₦airaland Forum

Christians, Muslims end 40 days prayer and fasting for Nigeria, pray against disunity, xenophobia, others



Nigerians, across religious divides, on Monday poured out their hearts to God in prayers for the soul of Nigeria and against of disunity and retrogression.

The prayer was part of activities to mark the grand finale of the 40 days fasting and prayers organised by The National Interfaith and Religious Organisations for Peace (NIFROP).

The event, which was graced by over 500 clerics and many Nigerians from both Christain and Muslim faiths, witnessed torrential prayers for Nigeria and Nigerians.

The clerics took out time one after the other to intercede for the nation, her leaders and Africa at large.

The well-attended event also witnessed rain of prayers against the spirit of xenophobia in South Africa, which has sent many promising Nigerians to their early graves.

Speaking during the programme, the National President of NIFROP Bishop Sunday Garuba, described the 40 days fasting and prayers as a huge success.

“We have successfully come to the end of the 40 days’ prayer and fasting programme designed by the National Interfaith and Religious Organisations (NIFROP) to pray and fast for Nigeria for God to unite Nigerians in our quest for national unity.

“The 40 days’ prayer and fasting programme was such a huge success in that Nigerians from all ethnic and religious affiliations gathered and prayed in one voice for Gods intervention against the evil plot by some enemies of Nigeria to see to the disintegration of the country.

“The large turnout of clerics from all over Nigeria for the grand finale of the 40 days’ prayer and fasting programme is an indication that Nigerians have indeed have risen above religious sentiments to pray and fast for the unity of the country and to put to shame the evil plans of the enemies against the unity and progress of Nigeria.”

The cleric said he was optimistic that all the prayers tabled before God would receive speedy answers.

Also speaking, Sheik Ahmad Jibrin also stated that what Nigeria needs in this critical point of its existence was prayers and supplication to God for the grace for Nigerians to see that the myriads of challenges been experienced are the handiwork of distractors who are angry with the level of growth and development in the country in the past four years.

“We have prayed and fasted and the revelations we received are indicative of the fact that Nigeria shall experience and unimaginable level of unity now and in the years ahead.”

“We have prayed and fasted and the revelations we received are indicative of the fact that Nigeria shall experience and unimaginable level of unity now and in the years ahead.”

“As you can see, the turnout is massive, and the composition is an indication that Nigerian clerics have indeed embraced this laudable initiative and that is why over 500 clerics have gathered here in Abuja.”

The high point of the event was awe inspiring performance by rave of the moment and Ekwueme crooner, Prospa Ochimana.

Tamed insecurity as Buhari's 100-days statement

By Idoko Ainoko


One issue the opposition use to campaign against President Muhammadu Buhari in the election that held in March this year is the issue of security. They cited continued Boko Haram threats, commercial scale kidnap for ransoms, banditry, ritual related killings, ethno-sectarian strife, and other forms of criminality that undermine the safety of life and property in the country.
It is a fact that President Buhari inherited some of these security breaches from the previous administration while others arose from situations that were created and nurtured by past administration. He however owed it to Nigerians to address the problem because tackling insecurity was a major plank of the manifesto that got him elected for his first term.
While he did much to tame Boko Haram and other security threats in the first three year of his first term, the months leading to the election were harrowing for Nigerians because of noticeable degeneration in the security situation. This development was later discovered to have political undertones. The opposition was not successful in dissociating itself from sponsoring the security breaches in order to use them as campaign props against President Buhari. The Federal Government has, at the peak of electioneering, accused the opposition of contriving the security breaches.
President Buhari's victory in the election meant that the opposition, or those behind the security crisis, never bothered to deactivate or decommission the killer groups they unleashed on the country. Even if they had tried, like a golem, the killer groups had taken on lives of their own such that they would not heed the commands of their creators to demobilize. A new wave of security threats was this born, one that pro-opposition analysts had predicted would consume the Buhari presidency.
But in 100 days, President Buhari has proven that he is the master of restoring security even in the most hopeless of situations. Between being sworn in and now, he has been able to reel in the bandits, Boko Haram, high way kidnappers and diverse characters who had participated in the electoral process clandestinely were on the verge of by metamorphosing into higher levels of threats.
As it was in his first term, Mr President again relied on his trusted military chiefs to arrest the decline instigated by those that would rather see the country in tatters. But the military responded differently in proof that they have the capacity to respond to whatever mutations the sponsors of the security breaches decide to come up with.
The Nigerian Army, as usual, was able to promptly and effectively respond to the attempt to blanket the country in various forms of insecurity. As of the time of writing the bandits in the north-west of the country have been supressed below their pre-election activities, which was of course in conjunction with the governments of the affected states. Boko Haram had again been reduced to mostly operating from across international borders. Kidnappers have been arrested in high numbers while extremist elements have been kept off the streets.
Other services of the military, the Nigeria Police Force and Department of State Services (DSS) have all been brought into a collaborative effort that have put criminals in their place. They could make attempts to appear relevant but all such actions are met with the deserving response from the state. This has left little space for manipulated security breaches to grow in the country.
These concerted efforts at taming the security situation were not without resistance from those that created the crises in the first place. Each time the military makes progress against terrorists and bandits there were attempts to paint the government as being in the wrong. But President Buhari’s commitment to Nigerians and the security chiefs' dedication to their duty has ensured that there was no laxity in addressing the problems being created by the enemies of the country.
One must thus appeal to President Buhari with his security team not to slow down on the tempo that delivered this kind of improvement in a mere 100 days. If this much can be achieved in 100 days then one can imagine what would have been put in place in the next two years.
In conclusion, Nigerians must recognize that they have roles to play in scaling up the impressive results that have been recorded in these 100 days. The elections are over and the next three years plus should see us all tackling security challenges and other national issues as “a people” instead of dwelling on differences that have not done much to uplift the country in the past. President Buhari has done his part in taming insecurity and Nigerians must now do their own part by standing against those things and people that aggravate security breaches.


Ainoko wrote this piece from Kaduna.

Biafra: Lawyer files criminal complaint against Kanu at ICC, seeks arrest warrant


A criminal complaint has been lodged against the leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, at the International Criminal Court in Hague.

In the complaint, the ICC was also asked to order his arrest and prosecution.

Mr. Thomas Carroll of GAYLORD POPP, LLC, acting on behalf of the Incorporated Trustees of Make Nigeria Better Initiative (MNBI), in the criminal complaint dated 2nd September, 2019, said the IPOB issued a threat to attack President Mohammadu Buhari, during his visit to Japan to attend the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development, holding in the City of Yokohama, Japan from August 28-30, 2019.

According to MNBI, apart from the recent physical attack carried out by the group against former Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, by IPOB in Nuremberg, Germany, acting on the orders of the accused, similar threats have also been issued against the five south east governors, including Governors David Umahi of Ebonyi, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia and Willie Obiano of Anambra State.

IPOB also put on notice Ndigbo leaders such as the President-General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Nnia Nwodo, whom it accused of supporting “Operation Python Dance” which was launched by the Nigerian Army in the South-East in 2016 in the wake of protests by IPOB members who were causing havoc and forcefully demanding secession from Nigeria.

In the criminal complaint, MNBI prayed the court for the following request:

"That the ICC Prosecutor opens an investigation of the Accused on her own accord under Article 15 (1) of the Rome Statute;

" That the ICC Prosecutor also formally “submit to the Pre-Trial Chamber of the ICC a request for authorization of an investigation” of the Accused under Article 15 (3) of the Rome Statute;

"That the ICC Prosecutor obtain International Arrest Warrant for the Accused from the ICC in accordance with Articles 58 (1) (a), 58 (1) (b) (i), 58 (1) (b) (ii) and 58 (1) (b) (iii) and proceed to arrest the Accused from wherever he is hiding so he can face their trial.

"That the ICC Prosecutor compels the Accused upon conviction under the Rome Statute to pay the sum of $1,000,000,000 (One Billion US Dollars) as punitive damages for causing death, injury and maiming of several Nigerians through his acts of terrorism.

"That the ICC Prosecutor compels the British Government to expeditiously begin the process of cancelling the citizenship of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, entering an Exclusion Decision and or Order barring him from all territories of the United Kingdom so he can return to Nigeria and face his treasonable felony trial pending before Honourable Justice (Mrs.) Binta Nyako sitting at the Federal High Court, Abuja."

500 clerics storm Abuja for the grand finale of 40-days of deliverance prayer for Nigeria


Over 500 clerics from various religious faiths and ethnicity have assembled in Abuja for the grand finale of the 40 days’ prayer and fasting programme organized by The National Interfaith and Religious Organisations for Peace (NIFROP). This was contained in a statement by Sheik Ahmad Jibrin, a Co-Convener in Abuja.

The statement stated that the 500 clerics were drawn from all parts of Nigeria in solidarity of the initiative to pray and fast for the unity of Nigeria in this critical point of its existence.

“We have successfully come to the end of the 40 days’ prayer and fasting programme designed by the National Interfaith and Religious Organisations (NIFROP) to pray and fast for Nigeria for God to unite Nigerians in our quest for national unity.”

“The 40 days’ prayer and fasting programme was such a huge success in that Nigerians from all ethnic and religious affiliations gathered and prayed in one voice for Gods intervention against the evil plot by some enemies of Nigeria to see to the disintegration of the country.”

Sheik Ahmad Jibrin also stated that what Nigeria needs in this critical point of its existence was prayers and supplication to God for the grace for Nigerians to see that the myriads of challenges been experienced are the handiwork of distractors who are angry with the level of growth and development in the country in the past four years.

“We have prayed and fasted and the revelations we received are indicative of the fact that Nigeria shall experience and unimaginable level of unity now and in the years ahead.”

According to one of the clerics that came to Abuja for the grand finale of the 40 days’ prayers and fasting programme, Pastor Stephen Okwu, he stated that one of the reasons why they have agreed to converge for the grand finale was because of the multiple revelations on the need for all Nigerians regardless of ethnic or religious beliefs to come together and pray for Nigeria.

“We are convinced beyond doubt that God, in His infinite mercies, has indeed heard the cries of his children for people of diverse religious faiths to congregate and pray for the common good of the country. Those of us Christians, as well as our Muslim brothers and sisters, have constantly interacted and agreed in one voice to be a part of this historical event that the Lord Almighty in his infinite mercies has made to come to pass.”

in a similar vein, another cleric Imam Abdul Ibrahim also stated that the purpose of the gathering is to show solidarity to a noble cause towards ensuring the continued unity of Nigeria.

“The unity of Nigeria supersedes tribes and religion, and that is why you can see the large turnout of Muslims and Christians for the grand finale of the 40 days’ prayers and fasting programme in Abuja.”

“We see ourselves as Nigerians before our tribes and religions, and this is contrary to what the enemies of Nigeria want and Insha Allah they have been defeated by the large turnout of people drawn from various parts of Nigeria.”

“As you can see, the turnout is massive, and the composition is an indication that Nigerian clerics have indeed embraced this laudable initiative and that is why over 500 clerics have gathered here in Abuja.”

In his remark, Bishop Sunday Garuba, a co-convener of the 40 days’ prayer and fasting programme stated that the 40 days’ prayers and fasting programme are essentially to intercede on behalf of Nigeria for God to deliver the country from the evil that wants to see to its disintegration.

“The large turnout of clerics from all over Nigeria for the grand finale of the 40 days’ prayer and fasting programme is an indication that Nigerians have indeed have risen above religious sentiments to pray and fast for the unity of the country and to put to shame the evil plans of the enemies against the unity and progress of Nigeria.”

It would be recalled that the National Interfaith and Religious Organisations for Peace (NIFROP) commenced a 40 days’ program of fasting and prayers for the unity of Nigeria. The programme which is holding at the Unity Fountain in Abuja attracted Christian and Muslim faithful’s from across the country.

The event which ends on the 9th of September 2019 has so far attracted 500 clerics from various religious organizations as well as ethnicity across Nigeria to pray and fast for the unity of Nigeria.

*Boko Haram: Security expert writes Defence Minister on strategy to end terror*

....sues for more synergy with Service Chiefs

A respected security expert, Comrade Richards Murphy, believes a greater synergy between new Defence Minister Gen. Bashir Salihi Magashi (rtd) and the Service Chiefs is crucial in flushing away the last phase of insecurity in the country.

Mr Murphy made this known in a letter addressed to the Defence Minister on Wednesday.

According to the security expert, harmony among the military actors on the turf would lead to more sacrifices and result.

He further urged for improved and well-supervised budgetary allocation for the military to carter for troops’ welfare, particularly those in the frontline.

Mr Murphy reckoned the divisive roles played by disgruntled politicians in the opposition corner and former elder statesman such as T.Y Danjuma in fuelling the violence and killings.

As a competent and experienced performer, he, however, urged the minister to continue in his usual stride, especially after such massive trust by President Muhammadu Buhari.

My Honourable Minister, please I pledge your indulgence to permit me to warmly congratulate you on this new appointment as Nigeria's Political Chief of the Defence Ministry.

Sir, from my years of experience on security matters, I believe, His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari has made a proven and trusted choice in your appointment to lead a ministry. I consider it very sensitive to national interest that you are extremely burdened by the subsisting circumstances of the prevailing insecurity challenges assailing our cherished country to come to the rescue.

However, in spite of the enormity of the mandate of your present office, there is no modicum of reservation in me that stars shine everywhere. And I can vouch for your competence and experience as a performer whose vast knowledge has resolved the most complex of mysteries in the past, throughout your meritorious military career, until a blissful retirement.

The Hon. Minister, Sir, it's unnecessary to remind you about the magnitude of the insurgencies and insurrections, Nigeria is facing at the moment. I know, it's a knowledge on your fingertips. But let me bore you a little that from the mindset of Mr. President from the outset, he wants to deal the final lethal blow on Boko Haram terrorism and farmers/ herders crises in the country.

And Mr. President knows these twine insecurity threats to our beloved country, Nigeria would have been eclipsed long ago, assuming political leaders at the lower rung of power imbibed his disposition, absolute cooperation and hard work to collectively terminate these evil plots against our country.

Your appointment as Defence Minister therefore, stems from Mr. President's conviction that at this time of our political nay security challenges odd history, none can do the job better than you. We are honoured by this presidential trust in you!

And from my observation afar, your first few weeks of official outing, tells me lucidly that you do not only have proper grasp of the briefs of the mandate, but your first few official steps in this direction by visiting Nigerian troops in the frontline/ trenches of counter-insurgency in the Northeast have gladdened the hearts of many Nigerians.

I dare say, it is indisputably, your rare courageous expression of the courage and determination, Nigerians never saw in your predecessors. Everyone now knows, a new Sherrif is in town and the #NextLevel is consolingly impressive.

I want to encourage you,Sir, to continue with this spirit to blend the previously seeming gulf between the political and the Military leadership in the last phase of routing out Boko Haram terrorism from the shores of Nigeria.

And may I quickly remind you that with another competent solder, someone, I admire so much, like the COAS and Leader of the counter-insurgency operations, Lt. Gen. TY Buratai, with same proclivity with you, I foresee the final end to these endemic crises. This synergy is what Nigeria needs now to terminate the most troubling crises to the federation.

Both of you have shown me a remarkable and credible departure from the "big men" or leaders we know, who despite the urgency of work at hand, sit back in their Abuja's cosy offices to dread gunfire in the fields, but relish the paraphernalia of office. Such posture was far detached from subordinate leaders on counter-insurgency, untill there is a presidential order to relocate to the theatre of war with insurgents. Sir, this is the right path that you have chosen!

Gen. Buratai particularly is a leader, I have sensed is personally committed to ending terrorism and weird insurrections in our country. I have never seen a COAS who dares all odds to wear his war boots and jumps into the trenches with troops to battle insurgents. He does it in rare areas of troops heated battles with insurgents like Gwoza or Bama, and so on.

