles in sustaining peace and security in Kaduna State. They have restored peace and stability in Southern Kaduna; decimated the capacity of cattle rustlers and kidnappers operating in the state and its environs. The role played by the Army in confronting the menace of the outlawed ‘El-Zakzaky movement’, which had oppressed the people of Zaria for the last 30 years, as well as various corporate social responsibilities including medical outreaches and infrastructure interventions in Kaduna State is also appreciated."

But the path to the transformation success narratives of the Nigerian Army under the leadership of Gen. Buratai have not been an easy chore. The Army boss has braved the odds because President Buhari bolstered him with words of inspiration and consistent support. Therefore, it was a uniquely rare platform for the Army Chief to extol the leadership disposition of his Commander-In-Chief, President Buhari thus;

“The current transformation of the Nigerian Army to its current status of a professional, highly-motivated, innovative and people-centric institution commenced in 2015 when the President was sworn in for his first term in office."

Nevertheless, aside the breathtaking reality of MRAP, Gen. Buratai has registered similar successes in other sections on meeting operational requirements of the Army In November 2019, during Exercise Vulcan Glow VI of the Nigerian Army Corps of Artillery (NACA) at Kachia, Kaduna state, Nigerians were also acquainted with the giant strides in research and development by the corps.

Chinese war wizard, Sun Tzu once persuaded Army leaders to understand that “Those who are victorious, plan effectively and change decisively.” So, Gen. Buratai constantly keeps his binoculars on the future, with eyes fixated on what weapons the insurgency battle might demand the next day and leaves nothing to chance.

Therefore, NACA has also been goaded and empowered into breakthroughs in the re-modification of 105 MMObligation, 14Horwitzer and the 105 MM m56 drones and development of fire control computer applicationsequipment amongothers. These are great military fighting assets, assisting immensely in combating Boko Haram terrorism and allied insurgencies by Nigerian troops. Like in other instances, NACA Army engineers also sourced and utilized local materials for these technological innovations’, a rarity in the NA for decades.

And part of Gen. Buratai’s innovative legacies in his leadership includes deploying the use of technology to launch digitized uniforms for the Army. The security features of the uniforms includes transmitting signals to the nearest military base, anywhere the user is in distress or danger because it is inbuilt with sensors. This is enhancing the safety of troops in the frontlines battling terrorism in the rugged and complex terrains of Northeastern Nigeria.

The establishment of the Human Rights Desk in Army Headquarters’ (AHQs) to resolve unpredicted incidents of human rights violations of Nigerians in the course of special assignments by soldiers; and also, the Army’s novel response to the practice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) invokes fond memories of Gen. Buratai’s leadership. Under Gen. Buratai, countless host communities across Nigeria are beneficiaries of the Army’s CSR projects in virtually all sectors of social/infrastructural amenities.

Collin Powell reasoned that “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.” Gen. Buratai is optimistic of a final victory against Boko Haram. But ultimately, he believes like Albert Einstein that, “May the conscience and the common sense of the peoples be awakened, so that we may reach a new stage in the life of nations, where people will look back on war as an incomprehensible aberration of their forefathers!,” which is the underlying philosophy of his “stick and carrot,” principle, in itself, an innovative approach to counter-insurgency.


Onmeje wrote this piece from the United Kingdom.

*Group tackles HURIWA over derogatory statement on Buhari's commitment to peace in Nigeria*

The National Democratic Force (NDF) has lashed out at Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) over derogatory statement on President Muhammadu Buhari's commitment to the nation's peace and tranquillity.

In a bid to promote national harmony, tackling the nation’s security challenges, the National Security Adviser had proposed an imminent convocation of a dialogue session amongst ethnic nationalities.

HURIWA then attempted to mislead Nigerians on this Federal Government’s security blueprint as published by the office of the NSA.

The human rights group even called on President Buhari to deproscribe the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) and Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) despite obvious atrocities committed.

In reaction, however, the National Democratic Force described HURIWA as “cobbled assemblage of comical characters” who jumped to discredit an initiative they have no clue about.

The NDF made this known in a press conference on Thursday in Abuja.

In a statement signed by Secretary General, Dr Abdulkadir Bolajai, the group reasoned that HURIWA should be ashamed that President Buhari, whom they have labelled as a dictator, has brought a democratic solution to the problems created by their paymasters.

According to the group, HURIWA's stance isn't surprising as they've always attempted to pitch Christians against Muslims through the claim that the FG's appointments were lopsided in favour of the latter.

While applauding President Buhari and the NSA for coming up with such initiative, the NDF dismissed HURIWA's claim as falsehood of industrial proportion.

It added that “HURIWA and its paymasters are the agents of destabilization and the promoters of disunity, rancor and hate amongst the citizenry through their financially induced activism”.

Read full text below:

Gentlemen of the press, we thank you for honouring our invitation to this press briefing, which we must state from the onset is informed by the criminal attempt by the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) to mislead Nigerians on the Federal Government security blueprint as published by the office of the National Security Adviser. This blueprint aims to add the element of dialogue and consultation to other existing measures that have been deployed to address insecurity and crises in the country. Through the proposed intervention, the government will engage sectional and factional groups in an exercise that will deliver confidence building among the ethnic and religious divide in the country, which is expected to go a long way in addressing some of the nation’s security challenges.

But HURIWA, as we know it to be a cobbled assemblage of comical characters, who hardly ever know whether they are coming or going, have jumped on this initiative with the intention to discredit it without having first studied the merits of the plan. Rather, HURIWA contrived series of negative connotations and tenuously attempted to latch them onto a plan that right thinking citizens of the country are describing as long overdue. The proposal was for them a primer that reawakened the irrational hatred of President Muhammadu Buhari, which seems to be the only cause left for HURIWA to fight.

This perhaps explains why HURIWA express anger that a President Buhari, whom they have labelled a dictator is the one man that has come up with a democratic solution to the problems created by their paymasters. They were now compelled to create lies about how appointments were lopsided and how a particular section of the country is favoured. Interestingly, this is a tired and worn out propaganda since there have been enough statistical data crunching to dispel this lie.

It is most unfortunate that an organization that markets itself with the moniker of “Human Rights” can be callous enough to stereotype an ethnic nationality, the Fulani, even when there have been several instances of persons of other ethnic extractions being caught committing the crimes for which one ethnic group is demonized. The conclusion can only be that HURIWA is desirous of provoking a pogrom against the Fulani, which is definitely not in keeping with what an organization that tout the human rights credentials HURIWA is throwing around.

The perverted pattern favoured by HURIWA manifested even in its partisanship as it was practically blaming President Buhari for the election loss suffered by its sponsor, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi state and in just about any other place the party had a bad showing on account of voters associating it with its corrupt past. That HURIWA could descent so low to attempt passing off transactional activism as the interest of the people is sickening and must be condemned. Nigerians must not be deceived to think they are hearing from a human rights group when in reality they are being lied to by the NGO arm of political party that also moonlights for terrorists as we shall see later.