Let me remind you that Nigerians passionately appreciate the immense contributions of the Nigerian Military particularly the excellent job which Mr. President has been devoting time, energy and national resources to do for the liberation of our country from insecurity threats. No Nigerian democratic political leader has come this far in tackling our security challenges or securing our lives than Buhari.

Again, Sir, with you pairing with another crack soldier, like Gen. Buratai in spirit, determination, courage and commitment to timely end senseless killings in Nigeria, you must prioritize and untie the political knots which strangulate financial operations in the Northeast and elsewhere soldiers are involved on special Internal Security (IS) assignments. Indeed, I appeal to you that whenever budgeted funds for defence and security ought to function, there should be no delay.

We know security of lives and property of a nation needs urgent attention like a pregnant woman trapped at home by labour pains in the middle of the night. As political head of Nigeria's Defence architecture, please, ensure defence budgets are insulated from bereaucratic bottlenecks and released to appropriate security authorities instantaneously to serve the purpose for which tax payers monies are approved by the National Parliament.

Sir, may I plead again that you must be in constant and consistent contact with your Finance counterpart Minister to see that budgeted security releases are made as early as possible to carter for troops’ welfare, particularly in the frontline and also, other expenses on security emergencies. I do know you understand that where national security is involved, all bereaucratic hurdles are dismantled instantly. Please be constantly alert Sir!

Furthermore, I am encouraged to advise you on what others reading this open epistle may consider extraneous, but I feel, it's necessary. It escapes or rather beclouds most occupants of your office.

I hinted earlier about the unnecessary persistence of the bad omen on insecurity. It is Boko Haram crisis in Nigeria and the ferocious insurrections crippling development in our country under the Buhari Presidency. It's because of the political and personalised interests of some evil Nigerians who sponsor as well as profit from the instigated violence and killings.

I suspect top politicians, some of whom have lost out so terribly in popular, electoral contest against the candidature of President Buhari or irreconciliably against his Presidency are the masked brains behind these violence and killings to discredit his Government.

Please, Sir, it is now your official responsibility, as political ombudsman of Nigeria's Defence Ministry to scout for these personalities and define political solutions or strategies to ensure, the Nation's security agencies are not involved in unnecessary bickering with political actors whose major aim is targeted at either Mr. President or Security Chiefs.

Its not too good that Nigeria, a country facing very dire insecurity threats would have it's heads of security agencies at the topmost echelon bickering in public glare over a misunderstanding. It should not be allowed to degenerate to the extent they have not only become the laughing stock of themselves, but the whole world. I don't find this comfortable and you must put an end to it, Sir!

Also, whilst approaching this delicate issue, you must also clandestinely identify cheap or mighty actors, with selfish political goals in their local domains. They should not be blessed to be larger than the federation of Nigeria, which we have all consented, right from our forefathers to geographically co-exist in peace and harmony.

Hon Minister, Sir, I plead with you to also extend same to other Nigerian leaders that this is the only right time to hold Nigeria and Nigerians together as one indivisible entity for present generation and posterity.

I have to remind you of this missing fraternal gap and plead for your intervention because elder statesmen like Gen. TY Danjuma and others, who are angry with Mr. President on a personal political relationship at one end, show us ethnic bigotry at another end in vain attempts to demonize the Nigerian Army. And it is done in the manner Gen. Danjuma brazenly did earlier in the year when he passed unstatesmanly remarks at the first convocation of the Taraba State University, Jalingo, indicting the Army.

Sir, it's your responsibility to now oversee to a conclusive harmony of Nigeria on security matters. So, working on a day to day synergy with military and political actors on the turf is imperative between you and your compatriots who are still in uniform or retired.

I believe, your personalistic humility in reaching out to these actors, devoid of pride and in your usual nationalistic passion would really teach them the virtues of sacrifices for the nation, as against egoistic self-serving motives.

Sir, lastly, it's now on your table to look at the herders/farmers’ crisis from a more strategic and all- inclusive strategy for Nigeria to overcome it. Please, do not allow desperate sabs or same underground or veiled forces to taint Mr. President’s image with such crisis. I know, you have the remedy to these conflicts.

Sir, i wish you the very best in your newest national assignment. Please, extend my warm regards and gratitude to the troops on the battlefield. Please, Sir, tell our gallant troops, Nigerians are with them in soul and spirit.

Buratai And Nigerian Army’s Super Camp Strategy

By Usman Jega

"Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to get to bastards who started it. The quicker they are whipped; the quicker we can go home."
---Gen. George Smith Patton Jr; a Commander of the United States Seventh Army in the Mediterranean theater of World War II, following the D-Day in 1944.

I beg to be pardoned, if indeed what anybody would glance now hurts some feelings. But as Nigerians, we have lived under the spell of Boko Haram terrorism for years. We have seen the worst of insurgency in the country.

At certain points and precisely before the advent of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, insurgency was on the verge of completely obliterating Nigeria. The soothsayers prophesied it. And the executioners went to task and mindlessly executed it.

Ears heard the giggling nasty sounds of the consuming danger. Eyes sighted it's raging fury and wickedness. Blood spilled recklessly and endlessly, sucking the land in uncontrollable tears.

With chained feet and spirit, leadership was weak at all levels to interrogate insurgency. We all shrunk before the atrocious audacity of Boko Haram terrorists. And there was no pretenses about it.

In fairness to my conscience, I won't say insurgency has ended in Nigeria. But anyone, within or outside Nigeria, who says the sparking and consuming fire of insurgency has not been substantially blighted in the country today, under the Buhari Presidency, may with gusto challenge Amighty God to a fisticuffs on who owns the universe.

Why have I strayed this far into such poetic renditions? I need to be excused because sometimes, and in the course of introspection, I blame my extreme curiosity.

But my curiosity to monitor the progression of Boko Haram and the efforts of Nigerian Government's in terminating a menacing scourge, I stumbled over something interesting. A foreign news channel, TV DW News played online a synopsis and video clip of a documentary done on Boko Haram activities in the Northeast, particularly in Monguno, Borno state, as latest as August 26, 2019.

It had the caption; "Nigerians flee from Boko Haram to town of Monguno." I got curiouser. The brief words of summary said;

"As northeastern Nigeria continues to suffer under the conflict with the terror group Boko Haram, tens of thousands of people have sought shelter in the town of Monguno, where a military base provides little protection, and food and water are scarce."

I also took time to listen to the video clip, expecting to hear something really frightening. But I got nothing! The visiting reporter really did a poor job of his assignment either out of deliberate negligence or mischief. I sensed him desperately, but fruitlessly attempting to amplify the tempo of a considerably waned crisis! He just had nothing in the report, but speculated abundantly on it's rising tempo.

I caught the foreign reporter with a first lie! What struck instantly was that the report was cast in a manner, erroneously conveying a message to someone unfamiliar with Boko Haram operations in the Northeast Nigeria to think, Monguno where fleeing natives took refuge was outside of Nigeria. But it was far from it.

Monguno is indeed in Nigeria's Borno state, the former hub of Boko Haram terrorism. TV DW News reporter didn't know they could not have approached the same town before october 2015 to package their self- betraying report on "raging" insurgency in Nigeria.

It became clear to me, the nest of interests in pleasured by a festering insurgency in Nigeria activated it's cyberspace terrorism prowess. I laughed at them a dozen times because it was apparent they took for granted, the impact the COAS and emperor of the counter-insurgency operations in Nigeria, Lt. Gen. TY Buratai had done in the Northeast. Like the proverbial African cat, Gen. Buratai has nine lives.

The counter-insurgency leader's brain consistently kicks with burstling ideas, strategies and tactics. Buratai has stepped out again against the enemy; but this time, propelled and prodded to action by Sun Tzu's wisdom as enunciated in the Art of War thus;

"If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him... Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected."

Like Gen. George S. Patton echoed, Gen. Buratai has taken insurgents by surprise by launching the Super Camp Strategy against terrorists in the final phase of routing out Boko Haram. He has exported the counter-insurgency operations to the doorsteps of insurgents or enemies irrespective of wherever they are found in the Northeast.

Boko Haram insurgents know exactly the fresh trouble this strategy embodies , added to the ongoing clearance operations. Sounds of Boko Haram bomb blasts are now hardly heard, even in the obscure parts of Northeast.

Gen Buratai is famed for his competence to decode the strategies of the enemy and engage in counter strategies that weaken the war adversaries of Nigeria. Boko Haram knows it has found a good match at home in Gen. Buratai and the Nigerian troops. And this leader of counter-insurgency is not prepared to fail his country. He pressures and conquers.

It's now clear to all discerning eyes that like the American George S. Patton, the leader of the counter-insurgency operations in Nigeria, Gen. Buratai wants a quick end to the war against Boko Haram terrorism. And he knows, the quickest way to do it is by taking the battle to terrorists. Therefore, terrorists camps in the Northeast are in complete disarray as troops give insurgents hot chase in their obscure hideouts.

Jega wrote this piece from Abuja.

*Xenophobia: Amnesty berates South Africa, Ramaphosa’s poor handling of obligations to foreigners*

....seeks prosecution at ICC

A London-based civil society group, Global Amnesty Watch (GAW), has called out South Africa president, Cyril Ramaphosa, over his sluggish handling of xenophobic attacks in the country.

In a statement signed by Head of Africa Affairs, John Tom Leva, on Wednesday in London, United Kingdom, to address “xenophobic anti-foreigners attacks on nationals of other African state”, the group was critical of the rainbow nation's poor handling of obligations to foreigners.

According to the group, the perpetrators carry out these devilish act with a level of confidence that SA government is sympathetic and conscious of their activities.

The Global Amnesty Watch, however, urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to hold Ramaphosa liable for the failure of his country’s security agencies to rise up to their responsibility of protecting lives and properties.

The GAW therefore called on the African Union and the United Nations to weigh in, imposing targeted sanctions on the “specific persons that have responsibility for preventing the horrific events of this nature”.

Read full press statement below

Global Amnesty Watch (GAW), like the rest of the world has watched aghast as some xenophobic South African launched unprovoked attacks on nationals of other countries that are resident in South Africa.

We have taken time to observe these attacks, whose pattern suggest that the perpetrators have a level of confidence that their government is sympathetic to the crimes they are committing against humanity under the guise of taking action against migrants. Our team of researchers have observed patterns that are more disturbing than the attacks themselves.

The attacks are not being carried out randomly by criminals or drug addicts. Almost all the instances involved attacks that were well planned and executed, often involving the participation of entire communities.

There is a pattern of looting and invasion of homes and businesses, which suggests that the xenophobic South Africans behind these attacks had always coveted the assets and property of their victims.

The police and other security agencies in South Africa have practically sided with the xenophobic attackers. Instances where they stayed aloof while Nigerians, Zimbabweans, Malawians and others are killed while in some instances they gave active support to the attackers.

Much as the world labelled these attacks as xenophobic in nature GAW has noted an element of terrorism in the instances where the attackers created videos of their attacks, publish them online and go out of their way in order to cause maximum terror and fear in the heart of migrants.

The response of the South African government, considering the history of xenophobia in that country, has not been encouraging; there is a lethargy on the part of the government in ordering law enforcement to arrest and prosecute offenders. As conspiratorial as it sounds, there are concerns that the South African Government is allowing the attacks so that the jobs and businesses that would be left behind by terrorized migrants (mostly legal and documented migrants) would help to it to reduce the unemployment figures of the country.

The attacks in South Africa are beginning to spawn retaliatory attacks in the countries’ whose nationals are being killed in South Africa, notably Nigeria.

Global Amnesty Watch condemns the senseless attacks on Nigerians and citizens of other countries resident in South Africa. The attacks are barbaric and stand against the spirit of Africa integration that generations of visionary continental leaders have been pursuing as exemplified in an organization like the African Union (AU).

To the extent that the South African government allowed the attacks to go on for so long without taking appreciable steps to stop them, we urge the International Criminal Court (ICC) to hold President Cyril Ramaphosa vicariously liable for the failure of his country’s security agencies to rise up to their responsibility of protecting nationals of other countries who are in South Africa.

GAW calls on the AU and the United Nations to weigh in on the situation by imposing targeted sanctions on the specific persons that have responsibility for preventing the horrific events of this nature from happening but failed to prevent them. All African countries are by the same token advised to sever all relations with South Africa until it demonstrates stronger commitment to rein in the murderous population of its nationals. This should include a continent-wide boycott of South African product and services until the country, its government and nationals become responsible.

The Government of Nigeria must immediately begin implementing long term measures towards a large-scale relocation of Nigerian businesses in South Africa to Nigeria since historical records show that these xenophobic attacks have worsened in frequency and intensity. The projection is that the situation will only grow worse over the coming years as South African grapples with their government’s bad choices and the laziness that has prevented them from thriving under the same conditions that migrants became prosperous.

We sympathize with the families that have been bereaved, lost businesses or forced to flee their homes because of the attacks. We encourage such families and victims of the attacks to step forward to document their experiences, which would form the bases of the petition to be sent to the ICC.

By Okanga Agila


A lot has been said about the exploits of the Nigerian Army in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria. While some have questioned its operational effectiveness, some have also praised it to high heavens. In my opinion, those that have had reasons to question the operational efficiency of the Nigerian Army did so on reasons best known to them. Also, those that have praised the operational effectiveness of the Nigerian Army did so based on what it is they have seen by making a comparison with what it was in times past and what it is now.

I belong to that school of thought that is full of praises for the Nigerian Army not just in the fight against terrorism in North-East Nigeria, but for how it has been able to handle its military operations simultaneously across the country. In the North and the East, South, and West, the presence of the Nigerian Army is felt.

This brings to the issue of leadership and the critical role it has played in the fight against terrorism and other militant groups in Nigeria. According to one of the celebrated war strategist of all time and author of the book ‘Art of War’ Sun Tzu, “the general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.”

This is one attribute of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai that I have in numerous forays tried to bring to the front burner for Nigerians to indeed understand and appreciate the sacrifices that have gone into winning the war against terrorism and other militant groups in Nigeria. He is indeed the jewel of the kingdom because if the territorial integrity of Nigeria is questioned, then there would be no country.

For me, no matter what anyone thinks, there has been a substantial difference in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria since 2015. This much was corroborated in many quarters and also coupled with the fact that no Nigerian territory is under the control of Boko Haram terrorist anymore. How was this possible you might want to ask? It’s simply leadership. We must admit the role of sound leadership in all human endeavours. And the operations of the Nigerian Army are not an exception to the impact or effect of good leadership in its operational outcomes.

Just like Sun Tzu, stated, ‘the general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom’ and this is the case of Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai if you ask me. He has been bold to admit and strategize at the same time. He is not one that would only churn out commands. He is involved most times in the execution of these commands as evident in the numerous instances where you can’t but find him in the trenches, either reviewing with his commanders or feasting with his soldiers in an attempt to provide that psychological boost that they require to keep the fire burning.

I recall on one of the occasions of an event where Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai spoke extensively about his vision and mission for the Nigerian Army. He was concise in his words and also sincere in its delivery. I recall that three years down the line, he has been able to match his words with action. The promises he made has been religiously fulfilled to the extent that I wondered how he was able to do some of the things he does. However, again, I am reminded by Sun Tzu that ‘thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory: (1) He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight. (2) He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces. (3) He will win whose Army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks. (4) He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared. (5) He will win who has the military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.” All of these have been systematically incorporated in the operations of the Nigerian Army I must add, and the number three quote says it all about how Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai has been able to turn a once disillusioned Nigerian Army notorious for making retreats instead of advancing in the fight against Boko Haram terrorist to a robust and strategic Nigerian Army that has indeed taken the battle to the Boko Haram terrorist.

This is because the same zeal and commitment exhibited by the Chief of Army Staff are the same displayed across the ranks in the Nigerian Army which has ultimately translated to what is now recorded as the successes of the Nigerian Army in the fight against terrorism and other militant groups in Nigeria.

We must admit that since 2015, the successes recorded by the Nigerian Army has conformed with the promise made by the Chief of Army Staff that never again would the territorial integrity of Nigeria be threatened. The question is, has he kept this promise to Nigeria? The answer is yes. This is on the heels that since the present administration came on board in 2015 and the subsequent appointment of the service chiefs, Nigerians have indeed had a reason to sleep well, especially those of us resident in the federal capital territory, who were once under constant attack from Boko Haram terrorist.

It is instructive to state that since 2015, the federal capital territory has not experienced any Boko Haram threat. This is no mean feat; it just tells of how the Chief of Army Staff has been able to match words with actions and how he has been able to carry all along in the quest to keep Nigeria safe and secured. This, in my opinion, is explained by a quote by Sun Tzu, wherein he stated that ‘regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.’

This has been one of the strategies employed by the Chief of Army Staff, and it has yielded tremendous success as regards the war against terrorism in Nigeria. Also, it is instructive to add that Boko Haram terrorist has not been able to spread their tentacles to other parts of Nigeria; instead their remnants have been confined to the fringes of the Lake Chad Basin region.

I think at this point and with the way and manner Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai has carried on since 2015, military historians in Nigeria are duty-bound to document his exploits to serve as reference material in the future. For me, the summation of Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai’s leadership of the Nigerian Army is that of a promise kept and still counting.


Okanga, a traditional warrior wrote this piece from Agila, Benue State.

By Comrade Oladimeji Odeyemi.


It may not have undergone the processes of research, but the maxim that a country's military is next to her economy is a verifiable fact that needs no research-based evidence, at least in Nigeria.

Across the globe, countries pay significant attention to their military as the last line of defence for survival and peaceful existence. As they say, safety first before anything.

For the Chief of Army Staff of the Nigerian Army, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai, a secured Nigeria from the West to East, South and the North is what he apparently sleeps, eat and walk. What a fixated burden!

As Nigeria's number one soldier, General Buratai takes singular fulfillment in ensuring that his officers and men, especially those in the frontline of war have an unfettered commitment to the cause they are fighting for the country.

Without any prejudice, human beings are naturally forgetful especially when the pains and cries of yesterday are gone. That is why those of us with a mark of recap must not hesitate to compare and contrast. A flashback to the periods between year 2013 to 2015 and how the country was on the brinks with Boko Haram insurgents claiming territories and establishing caliphates is one that should not be left out in the general analysis of war against terror in Nigeria.

A review of that period of Armageddon which lasted till 2015 indicated that the Military commanders then, didn’t understand what they were confronted with, and that gave the Boko Haram fighters the impetus to unleash terror in unimaginable quantum.

From a culture of stealing Military funds, stealing funds meant for procurement of arms and equipment , from a ragtag army with no logistics back-up. General Tukur Buratai simply put himself in the place of his soldiers, feeling their pain as his pain, knowing their needs as his needs — He wasn't the boss who stayed to far from his troops, he lived among them.

However, left and right, one can see the futile laborious efforts of some ignorant and unpatriotic people aiming to diminish the laudable impacts of the counter-terrorism operations under the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, through the commanding heights and ingenuity of Lieutenant General Buratai, a military leader, strategist and tactician.



Of course, one may pardon their ignorance and partisan views, but it will be criminal to let the misinformation pass without addressing them. It is, however, cheering to know that many Nigerians, especially those whose the professionalism and patriotism of the Nigerian Army has positively rubbed on, would have nothing to say about the leadership of General Buratai, but Gracias!



When General Tukur Buratai was appointed the COAS in July 2015 by President Buhari, he promised to make a difference in the counter-terrorism operations; he vowed to defeat Boko Haram insurgents, reclaim all seized territories and free Nigerians held hostage by terrorists. He gave Nigerians timelines to execute his assignment and has religiously complied with it. Today, we sit here to savour a greater freedom from these demonic forces who were gradually making inroads to the nation’s capital city, Abuja, before being cut to size by General Buratai and his gallant soldiers.



Although he is gentle officer, General Buratai has been brutal on Boko Haram and bandits, and in the history of the Nigerian Army , he is a man with many ‘firsts' . It was under his leadership that the Nigerian Army gets it own prestigious University.



In addition to the establishment of this University , the Nigerian Army under General Buratai’ s command do not take for granted the training and re-training of its personnel.



They have expanded their in-theater training for troops in the frontlines to afford them the required capabilities to operate and conduct effective operations. Special attention was also given to providing local and foreign training opportunities for all cadre of officers and soldiers.



The nations' territorial integrity, particularly along our land borders has not been breached unlike what was obtainable before now . The Nigerian Army continually maintained a posture to defend Nigeria’s territorial rights and Interests.



General Buratai understands the power of unity and that is why he maintained a robust security relations with the neighboring countries of Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republic in the fight against the ISWA which is terrorising all the aforementioned countries. Together they have achieved tremendous success of decimation of the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist group.





General Buratai’s core values that emanated from professionalism and responsiveness included training, regimentation, welfare, operational exigencies, logistics, inter-agency cooperation and observance of human rights.



On human rights, the Nigerian Army under Buratai, has experience a marked departure from its past rocky relationship with human rights bodies, but now engage them as partners rather than rivals in the internal security operations of the Country . The Army leadership has been able to close the gap with the civil populace, human rights agencies and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).



Also lauded by Nigerians are the Nigerian Army open dialogue with human rights and legal bodies like the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Amnesty International (AI), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA).







At some point in the life of the current Army leadership, General Buratai’s vision at improving the institution’s image led to the establishment of Human Rights Desk under the Department of Civil/Military Affairs (CMA) , the desk was instituted to investigate all cases of human rights violations involving the army.



The leadership of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Tukur Yusufu Buratai, also received ovations from Nigerians when it reabsorbed some dismissed soldiers and officers accused of acts of cowardice amongst others by a previous court-martial.





The Nigerian Army under General Buratai is witnessing a lot of reorganization and redeployment in a bid to improve their overall operational responsiveness and professionalism. The Chief of Army Staff regularly approved the redeployment of field and operational commanders in order to inject new ideas in the command and control structure in various operations across the country.



The provision of adequate healthcare to personnel and their families has continued to remain one of General Buratai’s priorities. Many officers, soldiers and their family members have benefited in the Nigerian Army Medical Evacuation both within and outside the Country.



General Buratai Enhanced innovation and partnerships in the defence industry have also encouraged and supported all officers and soldiers who have innovative ideas and competencies.

It has also resumed full collaboration with the Defence Industries Coorporation (DICON) for needed parts and small arms and ammunition.



Similarly, the Nigerian Army is partnering with several companies in Nigeria including Innoson Motors, Proforce Limited and Nigeria Machine Tools, among others, towards the production of light and heavy armoured vehicles, critical equipment as well as protective clothing for the troops.

These collaborations have led to the development of the TYB Rover, Infantry Patrol Vehicle (IPV) and the Bionbion Helicopter, among several other equipment.



The Army also engaged some foreign technical companies and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) to help in the repair and refurbishing of some of the heavier and more delicate platforms.

A number of new developments that have taken place includes : The establishment of the Nigerian Army Women Corps (NAWC) to develop female officers and soldiers that can be employed in all operational engagements of the Army.



It is equally worth of note, the establishment of the first ever Cyber Command. The Command which has been effectively tackling the fake news against the Army, the country and secure the cyber domain from hostile elements.





While not pushing a picture of perfection because every human being have their ups and downs, it is, however, established that the Army Chief, within a short period of time has been able to galvanized and lead a relatively discouraged and unmotivated soldiers that he inherited to a veritable team of patriotic officers who are now willing to put all they have in defence of the county and her territory.

Clearly, the genuine intentions of Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai and his unalloyed commitment in the war against terrorism in Nigeria, has reignited a true Nigerian spirit. For this, all and sundry must doff their hats for him and all the gallant troops fighting day and night to keep Nigeria secure. But as they say, the reward for hardwork is more work.



This article was contributed by Comrade Oladimeji Odeyemi, a security analyst and a counter terrorist expert. He is the Convener of the Coalition of Civil Society Groups against Terrorism in Nigeria.

Understanding Nigerian Army Super Camp Strategy

By Anthony Kolawole

I have always admired the operational strategy of the Nigerian Army in the war against Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist in North East Nigeria despite the criticism it has received in some quarters in recent times. In my opinion, the bulk of the criticisms were not grounded in facts, but on assumptions and illogical conclusions.

If one flashes back to the periods between 2013 to 2015 and how the country was on the brinks with Boko Haram insurgents claiming territories and establishing caliphates, we would understand how effective the counter-insurgency operations have been post 2015. However, again, this is understandable because we are in a country where everybody is an expert even on issues they are ignorant about.

That no territory in Nigeria is under the control of Boko Haram terrorists is no mean feat for those of us that under the dynamics involved in warfare. Not to talk of asymmetric warfare. Some of us that are schooled in the art of war as propounded by Sun Tzu, the great Chinese war veteran would readily understand and appreciate the efforts of the Nigerian Army in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria since 2015.

As a start, Guerrilla warfare as described by Sun Tzu in ‘The Art of War’ is characterized by repeated surprise attacks and efforts to limit movement of enemy troops. This is very instructive because the Boko Haram war in North-East Nigeria is such that epitomizes what Sun Tzu describes as sabotage, ambushes, and surprise raids on unsuspecting military targets, often fighting in their homeland and the use of their familiarity with the local landscape and terrain to their advantage.

This was what has been the case since 2009, when the Boko Haram violent campaign started in Nigeria. But ironically, the military commanders then didn’t understand what they were confronted with, and as such the Boko Haram fighters gained advantage and unleased terror in unimaginable quantum. So much so that we feared that Armageddon had befallen Nigeria. However, all of these has changed with the new realization by the military authorities on the dynamics involved in the war and the subsequent deployment of what I would call a Super Camp strategy in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria.

I am fascinated by the super camp strategy concept because it in itself gives the Nigerian Army a psychological advantage, and this advantage has yielded the much-needed results in the war against terrorism in Nigeria. For emphasis sake, the Nigerian Army Super Camp Strategy involves two critical components. One is taking the fight to the enemies in their domains as against what was obtainable in the past where troops would wait for Boko Haram terrorist to bring the battle to them. The second component involves a routine introduction of counter-insurgency strategies that always takes the Boko Haram fighters unawares. This is legendary.

This much has been the focal footprints of the Nigerian Army, and little wonder why they have been able to record tremendous success in the war against terrorism in Nigeria. A good example can be found in the recent success recorded by the Nigerian Army on routine patrol along Monguno-Mairari-Gajiram axis in the North-East Nigeria, where heavy casualties were inflicted on Boko Haram terrorist and scores of weapons and ammunition recovered.

We must learn to call a spade a spade in Nigeria regarding the war against terrorism. We must admit that a lot has changed since the advent of the present administration and with the current service chiefs that have indeed led by example. I also beg to add that special recognition goes to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai under whose leadership the Nigerian Army has been able to make tremendous progress. For those that still have a reason to doubt the effectiveness of the operational strategies of the Nigerian Army, they are probably out for mischief or are sponsored elements contracted to cry wolf where non exist.

Back to the crux of this piece, which is the Super Camp Strategy. This is a unique one that should be commended by every discerning mind. This is especially so because the threat hitherto posed by Boko Haram terrorist has been effectively contained so much so that what is now left is clearance operations as what is being experienced in recent times. This much was confirmed by Colonel Sagir Musa, the acting director of Army Public Relations wherein he stated that Boko Haram terrorists and other radicals have suffered heavy casualties as troops of the Nigerian Army continue to dominate the theatre of war, causing remnants of Boko Haram terrorists devastating consequences.

I could not agree less with him because as one conversant with the happenings in the theatre of operations in North-East Nigeria I say in unequivocal terms that the activities of the Nigerian Army have been such a huge success. So I can’t but give credit to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai whose leadership strides has impacted positively on the troops in the theatre of war in North-East Nigeria. This is also with the fact that we have witnessed situations where Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai has been seen in the trenches with his troops in the battlefront and providing that psychological boost as well.

This, in my opinion, speaks of Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai as a war strategist that deploys Intelligence, Credibility, Humaneness, Courage, and Discipline in leading the war against terrorism in Nigeria. According to Sun Tzu, if leaders are to succeed, their competence must permeate every aspect of their work. Their technical proficiency must also conform to or exceed expectations. Sun Tzu also stated that leaders must demonstrate respect for those with whom they interact. This applies to subordinates, peers, and competitors, leaders must project decisiveness and courage in the face of challenges. Also, to prepare their forces for all tactical contingencies that may arise in the field of battle.

I must indeed confess that Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai has displayed an unalloyed commitment in the war against terrorism in Nigeria. The above-listed attributes are indeed a demonstration of the true Nigerian spirit. And we must in this instance doff our hats for him and all the gallant troops fighting day and night to keep Nigeria free from the clutches of Boko Haram terrorists.

Kolawole PhD, a University teacher wrote this article from Keffi.

*God has put Nigeria's enemies to shame, declares Cleric at 40- Inter- Faith prayers for Nigeria*

The National Inter-Faith and Religious Organisation for Peace (NIFROP) says the enemies of Nigeria's peaceful co-existence, unity and tranquillity have been put to shame by its prayers and supplication.

The inter-religious faith group is currently undergoing an intensive 40-day fasting and prayer at the Unity Fountain for the country's deliverance from the spirit of disunity.

In an address by its National President, Bishop Sunday Garuba, on Monday, the group reckoned it seemed as though these adversaries were succeeding with the spate of terrorism, banditry, kidnappings, robberies, ethnic strife and other negative occurrences.

They admitted that the blood of those unjustly killed by people that seek personal profits from all manners of evil cried for vengeance and almost ruined the nation.

However, with the timely intervention of the Inter-Faith group, there's hope for Nigeria, a promise of renewal and rebirth.

According to Bishop Garuba, “God has placed an army of host permanently on standby to frustrate their plans and bring their evil expectations to nought.”

The cleric added that peace is returning to Nigeria, noting that the killer herdsmen are now being exposed, political backers are no longer a mystery while bandits have opened up about what was at the root of the death campaign.

The Inter-Faith group therefore called on Nigerians not to wary or faint, sustaining the same momentum as the county is on the right path to greatness.

Read full statement below

May the peace of God abide with us all at all times. We want to start by thanking brethren that have kept the faith since we began this 40-days of intercession, fasting and prayers to deliver our dear country, Nigeria, from the spirit of disunity.

The period preceding this programme was one of heightened tension, uncertainty, fear and apprehension that our God given country was on the path to falling off the cliff. They were dark days in need of the light that only God can shine on dismal situations. The despondency that blanketed the nation was understandable as most of us feared that the spate of terrorism, banditry, kidnappings, robberies, ethnic strife, increasing incidents of suicides and other negative occurrences meant that the enemies of Nigeria were succeeding.

We thank God that as believers we did not become fixated on our own abilities and wisdom but that we rather resort to God our creator by way of the 40-Days of fasting and prayer centred here at Unity Square in Abuja while brethren were encouraged to intercede on behalf of the country from whatever part of the world they may be. We made that commitment to stand in the space on behalf of Nigeria while pleading for mercy for the things that might have been done wrong in the country in the past and for peace and prosperity to return to the land of our fathers.