The danger posed to Nigeria by HURIWA was glaring in the manner in which it attempted to pitch Christians against Moslems through the claim that federal government appointments were lopsided in favour of the latter. It amazing that an organization that dabbles in the acclaimed field has never thought it wise to advance the rights of the animists, atheists, agnostics and other creeds that do not fall under its two preferred faiths. To its own discredit it continues to attempt deepening the Judeo-Islamic schism that has done much to destabilize Nigeria and impoverish the population. Such groups should in reality be added to the list of those to be invited to take part in the proposed dialogue session in the hope that those running it will leave the sessions enlightened.

The pettiness of HURIWA was amplified for the world to see when it claimed that it was wrong to site projects in underserved areas by inferring that it amounted to the president pushing projects to Daura. Nigerians can now see for themselves that this is an organization that does not want the rural-urban migration challenge to be addressed.

What perhaps capped HURIWA’s irresponsibility is its ethicizing the entire issue by claiming Igbo marginalization. This has been something that several groups had taken umbrage against HURIWA in the past as it is highly dangerous. Rather than promoting the “Igbo Marginalization” war chant, it should have run a campaign for the affected ethnic group to learn the art of horse trading, compromise, collaboration as opposed to the belligerence on the part of a few people from that region. But this will hardly happen since the persona behind HURIWA, Emmanuel Onwubiko is too far consumed by ethnic extremism to be able to reach such logical conclusion.

The biggest fraud in the position taken by HURIWA is the way it sought to manipulate constitutional provisions to mislead the populace. What it did with the sections of the constitution that it cited was to cherry-pick and convolute matters such that logic is stood on its head. There is no point going into the list of lies and misrepresentation here because it would be a waste of our time here.

The worst of all is HURIWA’s persistence on supporting terrorism. It could not resist the temptation to use its tirade as a terrorist manifesto through its expression of support proscribed terrorist groups, namely: the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). We hope the irony is not lost on Nigerians that the same HURIWA that was demonstrating an extreme version of Islamophobia is willing to be in bed with a terrorist IMN just as it was citing the constitution while supporting an IPOB that is working for the disintegration of the country. That HURIWA can speak against the law taking its course against those bent on destabilizing Nigeria speaks volume to its true intention for maligning the federal government, President Buhari and any entity that stands for the good of Nigeria.

We therefore dismiss HURIWA's claim as falsehood of industrial proportion. HURIWA and its paymasters are the agents of destabilization and the promoters of disunity, rancor and hate amongst the citizenry through their financially induced activism. We invite all well-meaning Nigerians to condemn this fraudulent war mongering NGO for what it is. Brazen criminality.

By Alex Uloko

Interesting times are indeed here with the way, and manner events are unfolding in Nigeria with regards to the fight against terrorism. Some conspiracy theorists have argued that there is more than meets the eyes in the battle against the Boko Haram terrorist group in North-East Nigeria.

Some have alleged that some foreign interest has been covertly fuelling the crisis by providing logistics support to the Boko Haram terrorist group; some have also claimed that a particular European country has been selling arms and ammunition to the group. While all of these postulations are true, the main culprit in the whole debacle is indeed France.

I recall that in times past, a credible newspaper in Nigeria released an investigative report exposing how France has been fuelling the Boko Haram war in Nigeria in an attempt to cause a gradual disintegration of the country. In the said report, it was stated that “Intelligence sources stated that the possession of sophisticated weapons for insurgents, logistics and medical supplies by the Boko Haram terror group showed signs of funding by foreign interests.”

The investigative report further added that “we have seen these types of automatic weapons when they are dislodged or killed. These are not ordinary weapons; they are sophisticated machine guns and rifles, and sometimes they have tanks that are not our tanks. We have seen weapons with numbers that show that they were not just sourced through the black market but directly supplied by known arms manufacturers from France.”

If this is the case, then there is every reason to believe that, indeed, some countries are bent on seeing to the disintegration of Nigeria. Like I stated earlier, it is no other country, but France and I say this for two reasons. One is the fact that Nigeria is surrounded by the Francophone countries, whose borders these arms, ammunition, and military tanks are brought into the country. The second fact is the presence of a 4,500-strong French force, which is permanently headquartered in N’Djamena; the capital of Chad code-named Operation Barkhane, a supposed anti-insurgent operation in Africa's Sahel region.

The question thus is, if there is the presence of a French troop in Chad, then how could one explain how and why the Boko Haram fighters were able to regroup on the fringes of the Lake Chad Basin region and launching attacks in Nigeria? How could one also explain how caches of arms and ammunitions would pass through the Chad-Nigerian border into Nigeria, and there is a French troop supposedly meant to fight terrorism.

Let us learn to call a spade a spade and understand that the French troops stationed in Chad are there to provide that logistics support to the Boko Haram group because there is no way there would be a French troop stationed in a country and a terrorist group would use the same country as their training camp and avenue for bringing in arms and ammunitions. It is also no longer news that Boko Haram’s presence in Chad has been most strongly felt around Lake Chad, which lies primarily within Chadian territory. What does this tell us?

I stand to be corrected in this regard because there have been instances where concerned stakeholders in the fight against terrorism have raised an eyebrow as regards the commitment of the French authorities. This much has led to demonstrations in Nigeria against the activities of French NGOs in operation in Nigeria. Without mincing words, it is most despicable how France has brazenly supported evil against a sovereign country.

The danger of this is that should the relevant authorities refuse to interrogate and ask critical questions; I am afraid France might succeed in its desire to recolonize Africa through the back door. The international bodies such as the United Nations must also rise to this challenge and ensure that the nefarious activities of France in Africa are curtailed in the interest of peace and tranquility.

To think that a country like France would harbor the idea of making the African continent unstable so it could achieve its desire to dominate its affairs is most unthinkable. To make matters worse, the avenue with which it intends to accomplish this is demeaning and should not be tolerated by discerning minds.

I am also appalled that the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, would harbor such disdain for the African continent by promoting terrorist activities. I recall at a press conference at the G20 summit in Hamburg, he was asked about a “Marshall Plan for Africa.” The president gave a disquisition on Africa’s “real” problems – among them, in his view, demographics and lack of “civilization,”

If the above statement does not give us a hint on how the mind of Emmanuel Macron works, then nothing else would. It is a clear case of the hand of Esau and the voice of Jacob because, in public, he appears to be advocating for a better Africa continent, but in truth, his disdain for the African continent is legendary.