In the course of our intercession, we have been led in the spirit to realize that there are yokes to be broken for the captives to be set free. We therefore pleaded for God to break these yokes. We broke the bondage that the country has been put into by the inordinate ambition of men who tainted the land with the blood of the innocent, the blood that cry for vengeance because they were unjustly killed by people that seek personal profits from all manners of evil. We have destroyed the shackles and fetters put on the nation by those that had no qualms handing the country over to the devil in exchange for selfish gains.

Even for those that had consistently prophesied doom into the future of our nation we received a new message from the Most High. As we waited on God we were given the prophecy of hope, a message of renewal and a promise of rebirth. We are now confident that in whatever form the evil ones rise against the country the God has placed an army of host permanently on standby to frustrate their plans and bring their evil expectations to nought. They shall plot evil for the country and have it manifest only in their own lives. Our dear country will only grow from strength to strength and from glory to glory.

Brethren, within days of starting the fasting and prayer programme, we began to see manifestation of the power of God as we experience the signs and wonder that point to the fact that we are beginning to overcome the demon of division amongst us. It all started with one incident after the other that expose those behind the confusion, violence and deaths in the land. Incidents that once appeared spontaneous suddenly begin to appear in different light that clearly exposed the persons behind them.

Peace is returning to Nigeria. The killer herdsmen are now being exposed to be herders of evil from all ethnic configurations across the country, who have no animal to pasture but are rather intent on exploiting that identity to conceal their evil enterprise. The political backers of such criminals have also been exposed such that we now know that some of them are sponsored purely to cause a sense of insecurity. Even the Ohaneze Ndigbo President has confessed that some of his members are committing crimes and alleging that others are involved.

The so called terrorists have also been exposed as the employees of certain interests that are bent on destroying the country. They have with their own mouth begin to recount how they are being sponsored to cause bloodbath to justify the false claims being made by these sponsors. These confessions have proven useful for the military to hunt down the ones that have refused to repent and embrace peace.

The bandits have opened up about what was at the root of the campaign of death they waged in the north-west of the country. Again, it is disheartening that their evil behaviour was directly tied to the actions and activities of certain people, who ordinarily should have been working for the improvement of the lives of the masses.

Our prayers and fasting have brought positive development in the fight against kidnapping. In the period since we began, the workings of kidnap gangs and their extensive network that span across the security agencies have been exposed and major arrests made. We are now assured that even more networks that operate in the dark will soon be burnt as the light of God burns brighter to expose and destroy the evil in our land. We are seeing more results as more kingpins in the kidnappers’ food chain are being arrested as opposed to only apprehending low level operatives. Large caches of arms are also being retrieved from these criminals.

We have in the same period seen that God is not limited by space and distance because even the criminal financial networks that are used to finance some of these evils were busted in far away United States of America. The people who had been stealing from others to finance terrorists have been exposed and have now been arrested. We thank God that were never for once misled into envying their false lifestyles but that we rather waited on the Lord for all our needs.

Our thanks to God for these breakthrough in such a short space of time are limitless. We will now devote the days ahead to thanking God for the turn around going on in the country even as we pray that the Lord will perfect that which he has started. We are confident that more of those carrying out evil against Nigeria will be exposed until there shall be none of the them left to trouble the country. We also pray that the spirit of God should arrest any new plans being hatched to resume the commission of these evil acts.

Brethren, God has given us victory on the spiritual front; we must now as a people affirmatively take steps that will ensure that we win the battles against disunity on the human front. Those that precipitated these problems did so to cause division among us as citizens of a country, it is now up to us to work on uniting ourselves now that the enemies of the country have been put to shame. The demons of division and disunity have been banished from among us and we must do everything to make sure they do not return to torment the people of God.

We appeal to you brethren not to give up praying. We must in the same way not relent in praising and thanking God for what he has done, what he is doing and what he will do concerning the peace and prosperity of Nigeria.
It shall be well with us.

The Fall of Nnamdi Kanu, Season 4

By Abiodun Israel

When ex-Presidential aide, Reno Omokri said Nnamdi Kanu’s mouth will kill him not many Nigerians took him seriously. Omokri must have thought he was being predictive or prophetic but he never knew he was attempting to prevent a fractured pottery from falling; it did not matter. Even as at the time the ex-presidential aide made the glaring prediction, Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has proven to be a disaster that happened long ago. The only thing that would have prevented the disgrace he faces today was if his mother had miscarried at his conception. Short of that the IPOB leader was born destined to end in infamy.


Interestingly, Omokri is someone known for his pointless ripostes; he comments on issues that even a mentally limited person will be wise to keep quiet over. From all indications, he seems to know Kanu better than any other Nigerian, kindred spirit in the business of irresponsible loquaciousness. But it all ends there. The spin doctor is not in the business of sending young people to confront military Armored Personnel Carriers with crude weapons. That is suicide mission, the kind Kanu has committed to sending his people on in the recent years that he has been in the business of extorting his kinsmen with a fraudulent claim of working to restore the defunct Biafra republic.

Had Kanu remained in the United Kingdom and not returned to Nigeria in October of 2015, he might perhaps have retained the aura of a charismatic leader that once surrounded him. In between changing adult diapers for his charges as social care worker, Kanu would have been able to keep running the usual circuits, like the Igbo World Congress of September 2015 where he made his "we need guns and we need bullets" pitch, which he used to shaft gullible Igbos out of their money. He would have by now been able to offset the same London mortgage he was in a hurry to pay off.
But that is not the dramatic Kanu way. He possibly thought his rants were not being heard loud enough so he had to move closer home to be escorted straight into the slammer. Contrary to his earlier rants, he was arrested and kept in captivity and Nigeria did not burn. In fact, he had to regularly throw tantrums during court appearances for him to remain relevant in the news in a country where it became apparent that he was stale news. It was under such irrelevant condition that he morosely accepted to be let out on bail, by the same government he claimed not to recognize, to attend to his failing health – it turned out he never attended to his health because there were no indication that he sought psychiatric help after his release. His braggadocio ended with him abandoning his so called comrades in jail while he pranced about town receiving obeisance from misguided followers. Thus end the season one of how Nnamdi Kanu’s mouth will kill him.


Perhaps in a bid to create the impression that his rants about securing a Biafra republic for his deluded followers, Kanu violated every bit of his bail conditions and did so much damage to the Igbo cause between April and September 2017 before fleeing like the common criminal that he is. In that space of time he managed to antagonize other ethnic nationalities with his uncouth language to the point that quit notices were being issued to Igbos to leave parts of the country. In the referenced period, he managed to get more Igbo sons killed than anyone thought was possible – he sold them the dummy that they Biafra has been recognized by foreign interest to the point where he inspected a guard of honour mounted by comical looking IPOB members, which left one to query if mental illness can be contagious.
He bragged so much about possessing caches of firearms and even nuclear warheads, which took on some air of credibility given the fund raising he had done at the Igbo World Congress. We went on to then threaten that IPOB has the capacity to shut down the system such that there would be no general elections if his group did not get referendum. That declaration that there will be no election in Igboland and a growing belligerence with criminality on the part of his members brought down Operation Python Dance II, a training drill by the Nigerian Army, upon the south-east. The brainwashed IPOB members that attacked the troops taking part in the exercise in the false belief that it was the start of Biafra War 2 where shocked to discover that while Kanu had firearms stashed away in his father’s house he did not have enough to take on that single detachment of the army; they must have been supremely confounded that the whole money raised for him was not spent on weapons. (More surprise awaited them when they discovered that Kanu places the death of his family dog, Jack, was more painful than the human IPOB members that died in the confrontation with the military).


Kanu fled the military response to his organization’s provocations. He might have remained a hero had he continued to remain in hiding since there was a rising cult following of the Biafra leader who sacrificed himself in pursuit of a separatist agitation that failed before it was conceived. But the myth of a martyred IPOB leader dissipated with the realization that Kanu was somewhere in Ghana eating peppered ‘suya’ when his followers were still mourning the death of loved ones that he sent to their early graves. That sighting was treated as a conjecture for a long time until Kanu surfaced almost one year later at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. There is something wrong on too many levels for a dead leader to surface to share in the joy of the living. Not everyone wants a living martyr.
It was the season during which he somehow managed to upgrade IPOB into a terrorist organization that was proscribed by government, effectively ruling out the prospect of the organization being able to drive the discourse about securing a better deal for Igbos in the modern day Nigeria. The curtain fell on season two of how Nnamdi Kanu’s mouth will kill him and how it has killed the Igbo nation.

Whoever scripted Season Three of how Nnamdi Kanu’s mouth will kill him should never be forgiven for the very fact that it covered a period that destroyed the Igbos’ political fortunes in the country. He emerged from hiding to galvanize the south-east against registering to vote. He declared a boycott of the 2019 polls and aggressively propagated that message only to lift the boycott a few days to the elections, and secretly at that such that his people are holding the sloppy end of the stick as things stand today. He projected his hallucination unto others and created the myth of Jibrin of Sudan, claiming that President Buhari has died and has been replaced by an impostor look-alike. His opposition challenger, Atku Abubakar became a Cameroonian in Kanu’s hallucination, which prompted some people to question why the authorities in the United Kingdom are yet to commit him to a care home.
Kanu ranted so much that it became difficult to keep track of the issues he talked about owing to the degenerative psychological breakdown he is suffering from. It became inevitable that the third season of his show was ending on a disastrous note as people learnt to focus on more important and developmental issues instead of being mired in barely intelligent expositions of the IPOB leader. The curtain fell on the third season with the world remembering Kanu as basket case.

The fourth season is unfolding and it has proven to be the disaster of the three previous seasons rolled into one for Kanu. His source of funding has been exposed as the extensive network of scammers and fraudsters that were indicted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States. Curiously, shortly before their indictment went public, Kanu had unleashed IPOB upon Igbo political leaders – a former Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu was the first to have a taste of what Kanu’s vision of Biafra was meant to be. The senior politician was beaten up in Nuremberg, Germany where he had gone to celebrate a festival that is sacred to the Igbos. The outrage that greeted this sacrilege did nothing to deter Kanu and IPOB to retrace their steps. He instead threatened to attack more Igbo leaders.

Unfortunately for Kanu, the Igbos are not helpless neither are their leaders unaware of what to do. Without any prompting from these leaders, many Igbo youth groups have requested for Kanu and those in the Diaspora that share his idea of vitriol and violence - laced engagement should be returned home for treatment. One can easily guess that the treatment they have in mind is some extended stay in Kuje Prison, especially since the IPOB leader is a fugitive from justice. For running his mouth to incite IPOB militants against Igbo leaders, which provoked the attack in Germany, something larger than a python is now chasing after Kanu. The entire Igbo nation is now angry that Kanu overstepped his bounds; they want his head for desecrating the highly revered Igbo tradition. This is Season Four still loading, let’s wait to see how lower this scoundrel will sink in this iteration before his mouth finally buries him as predicted by Reno Omokri.

Abiodun a public analyst wrote from University of Ibadan, Oyo State.

Nationwide arrest order on IMN excites citizens, as group urges police to move for IPOB members in Nigeria


The Citizens Action for Change (CAC) has described the police order for the arrest of Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) leaders across the country as a welcome development.

Recall that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, had recently ordered the arrest of all identified leaders of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) and the dismantling of any terror infrastructure traced to the group.

IGP Adamu, had in a signal to the operatives dated August 30, 2019, said the force would not allow the Shi’ite members to violate the proscription of the IMN by the court.

He blamed the violent protest by the group on July 22 for the killing of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations, Federal Capital Territory Police Command, Umar Usman, and a youth corps member, Precious Owolabi.

Reacting to the development, CAC in a statement through its president, Ayokunle Bakare urged the relevant authorities to extend the same treatment to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its members, not only in Nigeria but also abroad.

Bakare spoke at a press conference held in Abuja on Tuesday.

The group also urged the Nigeria Police Force to ignore the propaganda from IMN and focus on the job of providing security for Nigerians.

His statement below.

We understand that this directive rides on the proscription of IMN as a terrorist organization having been so gazetted by the Federal Government as a logical follow-up to a court order.

The IGP’s directive is a welcome development considering the harrowing experience that members of this proscribed group have put Nigerians through, particularly in Abuja and other cities where its members have unleashed violent protests against the country under the guise of fighting for the release of its leader, Sheik Ibrahim el-Zakzaky. We cannot forget too soon how a Deputy Commissioner of Police, a journalist and other Nigerians lost their lives to the murderous activities of this group.

We are mindful of the recent revelation that IMN and its leader, el-Zakzaky, are running a campaign on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran to destroy Nigeria. Events since 2014 have continually validated this accusation, including the charade of el-Zakzaky seeking medical treatment abroad and his hurried return from India when he discovered that his Iranian handlers were in no position to help him jump bail.

We have seen the tepid response from IMN’s spokesman, Ibrahim Musa, which tried to make light of a severe situation by making claims to suggest that the IGP’s directive were motivated by sectarian partiality. This claim is irresponsible to say the list. It attempts to trivialize the grievous crimes that IMN has committed against Nigeria as a corporate, sovereign state.

A key point to be made is that when it is comes to securing the lives of Nigerians, sectarianism has no place. Citizens Action for Change (CAC) is apolitical and secular so IMN cannot impugn sectarian interest to our intervention. We are therefore not interested in the brand of worship adopted by IMN members because our focus is their persistent rejection of the Nigerian state and the acts of terror they have pursued in the course of trying to force others to accept their own views of religions.

We also want to place a disclaimer that IMN and Musa, its spokesperson, have no right raising the alarm that the government will use its “office to brutally kill, maim and imprison thousands of innocent Nigerians, simply because of their faith at such a difficult time being experienced by Nigerians.” It is the height of hypocrisy for an organization whose members do identify as Nigerians is worried about what will befall Nigerians when the police fully implement the IGP’s order. It is the best description of confusion for someone to worry about a people it does not recognize as having the right to exist because that is the IMN mindset. It is ridiculous that IMN made a poor attempt creating the impression that IMN members are being persecuted for their Shiite orientation when in reality there are many other Shiites who do not belong to the outlawed terrorist group and such people have demonstrated that there is nothing to fear on the part of those that do not belong to IMN’s terrorist network.

It is surprising that IMN is still deluded to think that Nigerians are not aware of the places where it has cells that are being activated to cause problems for Nigeria. Its spokesperson, Musa, thinks that incessant kidnappings, attacks by bandits and terror attacks in most parts of the North are the more pressing problems that Nigeria should address. We are waiting for when IMN will be bold enough to explain how it has been raising money through the aforementioned crimes. The thousands of youths it pours onto the streets of Abuja remain so jobless by day time but rob at night to make up for not engaging in productive work during the working hours.

The lie about attacks being ordered against their interests during the first Islamic month of Muharram represents a new level of irresponsibility. Are they suggesting that the rest of Nigerians should keep quiet while their country is destroyed under the guise of some miscreants celebrating Muharram? IMN members must do some introspection and ask themselves what happened when last year and the preceding year when attempted their disruptive march and citizens of various states and cities were forced to resort to self help to curtail IMN.

If the terrorist organization, which has now been proscribed, ventures a repeat of last year we are worried that they will meet stiffer resistance on the streets of our cities than they met the last time. At that point they will be grateful to be arrested by the police because they will face the full wrath of Nigerians.
Our candid words of advice for IMN and their leaders is that they will make more sense if they willingly submit themselves to the relevant authorities so that they can be tried for whatever crime they are complicit of.

Therefore, the only time IMN members should have the courage to gather in group is when congregate to jointly surrender the weapons in their custody and to give themselves up of for rehabilitation. If they think that the propaganda they have rolled out since the IGP first gave the directive will dissuaded Nigerians from asking that they be dealt with in accordance with the law then they should think again. Allowing them to get away with such brigandage means that the country will have to extend the same treatment to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its members, not only in Nigeria but also abroad.

We urge the Nigeria Police Force to ignore the propaganda from IMN and focus on the job of providing security for Nigerians. Anyone that runs foul of the law should be made to answer for it so the threat of continue to protest for the release of el-Zakzaky is not the one that a proscribed IMN can undertake.

There are indications that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission may approach a Federal Capital Territory High Court to obtain a remand order to further keep the Managing Director of Galaxy Transportation and Construction Services Ltd, Engr Babagana Abba Dalori. Dalori has been in the custody of the commission since April, over allegations of fraud amounting to over seven billion Naira, through a ponzi scheme.

The remand order, it was learnt, is to allow the commission deepen its ongoing investigations into how the businessman made away with the fund, allegedly belonging to over twenty thousand people, who entered into business with the suspect, but never got any refund on their investments.

A reliable source within the EFCC said, “We are going to obtain a court order to hold Dalori for some weeks more, pending the conclusion of investigation."

The source further said, “We have many cases against Dalori being handled by different teams. We cannot just arraign him immediately. We want to do a thorough job before taking him to court, even though he has been arraigned few days ago.”

The source also said the failure of the accused to cooperate with investigators have necessitated the move by the commission, even though some accounts linked to the suspect, had been frozen and his properties seized by the commission.

Recall that some groups, recently condemned the continued detention of Babagana Dalori by the EFCC. They insisted that it is illegal, for the EFCC to continue holding the Galaxy Construction boss in its custody without proper arraignment before a court.

Dalori has also severally denied running a ponzi scheme, tendering copies of licences of compliance with regulations in the operation of a mining business. Some of them are: Federal Ministry of Mining and Solid Minerals, National Inland Waterways Authority, Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, Nigeria Industrial Training Fund, Bureau of Public Procurement, National Pension Commission, Federal Inland Revenue Service and the EFCC Special Control Against Money Laundering (SCUML).

*Attack on Ekweremadu: Group vows to set up task force to identify IPOB members at Nigerian airports*

A group of concerned Nigerians, under the aegis of One United Nigeria Agenda, has warned members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the diaspora not to venture returning back to the country as a task force has been set up to screen them at various international airports.

The group gave this threat at a press conference by its President, Comrade Atumeyi Victor, in Abuja on Thursday to address IPOB's spate of attacks on Nigerians, particularly ex-Senate President Ike Ekweremadu.

According to the One United Nigeria, this has become paramount to curtail the excesses of the terrorist group who appear hell-bent on damaging the image of the country in the eyes of the international community.

Amongst other things, the proposed task force will nab those responsible for the attack on Ekweremmadu as soon as they set foot in Nigeria and hand them over to the Police.

The group added that there will be profiling, arrest, processing and handing over to relevant security agencies for prosecution irrespective of whether the IPOB member has carried out any attack or not.

In a bid to facilitate the capture of fugitive leader Nnamdi Kanu, the One United Nigeria group, therefore, announced modalities for crowdfunding a N100 million bounty.

Read full statement below:

Gentlemen of the press, we are here addressing this press conference today because our expectations were not met by the federal government of Nigeria following its tame response to the attack on the former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), in Nuremberg, Germany.

For a government that recognized IPOB as a terrorist group to the extent that it proscribed its activities across Nigeria, we had expected that all those that attacked Senator Ekweremadu would have been repatriated to Nigeria by now. Returning these criminals to Nigeria will allow for them to stand trial for their crime, which was motivated by their terrorist agenda. Attacking the senator was intended to scare political office holders in Nigeria from travelling abroad to pursue the interest of the country.

To show that we are right, the failure of the federal government to repatriate the IPOB terrorists gave them the confidence to announce reward for information about the travel plans of senior government officials of the country. They even boasted about how they will use such information to stage other attacks.

We note the ploy of making it appear as if IPOB members are only interested in attacking politicians of Igbo origin but we refuse to accept this cheap trick. Irrespective of their ethnic identifications, all senators of the Federal Republic are Nigerians, attacking anyone of them, even where the attack was carried out by his own kinsmen, is the same as attacking the National Assembly – the symbol of Nigeria’s democracy.

Gentlemen of the press, if it is madness that is inspired IPOB’s attack on senator Ekweremadu, it is now apparent that the madness has gone beyond the kind that is treatable because they have not dared to include the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on their hit list. The implication of this is that they will in the foreseeable future begin to launch attacks against the interests of Nigeria abroad and other Nigerians.

It is a dangerous situation that cannot be allowed to continue because of the grievous consequences that will follow. Not only would it not be allowed to continue, there should also be punishments for those that brought about it in the first place. The message must be sent out in unequivocal terms that even where the government becomes limited for diplomatic reasons Nigerians will rise up to defend their country against terrorists the same way they halted Boko Haram’s ascendancy.

We therefore use this opportunity to warn the IPOB members abroad not to contemplate visiting home. This warning is necessary because we have set up a task force with the mandate to compile a dossier of IPOB members to be used by another task force responsible for enforcement, with the mandate to arrest all those responsible for the attack on Ekweremmadu any day they set foot in Nigeria. We will of course hand over such criminals to the police after they must have been processed.

The relevant task force will also collate names of IPOB members that would be matched to photo identities for publication and display at all international airports and arrival ports in Nigeria. This is to ensure that those who take the citizens of Nigeria for granted never escape justice anytime they visit Nigeria. One United Nigeria Agenda will ensure that IPOB terrorists are treated like Boko Haram suspects since they have decided to internationalize their acts of terrorism and taking their irresponsible behaviour cross international borders.

This treatment shall be extended to any known members of the terrorist group resident abroad and travelling into Nigeria. The profiling, arrest, processing and handing over to the police for prosecution shall be irrespective of whether the IPOB member has carried out any attack or not. Being a member of the group is enough grounds to be treated as attempting to re-introduce IPOB into Nigeria after he terrorist organization has been purged out of the system.

Permit us to inform you that One United Nigeria Agenda is in the process of fine-tuning modalities for crowdfunding a N100 million bounty for any individual, group, soldier of fortune that can arrest and ship IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu back to Nigeria to answer the case he has before he court. Being a fugitive from justice, Kanu has been the chief instigator of violence against Nigerians by IPOB miscreants. We believe that cutting off the head of the serpent will kill the monster of IPOB’s terrorism.

We are also working on another fund to drive advocacy to the countries with the worst case of IPOB infestation with the objective of holding sensitization sessions in this countries to empower them with information how to tackle the IPOB problem. A local version of this advocacy is also in the works and will involve making contacts with the diplomatic missions of the affected countries.

Our belief is that this advocacy will help the world, particularly the affected countries, to now better understand and appreciate that the entire array of crimes that “Nigerians” are being blamed for are exclusively IPOB oriented. Crimes like drug-running, gun-running, human trafficking and fraud are being committed by IPOB members to raise funds for their group’s terrorist activities.

We believe it was divine providence that made IPOB to overstep its bounds because so many facts that were once hidden about the cause of the bad reputation that bedevilled Nigeria are now known to the world. That source is called IPOB. We have successfully dealt with its local component, which is why we will not allow any variant of the virus called IPOB to be reintroduced to the country by way of their members travelling into the country.

Biafra: Be wary of Kanu, IPOB terrorists - Diaspora Group urges Nigerians abroad

Nigerians living abroad have been asked to avoid Nnamdi Kanu and members of his outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.

Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group (NDMG), which gave the warning, said the activities of IPOB outside the shores of Nigeria needed concerted efforts by all critical stakeholders to protect the image of the country.

The group at a press conference held at the Enish Restaurant, Finchley, London on Wednesday, said the activities of IPOB are despicable and an affront to Nigerians all over the world.


The Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group recently convened an emergency general meeting of its executives in London United Kingdom to review the recent posturing of the members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)

The activities of IPOB are despicable and an affront to Nigerians all over the world to the way and manner the image of the country has been dragged in the mud before the eyes of the international community.


Angela Boroh, President of the group, who spoke on behalf of NDMG, called Kanu and his members to desist from acts that would tarnish the image of Nigeria in the interest of peace and tranquillity.

Her statement reads below.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group is dismayed that a group of Nigerians masquerading under the umbrella of IPOB would denigrate so low as to constitute themselves into a nuisance outside the shores of Nigeria.

While this is condemnable, it must be stated that Nnamdi Kanu and his militant members of IPOB abroad have exhibited a high level of disrespect for the constituted authority in Nigeria with the recent attack of a high ranking member of the National Assembly in Germany. The latest threat to attack Nigerians living abroad and those traveling abroad from Nigeria is also another indication of the despicable attitude of Nnamdi Kanu and his co-travellers.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group advise well-meaning Igbo Sons and Daughters in the Diaspora to distance themselves from Nnamdi Kanu and his terrorist group IPOB at the risk of been labelled terrorists. All well-meaning Igbo Sons and Daughters in the Diaspora must rise to this challenge and condemn the actions of IPOB that has brought shame to Nigeria our beloved country.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group wishes to inform the world of its total and unflinching support for the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, under whose leadership of the country Nigeria has experienced tremendous growth and development.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group identifies with the leadership style of President Muhammadu Buhari that been translating the hopes and aspirations of Nigerians into tangible realities in the past four years. This much can be seen in critical sectors of the Nigerian economy that were hitherto moribund as a result of leadership failure by previous administrations.

The Nigerians in Diaspora salutes the courage and commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari in his quest to take Nigeria to greater heights.

The war against corruption as instituted by the administration of President Muhummadu Buhari is highly commendable and an indication that Nigeria can be great again. The Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group believes that with if the present efforts at ridding Nigeria of corrupt practices are sustained, Nigeria would indeed move to the next level of sustainable growth and development.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group is also aware that the various diplomatic shuttles by President Muhummadu Buhari has resulted in economic prosperity for Nigeria as a country and it is our considered opinion that more of those diplomatic shuttles are necessary for Nigeria to consolidate its position in the comity of nations in the world.

The war against terrorism and other militant groups in Nigeria is another area the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has performed creditably well. Consequently, the Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group applauds the various security agencies involved in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group wishes to call on all well-meaning stakeholders in the Nigerian project to extend their support to the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in this critical point of our existence.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group also wishes to advise Nnamdi Kanu and his gang to desist from acts that would tarnish the image of Nigeria in the interest of peace and tranquillity.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group also uses this medium to advise well-meaning Nigerians in the Diaspora to go about their normal business without fear from attacks by members of IPOB.

That Nnamdi Kanu and his members should act as a matter of urgency desist from any act that would cause economic or physical harm to any Nigerian in the Diaspora.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group herby declares its absolute confidence in the unity of Nigeria and believes that no organization, despite the multiple evidence of funding from a terrorist network can cause the disintegration of Nigeria.

By Ali Bako

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."---George Orwell, famed English novelist and essayist, journalist and critic.

I devoted time to understand why Armed Forces Rememberance Days or Fallen Heroes Days are observed with frenzy globally. And it is done with much prayerful devotion or solemnity by individuals and Governments alike.

And after a painstaking research, I came to the inevitable conclusion that the Military anywhere in the world is the backbone of the survival, peaceful existence and security of any nation. Without the Military serving as counter-force, mightier nations would have been freely annexing "weaker" countries so mindlessly. Some pundits argue that outside the economy, the true might of any country resides with it's military.

An American, Claudia Pemberton fondly encapsulates the messianc relevance of his country's soldiers in this epigram; "America without her soldiers would be like God without His angels."


Historically, wars, conflicts, agressions and violence are innate and inseparable from human communities, whether as large as countries. Wherever people congregate in a defined geographical expression, it's predictable that unrestrained tampers even within groups, among communities and nations could be violently expressed anytime.

It's difficult to point at any nation of the world today, which has not experienced a civil strife or external invasion in her history. The task to repel the aggressors is exclusively Military.

Some of these conflicts are spurred to settle age-long grievances, where dialogue consistently fails; pull the strings of self-determination; racial supremacy or for some idiotic reasons such as Boko Haram's violent campaigns against Western-styled education and leadership in Nigeria.

But in all instances, it is the military that bears the final brunt for the weired actions of incensed men with the daunting task of restoring peace and security, what majority of humanity needs desperately at all times. So, the military is a priced asset anywhere.

Elmer Davis espouses this idea by echoing that "This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave."

It the reason nations of the world invest billions in fortifying it's military base from personnel general and specialised trainings to latest modern armaments. A nation's ownership of a certified, professional and patriotic Army is a signpost of it's proud existential heritage.

And I was scared in the years between 2011 to 2015, when Nigerian troops battling Boko Haram in the Northeast shirked before insurgents in the frontline; frequently celebrated mutiny in the battlefields, instead of matching them with superior valour; while others even resisted redeployment.

Tales of some Nigerian soldiers' connivance with the enemies to sabotage the anti-terrorism war resonated trenchantly and assailed the ears to my utmost amazement.

It informed me with lucid clarity that there was a problem with the Nigerian Army or soldiers of my beloved country. Such manifestations portrayed unpretentiously that Nigerian Army was peopled by unprofessional, unpatriotic, disloyal and disgruntled soldiers. No nation could have been proud of such an Army in any guise.

But behold! In July 2015, the good Lord sent a rescuer and reformer to the Nigerian Army. President Muhammadu Buhari appointed a professionally cracked soldier, an experienced warmonger, an astute Military administrator and epitome of excellence, Lt. Gen. TY Buratai as Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff (COAS). He was also crowned as the ombudsman of counter-insurgency operations in the country.

I really felt the burden imposed on Gen. Buratai in the service of his fatherland. Unknown to me, the Army General was thrown into a familiar turf and terrain, as he would later exceedingly disprove my doubts about his military persona.

The COAS mounted his leadership seat with two agenda. First, it was clear to him, the inevitability of regaining the pride of the Nigerian Army by reforming and repositioning it into a professional, patriotic, responsive and responsible Army for the performance of it's assigned constitutional roles.

Secondly, Gen. Buratai knew that after the in-house cleansing of the Army, the mandate of winning Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria was an assignment which could not be procrastinated a day longer. And it was possible with a professional, patriotic and trustworthy soldiers as his trustees on this special national service.

Like the conviction of Rwandan President Paul Kagame who proclaimed that; "We make progress not to be credited for it. We do not make progress for ourselves;" Gen. Buratai launched enduring reforms and innovations in the Nigerian Army as first agenda.

And throughout his tour of Army formations, Gen. Buratai had one central message he transmitted to all Army Commanders at lower rungs and personnel wherever he stepped his foot. He reminded them that he is aware of their subsisting problems such as neglect of welfare, poor equipment base and the urgent need for terrorism combat refresher trainings. It excited soldiers tremendously because some soldiers had already felt the impact of his nascent leadership even before his visit to their formations.

Gen. Buratai assured Army personnel of his leadership as absolutely submissive to their professional yearnings and Military discipline; but however, very intolerant of cretins in the system.

So, he departed every Army Formation with the words of American diplomatic guru and war veteran, Gen. Collin Powell thus;

"The day the soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership."

Thereafter, Gen. Buratai and troops moved to the war theatre. And the tide and the gory narratives changed in the counter-insurgency war in the Northeast.

Nigerian troops in the frontline experienced for the first time, their boss, now Gen. Buratai laced his boots and hopped into the jungle, forests, and caves with them to confront Boko Haram terrorists in Northeast.

Troops were further impressed that at critical moments of battle with insurgents, when strategies seem exhausted, they turned and saw their boss, Gen. Buratai barking strategic directives in the heat of battle, with a gun clinched within his fists. It was a great morale booster to troops.