I think with the avalanche of revelations as to the involvement of France in spreading terrorism in Nigeria and the African continent; it’s time for African patriots to stand in one voice to condemn France under Emmanuel Macron because this is the height of deceit and it must be resisted.

At this point, I must state clearly that Africa’s real enemy in the fight against terrorism is France. This much we now know, and this much we shall resist — enough of the deceit. And for Emmanuel Macron, it is indeed a great shame to think France can recolonize Africa by causing conflict and promoting terrorism.

Uloko is a researcher based in Lagos.

The Movement Against Slavery and Terrorism (MAST) has cautioned France President, Emmanuel Macron, to stop sponsoring terrorism in Nigeria and other African nations.

The Pan-African group made their voices heard on Wednesday at the end of a one-day walk to the French embassy in Abuja, Nigeria's federal capita city.

The visibly frustrated Africans, numbering in their hundreds demanded that the French authorities must end ties with Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists which it has routinely armed.

Addressing the media in front of the French consulate, convener, Princess Ajibola said the mission was to get Macron's attention that Nigeria is a sovereign nation and any attempt to compromise its territorial integrity would be resisted.

According to madam Ajibola, the group has overwhelming evidence to back its claim that the European nation is indeed behind the recent upsurge in terrorism in the country.

The group reckoned the French action is born out of greed - hinged on economic benefits owing to the avalanche of economic resources in the North-East, particularly the Lake Chad Basin region.

The Movement Against Slavery and Terrorism, therefore, warned the French authorities to desist from further mischief which has undermined the remarkable gains of the Nigerian Army.

The group also called the attention of the United Nations to the crime against humanity being perpetrated by Macron.

Read full address below:

Ladies and Gentlemen,
This is a protest for the rescue of the soul of our dear country Nigeria from the forces of evil that have attempted to cause disharmony and disintegration by covertly sponsoring the activities of terrorists in Nigeria.

We embarked on this protest march to send a powerful message to the French authorities that Nigerians are indeed aware of its nefarious activities with regards to the ongoing war against terrorism in North-East Nigeria.

The Movement Against Slavery and Terrorism as a civil society organization decided to take our protest to the French Embassy in Abuja, so the message could be relayed to the French Authorities wherever they are that Nigeria is indeed a sovereign country and as such any form or attempt to compromise our territorial integrity would be resisted wholeheartedly.

Since 2015 when the present administration assumed leadership of this country, there has been tremendous progress recorded in the fight against the Boko Haram terrorist group. So much so that Nigerian troops captured their operational headquarters (Camp Zero) in Sambisa forest to the glory of God.

It didn’t stop there; the Nigerian troops also recaptured the over 16 local government areas in North-East Nigeria that were once under the control of Boko Haram terrorists. By and large, the Boko Haram group was decimated and fled in their droves to the fringes of the Lake Chad Basin region, from where they launch an attack on soft target communities within that vicinity.

We are aware that some vested interest was not happy with the gains made by Nigeria in the fight against terrorism. As such, they began providing logistic support under humanitarian cover to the Boko Haram fighters.

They also assumed the role of the mouthpiece of the Boko Haram terrorist group. They used their state medium to promote their nefarious activities and to give them the needed psychological boost.

The Movement Against Slavery and Terrorism wishes to state in unequivocal terms that France is indeed responsible for the resurgence of Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria in recent times because there is overwhelming evidence that it has been selling arms and ammunitions to the Boko Haram terrorist group. These arms come into the country through the francophone countries.

We also wish to send this message to the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, that what France is doing under his watch is indeed a crime against humanity. As such, it must, as a matter of urgency, desist from spreading terrorism in Nigeria and the African countries.

The Movement Against Slavery and Terrorism sees the actions of France as an assault on our sovereignty as a country. This is indeed despicable and must be condemned by all and sundry.

We are also aware that the actions of France are hinged on economic benefits given the avalanche of economic resources in North-East Nigeria, particularly the Lake Chad Basin region.

This is indeed an attempt at recolonization, which by all standards is puerile and won’t stand the test of time because Nigerians would resist every move with passion.

The Movement Against Slavery and Terrorism is by this protest asking the French authorities to desist from their evil ways or face the full wrath of Nigerians who are ever ready to protect the sovereignty of the country.

The Movement Against Slavery and Terrorism is also by this protest informing the relevant authorities in Nigeria to act in the best interest of Nigeria as it would indeed be a slap on our faces should we allow France to carry on with its destabilization plot on Nigeria.

The Movement Against Slavery and Terrorism is also calling on the United Nations to investigate the role of France in the spread of terrorism in Nigeria and Africa.

France must also stop the sale of Arms and Ammunition to the Boko Haram terrorist group in the interest of peace and tranquility. This is on the heels that the bulk of the French NGOs operating in North-East Nigeria are carrying out espionage activities and passing the same to the leadership of the Boko Haram terrorist group on the instruction of French authorities.

The Movement Against Slavery and Terrorism is indeed saying enough is enough, and France must stop the distasteful support it has been extending to the Boko Haram terrorist group in Nigeria, which is aimed at making Nigeria erupt in flames.

The Movement Against Slavery and Terrorism wishes to inform the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, that the world is indeed watching closely and should the French authorities not halt the spread of terrorism in Nigeria, the day of reckoning is indeed near.

The Coalition of Civil Society Groups against Terrorism in Nigeria has congratulated the Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai on his 59th birthday.

The group in a congratulatory letter to the Army chief described him as a patriot, who have continued to contribute selflessly towards the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria.

The group recalled some of the sacrifices of the Nigerian Army under General Buratai, particularly in standing up against the activities of various insurgent groups in the country.

*

Pan-African group, Liberation Vanguard (ALV) has condemned France President, Emmanuel Macron, over alleged ties with Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists.

ALV, on Monday, stormed the French embassy in Lagos to express their displeasure towards Mr Macron who has been fingered to be sponsoring the propagation of terrorism on the continent.

The group's claim isn't entirely strange, especially after Turkish foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, recently accused the French leader of being a "sponsor of terrorism".

In a letter jointly signed by Chairman, Pa David Samuel and Publicity Secretary, Compatriot Ayodeji Ologun, the ALV vent their pleasure towards the European nation, calling on it to “stop funding the nefarious activities of Boko Haram".

The visibly angry Africans, who hailed the doggedness of the Nigerian Army despite this obvious plot to jeopardize their gains, called on France to quit funding the terrorist group at the detriment of human lives.

According to ALV, this may not be unconnected from France's desperation to continue exploiting Nigeria's economic resources in the Lake Chad Basin region.

The Africa Liberation Vanguard cited the recent attack in Cameroon, where Boko Haram abducted 18 people, as how the European nation is expanding the frontiers of terrorism in Africa.

As matter of urgency, though, the group warned France to discontinue this inglorious spread of terrorism on the African continent.