And in each of such encounters and numerous others, Nigerian troops coasted to victory against insurgents. I know this was the foundation of what Nigerians today, truthfully celebrate as decimation and defeat of terrorism.

I wept for my dear country Nigeria, in 2016, the day, I watched the video footage of Gen. Buratai and Nigerian troops, ferociously battle out insurgents in Gwoza, the headquarters of their "Islamic caliphate," illegally declared and occupied within Nigerian sovereignty for years.

Shortly after the fierce exchange of gunfire, with terrorists and scores sent to their waterloo; while a few others escaped, the same Nigerian Army squad came back to Gwoza, now, the cleared center of torture and extra-judicial executions of Nigerians by terrorists.

So, I said to myself, this feat was even possible with Nigerian Army, yet, we were allowed to go through these years of traumatic experiences of agonies, killings and displacements?

I still vividly recollect, what my COAS staff told natives of Gwoza, who milled around, like bees on honey, when they shortly after spotted Buratai and troops.

"By the Grace of Almighy Allah, we worship and serve in truth; nobody will seize your land, occupy it, take you into slavery on the land your forebears bequeathed to you;" Gen. Buratai addressed jubilant natives, as they hog soldiers in ecstasy.

To this moment, insurgents have neither been able to recapture Gwoza, despite their desperate struggles nor any of the other 17 LGAs Buratai reclaimed from terrorists occupation in the Northeast.

Nigerians experienced this new and refreshing reality because in Gen. Buratai's reformation preachments, he reminded troops of the power in the words of George S. Patton (Jr) that;

" ...It is a proud privilege to be a soldier – a good soldier … (with) discipline, self-respect, pride in his unit and his country, a high sense of duty and obligation to comrades and to his superiors, and a self confidence born of demonstrated ability."

And it has also not escaped my attention that Nigerian troops have not severed themselves from these lofty teachings of patroitism and endearing leadership of Gen. Buratai. It does not foreclose the chances of the few unpatriotic elements and sabs in the system, who are applying every satanic measure to discolor the counter-insurgency operations and insurrections in Nigeria to reverse the gains on the counter-terrorism campaigns.

But to the majority of our patriotic solders and troops in the frontline, I will leave them with the words of

Adlai Stevenson II, to ponder;

"Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotions, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime." And definitely, there is reward for everything, my cherished soldiers.

Thumps up, Gen. Buratai and our gallant soldiers for efficiently serving as the melting point of Nigerian Armed Forces in the campaign against terrorism. Let not your spirit wane, even for a second, until the final blast of the whistle of victory for the total freedom of our country over insurgency!

Bako a retired police officer wrote from Idah, Kogi State.

Re: "Memo to Buhari over Terrorists’ Attack on Gubio, Magumeri and Others :"

An Open Letter To Zanna Hassan Boguma, The Zanna Boguma Of Borno's Malicious, Debasing And Unwarranted Tirades Against the Nigerian Armed Forces.

Dear Zanna ,

1. Sir, We extend our warm greetings to you, the family and members of your community. We also pray God to continue to guard and protect you abundantly.

2. We read your "open letter" or is it "memo," to President Muhammadu Buhari, which you also copied the National Security Adviser ( NSA) Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd), which mischievously detailed your perceived lapses in the ongoing clearance operations against Boko Haram by Nigerian troops in the Northeast region.

3. Your open letter thoroughly castigated; insanely impugned professional misconducts / incompetence on Nigerian Military; freely embarked on unjustifiable character assassination of the leadership of the Nigerian military and troops. This is portrayed not even with the least consideration of the enormous sacrifices and tremendous successes the military have recorded on the war against Boko Haram insurgency.

4. The mischievous, malicious and misleading contents of what you wrote garbed in pretentious bemoaning of renewed Boko Haram attacks on Gubio, Magumeri and other communities in Borno state reflected in your double and conflicting title of the mail. With due respect, you didn't know whether it is an open letter or a memo. And in the case of the latter, it's contents would not have found it's way to the media houses for publication.

5. We find your posturing on a sensitive matter such as security in your region particularly, very neuseating, the issues uncouth, and an unwarranted attack on the reputation and integrity of the Nigerian military and our troops who have paid the supreme price for peace to return to Borno State.

6. Indeed, your deliberate refusal to acknowledge the uncommon sacrifices of the Nigerian military in battling day and night to give you/ Borno state peace and succour from a destructive, bile insurgency only exposes your biased mind and a suspected conspirator with enemies of Nigeria to torment your subjects.

7. However, as a letter conceived and crafted on ill- motivations and manifestation of a hatchet job, you admitted in one of the paragraphs thus;

8. "We in Borno and the North have high hopes when we elected this government, (Buhari Presidency), we saw in you hope of redemption from our national calamities knowing very well your patriotism and integrity. In the last four years, these hopes were translated into reality but with the recent upsurge in insurgent’s activity in Northern Borno and the actions of the military, we were left with no options than to despair."

9. We find this submission by you very instructive in the sense that you acknowledged even if unconsciously the great job the Nigerian military has done in quelling insurgency in the past four years, hence you now harp on renewed Boko Haram attacks on certain communities.

10. And this is where you have convicted yourself in public domain. President Buhari has not effected any change in the leadership of the Security Chiefs since he appointed them in July 2015. The leader of the counter- insurgency operations in Nigeria remains, Lt. Gen. TY Buratai who is also the Chief of Army Staff (COAS). He has proved beyond doubts his professional competence in handling the insurgency, a fact known to all Nigerians as even admitted by you.

11. By the substance of your letter and jaundiced verdict, these leaders no longer have a professional touch on the war and they have turned the Boko Haram insurgency war into a "milk cow." So, the natural question is that; are these leaders encountering money in the counter-insurgency operations for the first time and that's why they recorded the earlier streaks of victories you admitted in your poorly conceptualised and crafted letter?

12. Why would anybody, much more, a community leader of your status, condescend to such levels of abuse of his personality and people by unnecessarily parroting? Let it be known to you that the Nigerian military deserves unreserved apology for the baseless villification and defamation of character as expressed and publicised by you. It's the most honourable thing left for you to do now in order to redeem your severely battered image.

13. Least we forget; the position of unprofessionalism, the alleged infiltration of corrupt acts in the counter-insurgency operations and the other alien misconducts you unconscionably aligned with Commanders and troops in the Northeast does reflect the thinking of the generality of the people in the region and Nigerians. We would rather consider your write-up as a mark of ingratitude and an attempt gi demoralize the troops.

14. We the victims of Boko Haram terrorism in the Northeast savouring the abundant respite offered by the military intervention under the Buhari Presidency dispute you loudly. And we have immense respect and gratitude to the Military. We are sure you sat in the comfort of your palace to craft this demeaning letter; something you could not have contemplated before the Buhari Presidency. It is an incontrovertible sign of the restoration of peace in our once troubled enclaves.

15. It is certain that you have never served in the military in your lifetime or even been to the heat of battle in the theatre of war. So, if it is not malicious persecution of the Nigerian military in the counter-insurgency operations, what qualifies you to assume the roles of field instructor, battle strategist and tactician for Nigeria troops in the frontline? What is your pedigree of competence in the areas you freely offered advice and sought to change the modus operandi as trumpeted in the letter? It's clear that you imagined too much power unto yourself.

16. But most unarguably Sir, you have manifested more as one of these community leaders brainwashed into the mistaken belief that the task of securing his community is exclusively reserved for the military. But it is a fatal assumption by anybody because security is everybody's business. And community leaders of your ilk have a lot to do in entrenching peace and security in their respective communities. We demand to know your role so far.

17. And we are ennobled to remind you about it by your reference to your claimed unbearable renewed Boko Haram attacks. In fact, your explanation implies that the Nigerian troops extinguished insurgency in these areas. How and why is it resurging now?

18. Sir, please can you sincerely search your conscience to remember when last or to what extent you have engaged your subjects, some of whom indisputably connive with insurgents for a fee to aid attacks on your domains? To what extent have you led the crusade for peace and security in your communities?

19. The foot soldiers of Boko Haram are youngsters and children of your subjects. They are not imported into Nigeria from the Republic of Iran, but within your domain. These are youngsters who give impetus to insurgents operations. It is your responsibility to engage all parents to prevail on their children to resist the temptation of enlisting into the devilry Boko Haram sect or for those already conscripted to surrounder? We are sure you have never thought of it?

20. Boko Haram operations are a complex web of conspiratoral interests and supporters. The faction of Boko Haram led by Musab Al- Barnewi claims it's violent campaigns are only targeted at military formations, as they spare civilians enclaves.

21. So, believing in this weird and false sermons, some adults, fathers and mothers in your domain are involved in shielding terrorists who hide in their homesteads. Sometimes, they even provide shelter for insurgents in their private residences. Have you ever reached them with a word of peace and the need to abandon such unhealthy practices that endanger security?

22. The Nigerian military have continued to trail and arrest scores of politicians in Borno state who are Boko Haram members/ sympathisers; they also provide back-up and logistical support to insurgents for operations. Have you ever written a letter rendered in this tenor to these polluted politicians admonishing them and seeking their cooperation to finally rout out Boko Haram insurgency? That is what you need to do immediately.

23. Therefore, we find it absurd and unacceptable that you have gleefully ignored the fundamental and complementary roles you ought to play in assisting the Nigerian military finally end Boko Haram. It's strange and very suspicious that you have delighted in unfair villification, defamation of character and public ridicule of the Nigerian military, it’s officers and soldiers in the battle to finally surmount terrorism in Nigeria. This is an intolerable posture from a leader and you are hereby prodded into a rethink to do the needful.

24. May God give you the grace to ponder and act on the suggested posers in this open letter. God bless you and your community.

25. Thank you!

Usman Sheriff Ibrahim
National President

Abubakar Mahmud Zulum
Secretary

*Don’t demystify the sacrifices of the military, Borno indigenes query traditional leader over open letter on fight against insurgency*

Borno Stakeholders Forum (BSF) has sent a stern warning to one of its traditional rulers to desist from undermining the sacrifices of the gallant Nigerian military in the state.

In an open letter addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, Zanna Boguma of Borno, Zanna Hassan Boguma, had attempted to rubbish the massive gains of the military even while acknowledging their “gallantry” in the frontline.

In a press statement signed by President Ali Shettima on Tuesday, the group of indigenes, consisting of critical stakeholders, expressed dismay at the “misinformation regarding the operations of the Nigerian Military in the fight against Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist”.

According to the Borno Forum, the monarch's assertion is merely a figment of imagination and not in any way the position of the people of the state “ who are appreciative of the efforts”.

Acknowledging that the fight against insurgency is not restricted to the military alone, the group questioned the contribution of the traditional ruler in solving the myriads of challenges that he and his subjects may have indirectly created.

The Borno stakeholders, however, advised the monarch to quit the blame game without evidence and raise up to expectations by ensuring that his subjects are of ethical behaviour at all times.

Read the full statement below.

Being text of a press conference by the Borno Stakeholders Forum on the Operations of the Nigerian Military in the fight against Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist in Borno State and North-East Nigeria.

Gentlemen of the Press and other critical stakeholders, I welcome you all to the important press conference organized because of the false information making the rounds in the public space as regards the efforts of the Nigerian Military in the fight against Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist in Borno State and its fringes.

The Borno Stakeholders Forum is an association, consisting of critical stakeholders drawn from various walks of life in Borno State devoted to the political and socio-economic upliftment of the state.

This press conference became necessary because the Borno Stakeholders Forum is alarmed with the misinformation emanating from the state as regards the operations of the Nigerian Military in the fight against Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist in the state.

This is on the heels of the various news making the rounds on the social media space about Boko Haram attacks in Borno state and most recently an Open Letter written by Zanna Hassan Boguma (Zanna Boguma of Borno) to President Muhammadu Buhari criticizing the operational strategy of the Nigerian Military in Borno State.

The Borno Stakeholders Forum is concerned with the way and manner certain individuals go about putting unfounded information in the public space without concern about the effect of such on the morale or psychological state of those involved in the fight against Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist.

This insensitivity was aptly captured in the Open Letter written by Zanna Hassan Boguma where he wittingly accused the Nigerian Military of indolence and lack of patriotism in the fight against Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist in the state.

The Borno Stakeholders Forum is alarmed as well as dismayed with such exhibition of recklessness and total disregard for the efforts of the Nigerian Military in keeping Boko Haram/ ISWAP terrorist at bay in Borno state since 2015.

In the Open Letter by Zanna Hassan Boguma, he attempted to make a comparison of the operations of the Nigerian Military during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan and the present administration. The Borno Stakeholders Forum frowns as such an unhealthy attitude as displayed by Zanna Hassan Boguma, which is at best a mischievous attempt at seeking public attention.

The Borno Stakeholders Forum wishes to state in unequivocal terms that Alhaji Zanna Hassan Boguma’s postulations are at best a figment of his imaginations and not in any way the position of the critical stakeholders in Borno State who are appreciative of the efforts of the Nigerian Military so far in the fight against Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist since the inception of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Borno Stakeholders Forum also uses this medium to reinforce its earlier position that the fight against Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist does not stop at the table of the Nigerian Military alone. The traditional leaders, as well as the community leaders all, have a role to play in this all-important task.

The Borno Stakeholders Forum wishes to ask Alhaji Zanna Hassan Boguma what his efforts are as a community leader as well as a traditional leader in the fight against Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist in Borno State?

What efforts has Alhaji Zanna Hassan Boguma made towards ensuring that our youths whom Boko Haram fighters have been recruiting into their ragtag army are no longer recruited? What message has Alhaji Zanna Hassan Boguma sent to the politicians in the state that capitalized on the Boko Haram insurgency as it were then to their political advantage?

The Borno Stakeholders Forum wishes to advise Alhaji Zanna Hassan Boguma to take his plea to the politicians in Borno State who have in one way or the other contributed to the challenges Borno State is facing currently.

The Borno Stakeholders Forum consequently views with reservations the Open Letter to President Muhammadu Buhari when there are other avenues with which Alhaji Zanna Hassan Boguma could communicate with the President. It is at best an attempt to play to the gallery or an attempt to portray himself as a concerned stakeholder in the state.

The Borno Stakeholders Forum states authoritatively that Alhaji Zanna Hassan Boguma in his capacity as the Zanna Boguma of Borno has not been known to have contributed whether in ideas or actions towards solving the myriads of challenges confronting the state. And consequently, the Borno Stakeholders Forum would not tolerate attempts by individuals or groups to undermine the efforts of the Nigerian Military in its operations in Borno State.

The action of Alhaji Zanna Hassan Boguma does not in any way reflect the level of gratitude Nigerians owes the Nigerian Military for its efforts in protecting the territorial sovereignty of the country.

Alhaji Zanna Hassan Boguma must rise above petty interest in his conduct as a traditional ruler as well as a community leader. He must in the true Borno spirit deviate from apportioning blames without evidence, and he must also live up to expectations by ensuring that his subjects are of ethical behaviour at all times. As a community leader, he must educate the youths at all times on the demerits of joining the Boko Haram group.

The Borno Stakeholders Forum is not ignorant of the numerous sacrifices of the Nigerian Military in the Theatre of Operation in Borno State, and consequently extends its appreciation as well as charge the troops to continue to give in their best.

The Borno Stakeholders Forum extends its full support to the operations of the Nigerian Military in Borno State and wishes to advise individuals and organizations to desist from playing to the gallery by making unfounded and highly misleading statements on the pages of the newspapers.

The task at hand requires all hands to be on deck. The Military cannot do it alone, and as such, it behoves on religious, traditional, and community leaders to play their role effectively if we are desirous of overcoming our present challenges in the state.

*South-East think tank sends apology to Buhari, Ekweremadu Over IPOB, says Kanu diverting attention from FBI list as a beneficiary*

Some respected Igbo elites, under the aegis of South-East Economic Revival and Development Movement (SERDM), has apologised to Nigerians, especially President Muhammadu Buhari and erstwhile Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu over the recent spiteful antics of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The group made this known in a press conference by President, Obumneme Chijioke Udeh, in Enugu on Tuesday to address what it described as “maligning of the Igbo nation by miscreants".

According to the SERDM, IPOB's new gimmick may not be unconnected with the recent clampdown on 74 Igbo sons for fraud by the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The fugitive leader of the terrorist group, Nnamdi Kanu, is a well-known beneficiary from sympathisers across the globe, particularly Igbos irrespective of the source of wealth.

For this reason, the South-East movement believes Mr Kanu may be attempting to divert attention from the heinous deeds of his collaborators who have been indicted for various degree of fraud.

On completion of their investigation, instead of jail term, the group, however, appealed to the United States to repatriate these Nigerians, so they can be tried for terrorism financing in line with extant legislation in Nigeria.

Read the full statement below:

Gentlemen of the press, the event of recent days and weeks call for deep introspection. The need for collective soul searching on the part of the Igbo people in the south-east of Nigeria is not because the Igbo nation is in the wrong but because a minuscule part of our population is bent on tarnishing the ancestral and historical track record that we have maintained as a people.

This slur on our ethnic identity was committed on two fronts. One front was the despicable assault by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on a former Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu; the threat to attack other Igbo leaders whenever they travel abroad; the N1 million bounty promised by IPOB leader –Nnamdi Kanu to anyone that divulges information about the travel plans of Igbo leaders; and the laughable call for the IPOB members to arrest President Buhari in Japan during his ongoing visit to the country.

The second front is the disgraceful indictment of as many as 74 Igbo sons out of the 80 persons fingered for fraud by the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). It is humiliating that the dint of hard work that so many Nigerians, particularly Igbo in the Diaspora, have engaged in abroad has been rubbished by the greed and avarice of a few misguided elements who succumbed to the get rich quick syndrome that threw away all forms of ethics in pursuit of instant gratification.

What the public may not know however is that the two events – the growth of IPOB’s belligerence and the fraudulent lives of the 74 indicted persons – are not unconnected. They are different sides of the same coins. We have been able to establish that the proceeds of the fraud committed by these young men is the major source of financing for IPOB’s terrorist activities in Nigeria and, more recently, around the world. The N1 million bounties promised to those that divulge travel details of Igbo politicians was to be sourced from remittances from the 74 indicted persons.

The decision to attack Senator Ekweremadu and the threat to beat up visiting dignitaries from Nigeria and well as the comical directive for President Buhari’s arrest were all attempts to create diversions from the boiling issue of the indictment of fraudsters and scammers that had been the mainstay of IPOB financing. The objective was to ensure that IPOB’s errant behavior dominated the news space such that Nigerians will not notice the indictment of those financing its activities. Thankfully, the plan failed.

We strongly believe that justice will not be served if the United States merely indicts, try and jail the 80 indicted persons, including the 74 Igbo among them. This is because they will merely be jailed for fraud without the aspect about terrorist financing coming up. Yet, financing terrorism is the primary reason they went into the business of depriving other people of their hard-earned cash. Jail terms for fraud in the United States are tantamount to lodging these criminals in five-star hotels. We therefore suggest that the government of that country should repatriate these criminals to Nigeria to be tried for terrorism financing in line with extant legislation in Nigeria because the more grievous of their crimes was committed here against Nigeria.

Those that attacked Senator Ekeweremadu in Germany should be expelled from the European Union and sent to Nigeria, not only for engaging in terrorist acts but also for being beneficiaries of fraud and terrorist financing. They should be made to answer for their crimes in Nigeria where the victims of their terrorist activities are resident for their crime is not a victimless one.

We expect that the Federal Government of Nigeria will complement the actions of the United States and countries of the European Union by withdrawing or cancelling international passports of both the fraudsters and their terrorist collaborators that attacked and are planning to attack Nigerian officials. The state must adopt a tough stance against terrorism driven international fraud so that it can safeguard the nation’s image and safety of citizens at the same time.

It is pertinent to at this point apologise to President Muhammadu Buhari for the insult poured on him by Kanu’s directive for his arrest in Japan. Only a drug addict on a hallucinatory trip or someone severely mentally compromised would be deluded enough to think he can order a gang of terrorists to arrest the leader of a sovereign country on a visit to another nation. That such order was given is enough for the IPOB terrorists to question both the motive and sanity of their leader.

We also apologise to Senator Ekweremadu and the distinguished Senate of the Federal Republic to which it belongs. True Igbo sons will not engage in the brigandage that led to his being attacked. He should take solace in the fact that his attackers have fallen below the threshold for qualifying to be referred to and treated as a human being. Our apology extends to other Nigerians who might have been hurt by IPOB in one way or the other. The way of the terrorist is not the Igbo way.

As for IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, we have little to say. He has, by his action, confirmed that he is not an authentic Igbo for only a bastard will point his father’s house with a finger on his left hand. We now have cause to ask that he holds crucial heart to heart talk with his mother to find out if there was an accidental swap at the hospital where she was delivered of her baby when she had Nnamdi Kanu lest we conclude that there are paternity issues she is yet to tell her son about.

In Igboland, there are rites for cleansing the madness that derives from being of such questionable birth and the South East Economic Revival and Development Movement is willing to foot the bill for Nnamdi Kanu’s head to be washed with all the necessary local items to be specified by elders of his clan. However, this does not absolve him of crimes he has committed and for which he is still validly standing trial in Nigeria. He must answer for his crime same as those that committed crimes on his instruction.

Thank you and God bless you.

Boko Haram in Borno: Of Lost Faith and Terrorist Collaborators

By Richards Murphy

The open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari supposedly came from Borno residents but in reality the authors of the poisoned chalice are closet supporters of Boko Haram terrorists and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) who, being fed up with the losses being suffered by their proxies, have decided to come out of hiding. The innocuous sounding “Borno residents” – the pseudonym under which they wrote – is sufficiently nebulous to not arouse suspicion and valid enough to confer legitimacy and locus for them to make their unwarranted claims.
The essence of the letter, signed by one Hassan Boguma, a traditional leader, was to appraise the President. Unfortunately, all it succeeded in doing was to make a weak attempt at lying and they did it poorly for that matter. They tried to create the impression that the Nigerian Army is not on top of the situation whereas in the same breadth they admitted that troops were doing a great job. They claimed that the army is losing the fight yet admitted that only a particular axis remained under attack from the terrorists.
The very position occupied by the author of the letter, a traditional ruler, is one that raises questions. Past analyses by independent security experts had blamed certain categories of leaders in Borno state for the persistence of terrorism in the region in spite of the sterling efforts being made by the military. These are politicians, religious leaders and business opportunists. The politicians support the terrorists as a matter of desperation to gain power, the religious leaders either fail to condemn the perversion of doctrine to radicalize youths and entrench extreme views in them, the traditional rulers – having vast local networks – conceal their subjects that have embraced terrorism while the business opportunists simply hang in the wings to benefit from the horror show created by the horror show supported by the aforementioned three categories.
Nigerians must be wary and know that the open letter to President Buhari is merely one front, one phalanx, in the series of attacks that will be directed at discrediting the military, particularly the army in a renewed push by those that do not want to see terrorism brought to an end in Borno even after other neighbouring states have attained comparative peace. The political arm of Boko Haram support will in a short while follow in the steps of the traditional leadership support while the religious component continues to use their sermon to recruit, indoctrinate and radicalize the youth to ensure that the terrorists do not run short of human fodder.
Further interrogation of the open letter reinforces this belief. It is easy to accuse the army of all the manner of shortcomings reported in the publication. But common sense demands that we begin to question the loopholes that exist in the document. For instance, the Borno resident made no mention of offering the military any strategic support like providing timely and actionable information. They did not speak of any social intervention to halt Boko Haram and ISWAP’s ability to recruit new fighters. Reporting such support would have strengthened whatever case they have against the army, assuming they genuinely have one.
The letter did not mention how some people in the state demoralize soldiers by introducing ethnic dimensions into the anti-terrorism war that the army is conducting in the region. They are the ones that frame any successful operation by the army as being targeted at exterminating members of a particular ethnic group that has most of the terrorist commanders. They use negative sentiments like this to compromise the ability of soldiers to get support from communities where they operate with the consequence that these communities rather back terrorists – supply them with intelligence, food and logistics – rather than support the troops that are laying their lives down for the nation.
They also did not mention if they had at any point in time raised the concerns they have with the military authorities without getting the desired response. To the extent that they did not bring their concerns to the attention of the people on ground doing the actual job, the letter to the President could only have been intended to blackmail, cause mischief and provoke an outcome in the anti-terrorism war different from what Nigerians want.
One must however blame the army for the failure that arose on its own part. This failure has to do with focusing on exterminating terrorists without doing much to go after terrorist supporters. The military has largely refrained from going after these ones that engage in activities that encourage the terrorists, a practice that is not unconnected with making political considerations like keeping mute when this malicious letter was written to the President. The military also appears to shy away from arresting non-combatant component of the terrorist infrastructure, for that is what the traditional institution, political leadership and the clergy that support Boko haram are.
The fight against terrorism has gotten to that stage where the combatant components of Boko Haram and ISWAP should receive a well deserved attention. The military must stop taking reputational damage from terrorists disguised as politicians, traditional rulers or clergy. The society will not criticize the military for actions taken in pursuit of neutralizing the threats posed by these set of people.
It is befitting to at this point appeal to the Nigerian Army, and the military at large, not to take this kind of letter to heart. Had the complaints come from upright citizens of Borno state that genuinely concerned about defeating terrorism then it would have been worth agonizing over. But in this instance it should be treated as a mere irritant that should be allowed to derail the focus needed to continue supressing the terrorists operating in the axis. The war efforts cannot and must not be truncated simply because some people are angry that their Boko Haram fighters are taking heavy damage.


Murphy is a security expert based in Calabar.

*IPOB members are threats to dignity of the human person, ANPE warns EU Governments over Kanu’s plans against Nigerian citizens*

The Association of Nigerian Professionals in Europe (ANPE) has cautioned the European Union (EU) member nations over the impending threats to human person posed by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) against Nigerians.

The group of well-meaning Nigerians made this known in a communique issued after an emergency extraordinary meeting in Lisbon on Monday, addressing IPOB's threat on Nigerians in Europe and other parts of the world.

In strong terms, ANPE condemned the activities of the terrorist group and its fugitive leader Nnamdi Kanu, especially after an assault on immediate past Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and threat to President Muhammadu Buhari.

After due consultation and deliberation, the group recommended that IPOB should be banned across Europe and its collaborators be brought to book.

These concerned Nigerians therefore called on EU to begin treating anyone that hides under an umbrella to attack Nigerian citizens as criminals that should be dealt with by the relevant security agencies.

Read full address below

ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIAN PROFESSIONALS IN EUROPE

A communique issued by the Association of Nigerian Professionals In Europe (ANPE) arising from its Emergency Extraordinarily meeting which held in Lisbon on Monday 26th August, 2019 on the recent threats posed by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra to Nigerians living in the EU and traveling to the EU as well as other parts of the world.

INTRODUCTION:

The Association of Nigerian professionals in Europe converged an Emergency Extraordinary general meeting in Lisbon to deliberate on the recent attack on Senator Ike Ekweremadu, serving Senator and immediate past Deputy Senate President in Germany and as well as the threat issued by Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to mobilise and attack high ranking Nigerians who visit any country in Europe and America.

THE DELIBERATIONS:

The Association of Nigerian Professionals in Europe (ANPE) that consists various interest group of Nigerians in various fields and disciplines in the EU decided to come together in unison to address the threats posed by the activities of IPOB in the EU and why urgent steps and measures ought to be put in place to protect Nigerians living in the EU as well as those traveling to the EU.

Consequently, after an extensive deliberation of issues raised by various stakeholders, ANPE unanimously reached a consensus on the following:

The acts of violence against Nigerians traveling to the EU is highly condemnable, and we call on the relevant security agencies in the various counties to identify and deal with whoever chooses the criminal path to inflict pains on others and be immediately deported back to Nigeria.

This is in cognizance of the fact that the image of Nigeria is being smeared by a group of people whose principal motive is driven by the quest for pecuniary gains. The Associated of Nigerian Professionals in Europe condemns the activities of IPOB and calls for more significant action from the relevant authorities in the EU towards nipping in the bud the nefarious activities of IPOB and their sponsors.

That Nigerian politicians and other high ranking government officials are welcome to visit the European Union anytime, they deem fit, not minding the threat made by IPOB and accept the assurances of the various EU countries that will not allow IPOB to endanger anyone’s lives under whatever guise.

That the Association of Nigerian Professionals in Europe enjoys a cordial relationship with the present administration of President Muhummadu Buhari and as such would not fold its hands and watch IPOB humiliate Nigerians living in the EU as well as those traveling to the EU.

That the benefits of a smooth relationship between Nigerians living in Nigeria and Nigerians in the Diaspora cannot be overemphasized, and such the Association of Nigerian Professionals in Europe hereby affirms its unalloyed commitment to see to the entrenchment of a smooth relationship between Nigerians living in the EU and Nigerians in Nigeria at all times.

The Association of Nigerian Professionals in Europe wishes to emphasize the need to protect the image of Nigeria by all well-meaning Nigerians in the EU by dissociating themselves from activities organized by IPOB and its network of charlatans that have decided to drag the image of Nigeria in the mud.

This is on the heels that the relationship between Nigerians in Diaspora and the current leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari remains very smooth and Nigerians in Diaspora will welcome Mr. President, his officials and other high ranking government officials anytime to the EU.

Those that are bent on tarnishing the image of Nigeria should desist from such in the overall interest of the country as Nigeria is more significant than any group of persons whose allegiance is to their paymasters.

The Association of Nigerian Professionals in Europe also wishes to emphasize the need for unity and peace in Nigeria at this critical point of our existence and therefore calls on all well-meaning Nigerians to give the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari the needed cooperation in its quest to take Nigeria to greater heights.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

The Association of Nigerian Professionals in Europe after due consultation and deliberation recommends the following:

A total ban of the activities of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) across Europe. To the end, ANPE leadership in the various countries has been urged to officially write the Police in all the EU countries to report the evil activities of IPOB and anyone acting in that capacity or under such guise to breaks down law and order.

The immediate clampdown of IPOB and their conspirators that have constituted themselves into a nuisance in Europe and other parts of the world must be enforced by the various countries and seen as security threats and not acts of civil disobedience . Recent utterances by the IPOB Leader and placing of bounty on the heads of Nigerian public officials is a clear act of terrorism just likethe group has been known in Nigeria already.

That the relevant authorities in the EU should as a matter of urgency begin the process of treating anyone that hides under an umbrella to attack Nigerian citizens as criminals that should be dealt with by the relevant security agencies.

That the Nigerian missions in the EU should begin the process of compiling names of duly registered associations in the EU to identify those with ulterior motives and report same to the relevant security agencies in the EU for prompt action.

Signed:
1. Dr. Agwu Onyeke (President)

2. Arc. Adesugun Lawal (Ukraine)

3.Chief Adekoya (Italy)

4.Engr. Bright Anyanwu (Spain)

5. Mr. Godspower Smith (Germany)

6.Prof. Afik Babarinde (Cyprus)

A federal high court sitting in Abuja has been asked to declare the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu a fugitive in the United Kingdom.

Apart from being declared a fugitive, the court is also being asked to order his arrest and repatriation from wherever he is hiding in Great Britain back to Nigeria to stand his trial within 21 days.