The African Liberation Movement, thus, gave the French Authorities a 21 Day ultimatum to stop funding the nefarious activities of the Boko Haram terrorist group.

Read full letter below:

Dear President Emmanuel Macron,

We are a group of war veterans of Nigerian origin but with a membership that cuts across all the 52 strong African countries. As a background, our association is devoted to promoting the interest of Africans against the vicissitudes and interest of some western powers in our affairs as a continent.

The Majority of our members have, in times past, fought to defend Africa against colonization, and it suffices to state that we were very successful in our endeavor.

We are gathered here at the French Embassy in Lagos to send a very important message to you as regards some areas of concern we have in the ongoing war against Boko Haram Terrorism in Nigeria and other African countries.

Dear President Macron, this is not a violent protest, and it is not in any way intended to cause bodily harm to anyone of French origin at the Embassy or in Nigeria. But this is a protest that is both psychological and emotional for us given our age and the realization the French support for the Boko Haram terrorist group is overwhelming and not in the best interest of Nigeria and Africa.

We wish to use this medium to intimate you that Nigerians and the rest of Africa are indeed aware of the covert support France is extending to the Boko Haram terrorist group operating in North-East Nigeria and other African countries.

The support of France, which you are aware of, has seen to the bolstering of the armory of the Boko Haram terrorist group and also given them the impetus to continue with their nefarious activities.

The African Liberation Vanguard is hugely at a loss and disappointed as to why France under your watch would be funding the activities of a terrorist group at the detriment of human lives, especially women and children that have been at the receiving end of the Boko Haram terrorist activities.

Dear President Macron, it must be stated that as the President of France, you cannot say that you are not in the know of what is happening in your country as regards the supply of military logistics to the Boko Haram fighters. We know that the buck stops at your table and wonders why such illegality and crime against humanity are attractive to France.

The hatred of France towards Nigeria is indeed legendary, and this explains why it has been doing everything untoward towards compromising our territorial integrity. We also know that France is doing this to ensure that there is no peace in Nigeria so that it can continue to exploit our economic resources in the Lake Chad Basin region.

We are consequently by this protest, warning France to desist from its nefarious activities of selling guns and military hardware to the Boko Haram terrorist group so they can continue to confront the Nigerian troops in battle.

We wish to state that this is an affront to our sensibilities as a people and another attempt at colonization of Nigeria by France. This is not only appalling; it’s also of poor taste that would be resisted by every stretch of the imagination.

This is the time for France and its allies to stop fooling the world as regards its commitment to the fight against terrorism because it lacks every moral right to do so when it is busy selling arms and ammunition to terrorist groups around the world.

The French authorities must stop this deceit because they are the principal sponsors of terrorism in Africa to reduce Africa to French dependency for economic exploitation purposes.

The recent example of Cameroon, where Boko Haram abducted 18 people, is another example of how France is expanding the frontiers of terrorism in Africa. Boko Haram have caused havoc in Nigeria with the help of France, and now they are expanding their frontiers to other African countries.

The African Liberation Vanguard would indeed tell the world that France is not in any way committed to the fight against terrorism in Africa. Instead, it is the brain behind the spread of terrorism in Africa.

This much we have seen in the violence been perpetrated by Boko Haram in Niger and Chad that has resulted in the deaths of unarmed civilians, and thanks to almighty France for supplying them with arms and ammunitions.

The African Liberation Vanguard is by this protest saying enough is enough to France in this dubious business. France must, as a matter of urgency, discontinue the inglorious spread of terrorism on the African continent.

The African Liberation Movement is giving the French Authorities a 21 Day ultimatum to stop funding the nefarious activities of the Boko Haram terrorist group. And with immediate effect.

It must be stated that should France continue on this dishonorable path, Africa would indeed prove that it cannot be colonized for the second time without resistance.

The African Liberation Movement wishes to let the world know that France has carried on with the campaign to spread terrorism in Africa in continuation of its disdain for our people, history, and culture.

Dear President Macron, it is our considered opinion that the early France discontinues this despicable business, the better for everybody. A word is enough for the wise.

*Sowore: Pro-Democracy Group warns US Senators over unnecessary interference in Nigeria's domestic affairs*

A civil society group, Friends of Democracy and Freedom (FDF) has cautioned some Senators from the United States of America to quit interfering in Nigeria's internal democracy.

FDF's warning treads on the heels of remarks attributed to Senator Bob Menendez from New Jersey in a world press conference on Friday, condemning the rearrest of the Sahara Reporters publisher.

In the video, the lawmaker appeared to have threatened the Federal Government, alleging that President Muhammadu Buhari is “woefully out of touch with what the agencies of his government are doing".

But in a press conference on Saturday in Abuja, the Friends of Democracy and Freedom condemned Mr Menendez and other foreign vested interest concerned in Sowore's ongoing trial while ignoring his inglorious call for a revolution in Nigeria.

In a statement signed by its President, Ambassador Joshua Adegbenro, the group believes Sowore's revolution could be a creation by some foreign entities to cause the country's disintegration.

According to FDF, Mr Menendez and his likes must provide answers whether or not Sowore committed any crime in the first instance as well as establish if he attempted to overthrow a democratically elected government.

The group reckoned, it is only when this is done, Nigerians can begin to take them seriously.

FDF's reminded these foreign interests that any form of revolution is a threat to peace and tranquility, and all peace-loving people must condemn it.

As a sovereign nation, however, the group echoed that rules and regulations govern Nigeria, hence Mr Menendez and others should allow the country's law take its full course.

Read full statement below:

I welcome you all to this Press Conference organized by the Friends of Democracy and Freedom (FDF), a civil society organization devoted to promoting the ideals of democracy and freedom in developing countries.

It is indeed a sad commentary in Nigeria with the way and manner germane issues have been replaced with trivialities. This is concerning the ongoing trial of Omoyele Sowore, who, by all intent and purposes, attempted to carry out a violent change of government in Nigeria by calling for a violent revolution.

The Friends of Democracy and Freedom views with suspicion the way and manner some foreign interests have indicated interest in the trial of Omoyele Sowore and in some instances attempting to influence public opinion by crying wolf where none exists.

This is unacceptable and an indication that there is more than meets the eyes in the attempt by Omoyele Sowore to instigate the people against the government to effect a violent change of government.

The Friends of Democracy and Freedom believes that the same foreign bodies that have shown tremendous interest in the ongoing trial of Omoyele Sowore should have as well demonstrated the same energy in condemning his attempt to burn down Nigeria and effect a violent change of government.

It is therefore incomprehensible on how the call for the release of Omoyele Sowore has reached such a crescendo and the crime he committed against the Nigerian state and people have been relegated to the background.

The Friends of Democracy and Freedom is convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Omoyele Sowore is a creation by some foreign entities to cause the disintegration of Nigeria, else, how could one phantom how and why a Nigerian that is supposedly educated and enlightened would attempt to effect a violent change of government in a democratic setting.

The recent outing by Senator Bob Menendez with Opeyemi Sowore, the wife of Omoyele Sowore, calling for his release is, at best, an insult to the sensibilities of Nigerians because the focus has been deliberately shifted to freedom for Omoyele Sowore and not the crime he committed against the state.

The Friends of Democracy and Freedom wishes to ask the following questions: Did Omoyele Sowore commit a crime? Did he attempt to cause a change of a democratically elected government in Nigeria? Is the action of Omoyele Sowore and his co-travelers a threat to the territorial integrity of Nigeria? Would there have been bloodshed if the Revolution had succeeded?

If the answers to the above questions is yes, then there is every justification for the law to take its course in this case and the call by those who have blindly refused to come to terms with reality and understand that a crime was committed in the first instance should have a rethink and stop meddling in the affairs of Nigeria.

The Friends of Democracy and Freedom wishes to state that things that are intolerable in western climes are also unacceptable in Nigeria. A call for a revolution is a threat to peace and tranquility, and all peace-loving people must condemn it.

The Friends of Democracy and Freedom is indeed concerned that with the way and manner some foreign interest have been advocating for the release of Omoyele Sowore while ignoring the bigger picture either by omission or commission is an indication that the ultimate plan was to cause Nigeria to go up in flames to suit their evil agenda.

The Friends of Democracy and Freedom is indeed concerned and wishes to states in unequivocal terms that rules and regulations govern Nigeria. There are certain expectations of all citizens. If a citizen of Nigeria avails himself a willing tool for the destruction of Nigeria, such an individual must face the full wrath of the law.

The case of Omoyele Sowore is one such example, and the law must take its course. It should also be noted that no amount of propaganda or blackmail would alter the cause of justice. Nigeria is indeed bigger than any individual.

Thank you, and long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

*Centre chides Red Cross over alleged missing persons in northeast, warns against promoting terrorists' propaganda*


The International Centre for Disaster Management (ICDM) has lashed out at the International Committee for Red Cross (ICRC) for attempting to pursue terrorists' agenda with its “fabricated” report on missing persons in the North-East.

ICDM, a renowned stakeholder in humanitarian crisis management, believes this is a deliberate move to destabilize the remarkable momentum garnered by the Nigerian military in recent times, thereby giving unfair advantage to the insurgents.

Addressing the media at a press conference on Thursday in Lagos, ICDM's Country Rep, Rowland Onyeke was critical of the once-highly respected humanitarian group which has now been reduced to Boko Haram/ISWAP puppets.

Mr Onyeke reckoned that this may be born out of desperation on the part of Red Cross to cover its tracks following recent high-profile scandals that have rocked its operation in the country.

Having lost relevance and credibility, the Centre revealed that the ICRC has resorted to propaganda and blackmail, covertly promoting the interest of those foreign bodies, benefiting from the crisis in the region.

The International Centre for Disaster Management, therefore, labelled ICRC's action as an attempt to cover-up and cause a distraction from its activities that have been suspect in recent times and subjected to scrutiny the military authorities.

The Centre, however, urged Nigerians to ignore such mischievous reports.

Read full statement below:

We welcome you all to this all-important press conference which is put together at the instance of the various allegations levelled against the Nigerian Military in operation in North-East Nigeria, by the International Committee for Red Cross in Nigeria. (ICRC)

The International Centre for Disaster Management is a stakeholder in managing the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria and has been actively involved in efforts towards mitigating the effects of the humanitarian crisis that has come about as a result of the war against terrorism in North East Nigeria.

As an organization, we have transverse the length and breadth of North-East Nigeria since 2009, when the Boko Haram terrorist group began a violent campaign against Nigeria. As such, we are conversant with the operations of the Nigerian Military in the region and can as well speak authoritatively on matters that revolve around military operations in North-East Nigeria, as well as the activities of NGOs in operation in the area.

The International Centre for Disaster Management is therefore alarmed by the narrative pushed forward by the ICRC against the Nigerian Military. As a critical stakeholder, we are duty-bound to put the issues in proper perspective and disabuse the minds of the unsuspecting members of the general public.

As a first, there is no iota of truth in the narrative by the ICRC against the Nigerian Military because, in all of the years, the ICDM has been actively involved in operations in North-East Nigeria; the Nigerian Military has exhibited a high level of professionalism. It has equally extended courtesy where the need arises to NGOs operating in the region.

This is also of the heels that the activities of some NGOs have been suspect, given their penchant for wanting to have the Military divulge sensitive operational, strategic documents to them; the Nigerian Military had remained courteous.

The International Centre for Disaster Management consequently sees the allegations by the ICRC as not only baseless but also a figment of their imagination that is geared towards causing an unnecessary distraction to the troops in operations in North-East Nigeria.

The International Centre for Disaster Management wishes to state that with this posture of the ICRC engaging in propaganda, there is a tendency that it has joined the league of international NGOs that are covertly fuelling the war in North East Nigeria by giving the Boko Haram terrorist the needed psychological boost, as well as humanitarian supplies.

The International Centre for Disaster Management wishes to state that this is nothing but an attempt by the ICRC to hide the various acts of corruption been perpetuated by its personnel, as well as that of other international NGOs operating in North-East Nigeria.

The ICRC ought to do good by looking into its operations in North-East Nigeria to put its house in order as it is evident that it has, for inexplicable reasons, abandoned its noble objective in return for a plate of porridge.

The International Centre for Disaster Management challenges the ICRC to prove that it is not aware that its personnel in North-East Nigeria have not been highly compromised and are working hands in hands with some other NGOs that have been mobilized to provide support to the Boko Haram terrorists through subtle ways to evade the prying eyes of the military authorities.

The International Centre for Disaster Management wishes to state that the actions of the ICRC are a smokescreen to shift attention from the nefarious activities of its personnel in North-East Nigeria.

It also suffices to state that the ICRC has lost credibility. In an attempt to gain relevance, they have resorted to propaganda and blackmail, while covertly promoting the interest of those foreign bodies that do not want the war against terrorism to come to an end.

The International Centre for Disaster Management does not see the ICRC as a worthy partner in progress, but one that has hidden under the nomenclature to perpetrate crimes against humanity.

The International Centre for Disaster Management sees this recent action of the ICRC as an attempt to cover-up and cause a distraction from its activities that have been suspect in recent times and subjected to scrutiny the military authorities.

The International Centre for Disaster Management wishes to use this medium to inform the members of the general public that the ICRC has lost focus in delivering its core mandate. As such, the public should always view whatever comes from its stable with a pinch of salt.

We once again reiterate that the allegations against the Nigerian Military are baseless and of poor taste intended to mislead unsuspecting members of the general public.

The National Youth Council of Nigeria  having risen from its emergency meeting today in Abuja, Nigeria, 5th of December, 2019. The leadership of the Council is concerned about the way and manner the ICPC has unilaterally turned itself into a cog in the wheel of progress towards a regime of digital broadcasting in Nigeria. It is rather curious that at a time the government of the day, under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, is working assiduously and investing huge sums of money to make the Nigerian economy sufficiently diversified to engage our teeming unemployed youth in productive endeavors.

The digital Switch Over is one such programme that the government made a priority from very early in its first tenure, due to the capacity of the broadcasting industry to provide employment for our populace over the long-term. It is rather curious that an agency of government would be working at cross purposes to the stated objective of the government, against the greater good of the Nigerian people.

We wish to put on record the unflinching support of the NYCN for the programmes of the federal government anchored on the war against corruption, with a view to building a more resilient economy that will have the capacity to keep our youth busy and away from crime and violence that has become the order of the day in our country today. Curiously the matter under discussion, being the ongokg prosecution of the Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the Chairman of Pinnacle Communications Limited, over an alleged diversion of funds.

It is worrying that organization of the ICPC's stature would reduce itself to posturing as though it were carrying out a hatchet job for vested interests, through the visible gaps in the arguments it has made to the public on the subject matter. That the ICPC chose to go to the media to conduct a showy trial even before approaching a competent court is the first case in point that buttresses our position. That  the ICPC would announce to the nation that the Minister of Information, who had given approval for the money to be disbursed to Pinnacle Communications, would be serving as prosecution witness because he signed the approval in error would be laughable if scarce government resources weren’t being expended on this exercise, not to talk of the cost to the nation in investments from the DSO being stalled.

We have resolved as follows:

That the ICPC discontinue forthwith the jamboree prosecution and persecution of the chairman of Pinnacle Communication s and the DG of NBC.
That the ICPC apologize to Nigerians over their conduct during the course of this matter.
We call on the Presidency should set up an independent panel of inquiry to investigate this matter and to unmask the people behind this well orchestrated plot to sabotage Nigeria, by capitalizing on President Buhari's war on corruption to mask their evil intentions.
We wish to state that the Leadership of the over 80 million Nigerian youth demand for an end to this witch-hunt and safe the judiciary their precious time to adjudicate on important matters.




Signed.

Amb Akoshile Mukhtar                                                    Comr Adedamola Olugbode

National Publicity Secretary

Vice President

National Youth Council of Nigeria.

*Human rights group decries growing spate of war crimes by IPOB, IMN*

....As terrorists groups continue to take laws into their hands

Following the gruesome murder of two police officers by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Monday in Oraifite, Anambra State, human rights group have called for drastic measures to avert future occurrence.

The Coalition for Human Rights Monitoring Groups in Nigeria (CHRMGN) condemned the growing spate of war crimes perpetrated by proscribed sects – IPOB and the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN).

The coalition of human rights groups made this known at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday as a fallout from the killing of two police officers by IPOB members loyal to the Lawyer representing their leader Nnamdi Kanu.

In a statement by convener, Gabriel Agibi, the groups revealed these radical sects are sponsored by enemies of Nigeria, with the ultimate aim of causing unrest in the country.

The recent killing of security agents, the coalition reckoned, follows IMN's trend – as both have unapologetically committed crimes against humanity.

As a matter of national interest, the coalition urged Nigerians to disassociate themselves from IPOB and Shiites members owing to their violent and terrorist tendencies.

CHRMGN, therefore, called on relevant authorities in the country to bring the leadership of both radical groups to justice, else be faced with an upsurge of militant groups carrying out actions that would undermine national security.

The coalition further urged relevant authorities at the International Criminal Court to act to serve as a deterrent to others in the future.

Read full press statement below:

The Coalition for Human Rights Monitoring Groups in Nigeria converged this press conference in the light of the upsurge of the nefarious activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra that resulted in the death of police officers in recent times by its members loyal to the lawyer of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu. This is highly condemnable and an indication that the Indigenous People of Biafra and other militant groups might have perfected plans to cause mayhem in the country.

The Coalition for Human Rights Monitoring Groups in Nigeria sees this act as an affront to the collective sensibilities of Nigerians. It wishes to condemn it in its entirety as an act of terrorism that must not be tolerated by the relevant authorities in Nigeria.

This act has further reinforced the belief in some quarters that the activities of IPOB and its sister organization, the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), are being sponsored by enemies of the Nigerian state, with the ultimate aim of causing unrest in the country.

The Indigenous People of Biafra and the Islamic Movement of Nigeria are indeed beds of the same feather but with different nomenclatures, and with the same modus operandi of attacking and killing law enforcement officers carrying out their lawful duties.

The Coalition for Human Rights Monitoring Groups in Nigeria wishes to, through this medium, call on members of the general public to as a matter of national interest disassociates themselves from members of the Indigenous People of Biafra and the Islamic Movement in Nigeria due to their violent and terrorist tendencies.

These groups have constituted themselves into a clog in the wheel of progress in Nigeria, as evident in their conduct in times past that has resulted in the death of innocent Nigerians going about their normal businesses.

The IPOB and the IMN are organizations that have resorted to carrying out their nefarious activities with the use of dangerous weapons, which has resulted in the loss of lives of innocent and unarmed civilians, including women and children.

This recent attack follows that trend in the wickedly orchestrated plans by the Islamic Movement in Nigeria and their counterparts in IPOB to freely kill law enforcement agencies who carry out their legitimate duties.

The Coalition of Human Rights Monitoring Groups in Nigeria has, in times past, documented the several ways the Indigenous People of Biafra and the Islamic Movement in Nigeria have committed crimes against humanity and had indeed called on the international community to act by bringing the leadership of both groups to justice.

The Coalition of Human Rights Monitoring Groups wishes to use this medium to reinforce that call for the International Criminal Court to rise to the occasion by bringing to book the promoters as well as the sponsors of the nefarious activities of IPOB and the IMN in the overall interest of justice.

The importance of the International Criminal Court acting to bring the IMN and IPOB to justice cannot be overemphasized given the fact that if their activities are left to fester, more innocent Nigerians will fall victim to their violent tendencies, as well as law enforcement officers.

The Coalition of Human Rights Monitoring Groups in Nigeria wishes to recall that instance where the IMN attempted to assassinate the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, when his convoy was ambushed in Zaria, Kaduna State.

The recent events had indeed proven that the IMN would have taken the life of the Chief of Army Staff when they attacked him, but for the superior firepower of officers and soldiers that promptly acted to rescue the Chief of Army Staff from danger.

The Coalition of Human Rights Monitoring Groups in Nigeria wishes to state in unequivocal terms that their actions violate global practices as the IPOB and IMN have shown in recent times that both are out to dismember the Nigerian State.

The relevant authorities in Nigeria must act in the interest of the over 200 million Nigerians by bringing the leadership of the IPOB and the IMN to justice, else we might be confronted with a more significant challenge in the future where there would be an upsurge of militant groups carrying out actions that would undermine national security and put innocent citizens in harm’s way.

The relevant authorities at the International Criminal Court must also act to serve as a deterrent to others in the future.

The Coalition of Human Rights Monitoring Groups in Nigeria wishes to states that Nigerians are indeed watching how the events would unfold.

*Group punctures allegations against military on recruitment of ex-Boko Haram members*

.... lauds Army's professionalism

The Advocates of Social Justice for All (ASJA) has rubbished reports claiming that the Nigerian Army recruited repentant Boko Haram members into the military.

The group made this known in an international press conference on Wednesday in Abuja to clear the air in what it described as “outright falsehood and highly misleading information pushed by enemies of the Nigerian state”.

In a statement signed by convener, Comrade Samuel Adadu, the group revealed that such speculation is a “ distraction to the on-going efforts of the Nigerian Army in the fight against terrorism and other militant activities in the country”.

Mr Adadu added that war merchants are angry that the military is making considerable gains in the fight against terrorism in the North-East.

According to the group, the recruitments into the Army is so rigorous that insurgents cannot in any way fit into its operational structure.

The Advocates of Social Justice for All, however, advised those bent on distracting the Nigerian troops in the Theatre of Operations to desist from such enterprise and instead channel their resources and energy towards other productive ventures.


Read full statement below:

This Press Conference is at the instance of the rumour that the Nigerian Army has recruited repentant Boko Haram fighters into the Nigerian Army.

The Advocates of Social Justice for All in fulfilment of one its mandate of ensuring social justice for all regardless of ethnic, religious, or political views sees the need to lend its voice to this debate to put issues in proper perspective for the benefit of the generality of Nigerians.

The rumour making the rounds that repentant Boko Haram members have been recruited into the Nigerian Army is an outright falsehood and highly misleading information been pushed by enemies of the Nigerian state.

To say there is no iota of truth in the rumour is an understatement. Instead, it is a part of a bigger plot to cause a distraction to the on-going efforts of the Nigerian Army in the fight against terrorism and other militant activities in the country.

The Advocates for Social Justice for All, as an organization conversant with the operations of the Nigerian Army in its quest to bring to an end terrorist activities in the country, views such rumours as the handiwork of distractors and agents of some international terrorist network.

The takeaway from the rumour is that war merchants are angry that the Nigerian Military is making considerable gains in the fight against terrorism in North-East Nigeria. As such, they must do everything possible to cause a distraction to suit their nefarious interests.

The Advocates for Social Justice for All indeed see the rumour of the recruitment of repentant Boko Haram fighters as indeed laughable and not in tune with reality given the fact that it has at various times monitored the rigorous recruitment process in the three arms of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, notably the Nigerian Army under the leadership of Lt Gen TY Buratai.

The quality of recruitments into the Nigerian Army is not a subject of debate because of the rigorous processes involved since Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai assumed leadership of the Nigerian Army.

It is indeed a statement of the fact that the repentant Boko Haram members cannot in any way fit into the operational structure of the Nigerian Army. As such, the rumour should be disregarded by all and sundry for lacking in merit and reason.

The Advocates for Social Justice for All, as well as other civil society organizations involved in the counter-insurgency operations of the Nigeria Army, is aware of the fact that recruitment of repentant Boko Haram fighters into the Nigerian Army is a figment of the imagination of sponsors of such malaise.

The Advocates for Social Justice for All states in unequivocal terms that the Nigerian Army has witnessed transparency and probity in its recruitment where not just federal character is being adhered to, and character and behavioral excellence have been deeply entrenched.

The Advocates for Social Justice for All wishes to advise those bent in distracting the troops engaged in clearance operations of Boko Haram remnants in North-East Nigeria to desist from further misleading the members of the unsuspecting general public in their ill-fated flight of fancy.

These rumour merchants should think of creative ways to push their half-truths because Nigerians are aware of their gimmick, which by all standard won’t stand the test of time.

The Advocates of Social Justice for All as an organization recognizes the sound leadership qualities of the Nigerian Army and states that it is only a matter of time for the remnants of Boko Haram would be flushed out from the fringes of the Lake Chad Basin region where they have taken refuge.

The Advocates of Social Justice for All wishes to encourage the leadership of the Nigerian Army to continue to churn out innovations that are geared towards preserving the territorial integrity of Nigeria at all times.

The Advocates of Social Justice for All also advises those bent on distracting the Nigerian troops in the Theatre of Operations to desist from such enterprise and instead channel their resources and energy towards other productive ventures.

*Group punctures allegations against military on recruitment of ex-Boko Haram members[code][/code]*

.... lauds Army's professionalism

The Advocates of Social Justice for All (ASJA) has rubbished reports claiming that the Nigerian Army recruited repentant Boko Haram members into the military.

The group made this known in an international press conference on Wednesday in Abuja to clear the air in what it described as “outright falsehood and highly misleading information pushed by enemies of the Nigerian state”.

In a statement signed by convener, Comrade Samuel Adadu, the group revealed that such speculation is a “ distraction to the on-going efforts of the Nigerian Army in the fight against terrorism and other militant activities in the country”.

Mr Adadu added that war merchants are angry that the military is making considerable gains in the fight against terrorism in the North-East.

According to the group, the recruitments into the Army is so rigorous that insurgents cannot in any way fit into its operational structure.

The Advocates of Social Justice for All, however, advised those bent on distracting the Nigerian troops in the Theatre of Operations to desist from such enterprise and instead channel their resources and energy towards other productive ventures.


Read full statement below:

This Press Conference is at the instance of the rumour that the Nigerian Army has recruited repentant Boko Haram fighters into the Nigerian Army.

The Advocates of Social Justice for All in fulfilment of one its mandate of ensuring social justice for all regardless of ethnic, religious, or political views sees the need to lend its voice to this debate to put issues in proper perspective for the benefit of the generality of Nigerians.

The rumour making the rounds that repentant Boko Haram members have been recruited into the Nigerian Army is an outright falsehood and highly misleading information been pushed by enemies of the Nigerian state.

To say there is no iota of truth in the rumour is an understatement. Instead, it is a part of a bigger plot to cause a distraction to the on-going efforts of the Nigerian Army in the fight against terrorism and other militant activities in the country.

The Advocates for Social Justice for All, as an organization conversant with the operations of the Nigerian Army in its quest to bring to an end terrorist activities in the country, views such rumours as the handiwork of distractors and agents of some international terrorist network.

The takeaway from the rumour is that war merchants are angry that the Nigerian Military is making considerable gains in the fight against terrorism in North-East Nigeria. As such, they must do everything possible to cause a distraction to suit their nefarious interests.

The Advocates for Social Justice for All indeed see the rumour of the recruitment of repentant Boko Haram fighters as indeed laughable and not in tune with reality given the fact that it has at various times monitored the rigorous recruitment process in the three arms of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, notably the Nigerian Army under the leadership of Lt Gen TY Buratai.

The quality of recruitments into the Nigerian Army is not a subject of debate because of the rigorous processes involved since Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai assumed leadership of the Nigerian Army.

It is indeed a statement of the fact that the repentant Boko Haram members cannot in any way fit into the operational structure of the Nigerian Army. As such, the rumour should be disregarded by all and sundry for lacking in merit and reason.

The Advocates for Social Justice for All, as well as other civil society organizations involved in the counter-insurgency operations of the Nigeria Army, is aware of the fact that recruitment of repentant Boko Haram fighters into the Nigerian Army is a figment of the imagination of sponsors of such malaise.

The Advocates for Social Justice for All states in unequivocal terms that the Nigerian Army has witnessed transparency and probity in its recruitment where not just federal character is being adhered to, and character and behavioral excellence have been deeply entrenched.

The Advocates for Social Justice for All wishes to advise those bent in distracting the troops engaged in clearance operations of Boko Haram remnants in North-East Nigeria to desist from further misleading the members of the unsuspecting general public in their ill-fated flight of fancy.

These rumour merchants should think of creative ways to push their half-truths because Nigerians are aware of their gimmick, which by all standard won’t stand the test of time.

The Advocates of Social Justice for All as an organization recognizes the sound leadership qualities of the Nigerian Army and states that it is only a matter of time for the remnants of Boko Haram would be flushed out from the fringes of the Lake Chad Basin region where they have taken refuge.

The Advocates of Social Justice for All wishes to encourage the leadership of the Nigerian Army to continue to churn out innovations that are geared towards preserving the territorial integrity of Nigeria at all times.

The Advocates of Social Justice for All also advises those bent on distracting the Nigerian troops in the Theatre of Operations to desist from such enterprise and instead channel their resources and energy towards other productive ventures.

By Timothy Onwe

In the over a decade, I have contributed to the national discourse, there has never been a time like now that I am writing with so much pain in me. The anxiety stems not from bodily harm, but that of disappointment from an organization that is on the ground in over 90 countries and prides itself as neutral, impartial, and independent.

This same organization, for inexplicable reasons, has so decided to veer off its core mandate of helping people affected by conflict and armed violence to delving into propaganda, illogical conclusions, and outright insinuation at the detriment of peace and tranquillity.

That organization is the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and its recent report that over 22,000 people are missing in North-East Nigeria as a result of the counter-insurgency operations of the Nigerian Military. I was dazed and could not come to terms with such disservice to Nigeria and Nigerians.

In my opinion, the ICRC went overboard with its statement, and I think the relevant authorities in Nigeria should do well to refute its report for the sake of tomorrow because if this is allowed, then we might be creating a monster that would constitute a clog in the wheel of progress in Nigeria.

As a start, the report by the ICRC is false. There is not an element of truth in it, and this fact must be clearly stated for all and sundry to understand because as it stands, quite a number have been misled to believe that the Nigerian Military has not lived up to its billing in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria.

Secondly, I believe that something is amiss somewhere for the ICRC to condescend to the level of impartiality and lack of objectivity in its framing of issues. I say this because, as one conversant with the counter-insurgency operations of the Nigerian Military, the ICRC report is a disservice to the on-going efforts to bring to an end the activities of Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria.

How the ICRC got to this level remains a topic of discourse. However, in the context of the counter-insurgency operations in North-East Nigeria, the ICRC got it wrong either by omission or commission. The tripod of neutrality, impartiality, and independence was missing in its entirety in the report by the ICRC.

This is on the heels that questions have been asked in certain quarters as regards the sincerity of purpose of international NGOs in the war against terrorism in Nigeria. And with this coming from the stable of the ICRC, that suspicion has been heightened. There is every reason to suspect that there is some interest working against the interest of Nigeria, and these interests come under various nomenclatures.

These interests look for willing tools to propagate half-truths and cause a distraction, especially where the Nigerian Military is making gains. Countless examples buttress this fact, and the recent outing by ICRC is an addition to that league of soldiers that want to see to the destabilization and disintegration of Nigeria.

The ICRC as an organization has failed woefully in this attempt because the attempt, as despicable as it is, is feeble and of poor taste. Unless they want to feign ignorance of the search and rescue operations of the Nigerian Military that has yielded tremendous results with the rescue of thousands of women and children that have been united with their families.

Like I stated earlier, I am in pain because I am still trying to figure the level of the conspiracy that has gone into the plot to discredit the counter-insurgency efforts in the country. I won’t say I am entirely disappointed, because in recent times there have been quite some revelations on the activities of some acclaimed NGOs such as Amnesty International and how they cut corners in return for pecuniary benefits.

I am therefore emboldened to state that the ICRC is no different from these groups that have deviated from their core mandate. For the ICRC, it is indeed a shame that should give critical stakeholders in Nigeria a cause to worry as to how these terrorist groups have been able to infiltrate the ranks of some credible international NGOs to actualize their nefarious agenda.

If this is not the case, how could one phantom that an organization such as the ICRC would be in the business of spreading outright falsehood without minding the implication of their actions? Some might want to argue that there is always a first time, but, no, because this is a wrong first time that dampens the morale of the military authorities and rubbishes all the gains made so far in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria.

The concept of psychological warfare, which is the planned tactical use of propaganda, threats, and other non-combat techniques during the war, should open our eyes to this stark reality that we are confronting and the angle the ICRC is coming from. They have been compromised, and this much is glaring; hence, the propaganda aimed towards giving the Boko Haram terrorist that advantage they could not gain in the battlefront due to the resilience and commitment of the military authorities in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria.

I could have fallen for the gimmick, but I didn’t because I am conversant with the happenings in North-East Nigeria, however, what about those out there not conversant and have been misled by this sheer propaganda?

This is my suggestion. The relevant authorities in Nigeria must rise to the occasion and nip this anomaly in the bud before it gets out of hand. They must begin the process of countering the narrative that is being pushed forward about the credibility of the military authorities in its counter-insurgency operations. And for the ICRC, this is a handshake beyond the elbow.

There is a need for retracing of steps in the interest of the sensibilities of Nigerians they have attempted to insult.


Onwe is a public affairs analyst based in Abuja.