The plaintiff, Mr. Donald Okonkwo, joined the British High Commission in Nigeria , the Directorate of State Services and the Attorney General of the Federation as defendants in the case.

In the suit, the plaintiff, through his counsel Abiodun Sodiq Babalola Esq. prayed the court to determine the following issues:

*Whether the 1st Defendant is not under obligation to repatriate the IPOB separatist leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, being a fugitive cum terrorist from the Great Britain where he has been hiding since September, 2017 under the cover of his citizenship status back to Nigeria so he can stand his trial for treasonable felony, amongst other sundry offences, pending against him before Honourable Justice (Mrs.) Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court Abuja?

*Whether by a true interpretation of Sections 1, 4 and 5 of the Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act, 2013 the 2nd Defendant has not abdicated his duties by failing, neglecting or omitting to arrest and extradite the IPOB separatist leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, from the Great Britain back to Nigeria so he can stand his trial for treasonable felony, amongst other sundry offences, considering the Bench Warrant issued on 28th March, 2019 by Honourable Justice (Mrs.) Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court Abuja for the arrest of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu after it was determined that he flouted his bail conditions?

*Whether the 3rd Defendant, as the Chief Law Officer of the Federation is not under a statutory duty to advise the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to severe diplomatic relations with the 1st Defendant for harbouring Mazi Nnamdi Kanu being a fugitive cum terrorist in the Great Britain and whether the failure of the 3rd Defendant does not amount to abdication of his duties under the of the Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act, 2013?

He also asked the court to make the following declarations.

*A Declaration that the British High Commission, that is, the 1st Defendant is under obligation to repatriate the IPOB separatist leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, being a fugitive cum terrorist from the Great Britain where he has been hiding since September, 2017 under the cover of his citizenship status back to Nigeria so he can stand his trial for treasonable felony, amongst other sundry offences, pending against him before Honourable Justice (Mrs.) Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court Abuja.

*A Declaration that by a true interpretation of Sections 1, 4 and 5 of the Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act, 2013 the 2nd Defendant has abdicated his duties by failing, neglecting or omitting to arrest and extradite the IPOB separatist leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, from the Great Britain back to Nigeria so he can stand his trial for treasonable felony, amongst other sundry offences, considering the Bench Warrant issued on 28th March, 2019 by Honourable Justice (Mrs.) Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court Abuja for the arrest of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu after it was determined that he flouted his bail conditions.

*A Declaration that the 3rd Defendant as the Chief Law Officer of the Federation is under a statutory duty to advise the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to sever diplomatic relations with the 1st Defendant for harbouring Mazi Nnamdi Kanu being a fugitive cum terrorist in the Great Britain and that his failure to so advise amount to abdication of his duties under the of the Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act, 2013.

AN ORDER COMPELLING the 1st & 2nd Defendants to forthwith arrest and repatriate Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from wherever he is hiding in the Great Britain back to Nigeria to stand his trial within 21 (Twenty One) days from the date of delivery of judgment in this suit.

*AN ORDER DIRECTING the 1st Defendant to tender public apology to the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 3 (Three) national dailies within 21 (Twenty One) days from the date of delivery of judgment in this suit for her complicity in facilitating the escape from justice and harbouring of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in the Great Britain, thereby allowing him to cause innocent Nigerian citizens serious emotional trauma through the instrumentality of incessant threat of violence, breach of peace and overthrow of the legitimate government in Nigeria.

In the affidavit in support of the originating summons, deposed to, nyvthe plaintiff, he said:

*That I know as a fact that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was arrested by officers of the 2nd Defendant in 2015 for his secessionist activities and is standing trial for treasonable felony, publication of defamatory matter against the President of Nigeria and other sundry offences before the Federal High Court, Abuja presided over by Honourable Justice (Mrs.) Binta Nyako.

*That Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was admitted to bail after spending two years in custody upon plea that he was ill on 25th April, 2017, subject to the fulfillment of certain terms, one among which is to provide a reliable surety who must be a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria representing his Senatorial District.

*That consequent upon the above condition, Senator Enyinnaya Harcourt Abaribe, the Senator representing Abia South Senatorial District of Abia State, Tochukwu Uchendu and Jewish Chief High Priest Immanuel –El Shalom Oka-Ben Madu perfected the bail bond which facilitated the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

*That upon the perfection of the bail and consequent release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from prison custody, he constantly flouted all the bail conditions to wit; granting press interviews while on bail, participating in rallies, or being found in a crowd of more than ten persons whilst his bail subsisted.

*That to make matters worse, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu eventually disappeared to the Great Britain in September, 2017 in an attempt to escape trial and the arm of the law after a week of high profile clashes between his group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Nigerian Army.

*That IPOB was designated a terrorist organization by the Federal Government of Nigeria on 18th September, 2017, leading to proscription of its activities.

*That on 20th September, 2017 the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja equally proscribed IPOB making the existence of the organization under any name or guise illegal in Nigeria.

*That I know as a fact that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu whose followers claimed was secretly abducted by the Nigerian Army has been hiding in the Great Britain in an attempt to escape justice and was pictured months later praying at the Wailing Wall of Jerusalem, Israel on 19th October, 2018.

*That I know as a fact that the illegal disappearance of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from the shores of Nigeria to the United Kingdom would not have been possible if not for gross display of negligence on the part of the 3rd Defendant as well as complacency of the 1st Defendant which aided the illegal travel of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu considering the fact that he holds citizenship of the 1st Defendant.

*That I also verily believe that the action of the 1st Defendant arranging and facilitating the illegal travels of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is a calculated to ensure that he escapes justice and to continue to perpetuate acts of terrorism against Nigeria to wit; arranging, managing and participating in meetings with other terrorists organizations across the globe as well as receiving support from them for purposes of dislodging the government of Nigeria.

*Don’t allow Kanu, IPOB launch terrorism in your countries, concerned citizens tell US, UK others over plot to kill Nigerian citizens abroad*

Following the recent modus operandi deployed by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in foreign countries, the Concerned Citizens Forum (CCF) has alerted the United States, United Kingdom and other nations to be wary of the terrorist group.

IPOB's nefariousness reached an all-new low when they attacked immediate past Senate President Ike Ekweremadu in Germany and even threatened to inflict similar ordeal on President Muhammadu Buhari in Japan.

In a letter addressed by National President, Princess Ajibola and addressed to the US’ Ambassador to Nigeria, W. Stuart Symington, dated Monday 26th August, the CCF warned of an impending terrorist movement if not properly checked in the US and other nations.

The concerned citizens reminded these countries that IPOB is a terrorist group in Nigeria, with a long history of intolerance, violent protests, disregard for constitutional authorities and bloodshed.

According to the group, if proactive steps are not taken, IPOB could escalate to another Al-Qaeda terrorist group of some sort, wreaking havoc across the world.


These concerned Nigerians, therefore, advised the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries to forthwith outlaw the group to ensure the safety of its citizens as well as foreigners, especially Nigerians.

Below is the full letter

The Concerned Citizens of Forum wishes to bring to the attention of the United States of America the recent threats posed by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as evident in the attack of a member of the National Assembly in Germany.

The attack and the subsequent threats issued by the leader of the terrorist group Nnamdi Kanu calls for concern from all critical stakeholders devoted to the entrenchment of peace all over the world.

The Ambassador may wish to recall that the nefarious activities of IPOB in Nigeria have led to deaths of innocent people, amongst whom are women and children. Save for the timely intervention of the Nigerian Security Agencies, Nigeria would have been engulfed in crisis by IPOB, whose main motive was to cause the disintegration of Nigeria.

The Ambassador may also wish to recall that the Nigerian authorities indeed made it clear that the activities of IPOB in Nigeria were with the active support of some terrorist network around the world.

In Nigeria, IPOB has attempted to constitute itself into a parallel government. It has continuously instigated the people against the constituted authorities through hate speeches, organization of violent protests, attacking security agents, subjecting innocent people to torture and a flagrant disregard for the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Dear Ambassador, IPOB is by every inch a terrorist organization that operates terrorist cells covertly in many countries of the world, including the United States of America. This much has been stated by the leader of the group Nnamdi Kanu who is standing trial in court for terrorism-related offences in Nigeria, and he jumped bail.

Dear Ambassador, IPOB, as a terrorist organization has carried on with recklessness. They have killed, maimed, and harassed innocent people going about their normal businesses. They have also tagged those that do not share in their ideology as imbeciles and gorillas. They have attacked critical government infrastructures intending to cripple the Nigerian economy. They have buried people killed in shallow graves. They have also vowed that Nigeria and indeed Nigerians would be attacked anywhere in the world. This much can be seen in the recent attack of a high ranking member of the legislative arm of government in Nigeria who escaped death by the whiskers in Germany.

IPOB has been indicted in Nigeria as aligning with foreign forces to cause political unrest in Nigeria. They have infiltrated young boys and girls with their ideology. They have also promised monetary rewards for information on the travel plans of governors and other high ranking government officials to attack them just like they did with Senator Ike Ekweremadu in Germany.

The Concerned Citizens Forum is consequently alarmed that if urgent and proactive steps are not taken to curtail the terrorist activities of IPOB around the world, the world might be faced with another Al-Qaeda terrorist group in the making.

This is especially so given the fact that the leader of IPOB has openly admitted that IPOB will continue to attack Igbo politicians, anywhere they go to in Canada, Germany, Australia, US, and the UK. This is also aside from the recent threat issued by IPOB to President Muhammadu Buhari who recently travelled to Japan.

Dear Ambassador, the threat posed by IPOB to world peace is glaring, and as such, it is required that all necessary measures be activated to curtail their nefarious activities in the interest of peace and tranquillity.

The safety of Nigerians and other innocent citizens of the world will be guaranteed if the United States of America begins the process of outlawing IPOB and its accomplices in the United States.

This is on the heels that intelligence reports indicate that IPOB has a strong base in the United States of America from where it coordinates its terrorist activities around the world.

Dear Ambassador, IPOB is indeed a threat to the world, and as such, its activities must be outlawed in the United States of America. The United States of America must rise to the occasion in this critical point of our existence to protect Nigerians living abroad and those traveling overseas from the threat posed by IPOB.

Dear Ambassador, the Concerned Citizens Forum is constrained to write you this letter in an attempt to bring to your notice of the threat posed by IPOB and as well as to remind the government of the United States of America of its role in the entrenchment of peace all over the world.

It is our firm belief that the United States of America would act fast in this regards before IPOB constitutes a threat to the world.

Kanu, IPOB are enemies of Igbo nation, group lambasts IPOB activities to set Ndi-Igbo up

The Igbo in Nigeria Movement (INM) has described the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and it's leader, Nanmdi Kanu, as enemies of Ndigbo.

The group said the recent order by the leader of the outlawed group to attack high profile Igbos and other Nigerians abroad was as a deliberate attempt to set up the Igbos.


INM warmed that the recent attack on former Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu in Germany should be the last as further attack on any other Nigerian won't be taken lightly with their families back at home .

Mazi Ifeanyi Igwe, President of INM at a press conference on Sunday, vowed that going forward, any attack on an Igbo leader or any Nigerian citizen abroad shall be responded to by a disproportionately harsher attack on the families of the participating IPOB members.

The statement below.


We are all witnesses to the recent attack on former Deputy President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Ike Ekweremadu by terrorists that identified as belonging to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The attack resonates with us for two reasons: first is that it took place in faraway Nuremberg, Germany and; secondly, because Senator Ekweremadu is not just Igbo but is also about the highest-ranking Igbo politically having occupied the position of Deputy Senate President for twelve years.

In spite of the widespread condemnation that trailed the attack, it is now apparent that it was not a random one-off incident. Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB have gone ahead to threaten other Igbo leaders by placing a N1 million bounty on their heads should they visit Europe. We had thought that this was merely the result of a deep animosity to Igbo leaders that once mistakenly backed IPOB but later withdrew their support. Unfortunately, Kanu has now issued a similar threat against President Muhammadu Buhari, inciting his terrorists to attack the President who is on a visit to Japan.

Igbo in Nigeria Movement (INM) was among the few groups that were able to identify IPOB as a terrorist group even before it was formally proscribed by the government. It was a conclusion we reached after assessing the posture of IPOB and Kanu, which led to that realization that they do not have positive aspirations for the Igbo race and were certainly committed to pursuing an agenda that is dangerous to the wellbeing of our people. We realized early enough that IPOB was dangerous to the Igbo interest.

We have again made the assessment that IPOB has entered a new phase of terrorism, which involves intimidating our people from travelling abroad. The context we are making this assessment may be lost on some people at the moment but our concern will appreciated from the realization that IPOB has practically arrogated the powers of an independent state to impose a travel restriction on politicians and businessmen of Igbo extraction in a bid to coerce them into supporting their terrorist cause. Considering that commerce is the mainstay of the Igbo economy, this is a tactic to prevent our high-ranking citizens from carrying out their legitimate businesses in other parts of the world. It is a strategy with grave consequences for the long-term stability of Igboland.

It is on this basis that we ask the Igbo politicians that nurtured Kanu and IPOB into the monsters they have become to take a look at their handwork. As at the time we were raising the alarm over the true nature of this abomination some of these politicians opted to allow their bias and sentiments against other ethnic groups to cloud their judgment. Today, IPOB is using threat of violence and actual violence to force these same politicians to continue supporting its terrorist stance. Kanu has not only abandoned them when it matters most, he has like a rabid dog turned on these people that now want to stop supporting IPOB as a terrorist organization.

Irrespective of Kanu’s rants, Kanu does not have the capacity to slow down the continued economic development of Ndigbo, whether abroad as he is trying to do or here in Nigeria. The Igbo spirit cannot be bowed. Anyone of Igbo ancestry that tries to truncate the Igbo travel in quest of furthering our collective agenda or in pursuit of commerce commits aalu. We are therefore constrained to declare Nnamdi Kanu as a persona non grata over the attack on Senator Ekweremadu. We similarly declare all the IPOB terrorists that helped him carry out this attack as outcasts until they show contrition, give themselves up for cleansing and seek forgiveness.

Igbo are known for being good ambassadors; at any point in time it is our best that should represent us in any part of the world and not the kind of miscreants that we saw on that video of the assault on Senator Ekweremadu. Igbo in Nigeria Movement therefore uses this opportunity to call on the Federal Government to work with the authorities in Germany to repatriate all those identified as taking part in the attack for them to come and stand trial at home. The Federal Government should go one step further by compiling a list of those that identify as IPOB members and make same available to countries of the world so that such terrorists can be expelled from these countries before they further tarnish the Igbo heritage and Nigeria’s image.

In the case of Kanu, it is pertinent for the government not to forget that he is a fugitive from justice since he jumped bail to escape trial for terrorism and treason. All possible diplomatic channels should be explored to return him before the court in Nigeria so that his trial can be concluded and his prison term handed to him.

We warn the IPOB members abroad that the attack on Senator Ekweremadu must be the last of its kind even as the demand continues for the government to exact consequences from those that were responsible. But going forward, any attack on an Igbo leader abroad shall be responded to by a disproportionately harsher attack on the families of the participating IPOB members. Of course, we know ourselves so finding the homesteads of these miscreants will not be a problem – if they have property in their villages or anywhere in Nigeria, we will raze them down. We will encourage the willing among Igbo at home to go after their families back in Nigeria.

As part of measures to ensure these are not empty words, we have begun a beta project that involves using digital tools and social media to identify IPOB members in the Diaspora and to use the data so gathered to locate the villages, clan and even compounds of these terrorists. We are only waiting for them to be irresponsible enough to carry out one more attack and they will hear from us.

With the treat from Kanu to have IPOB terrorists in Japan attack President Buhari, we hope that the security agencies now better appreciate the threat posed by IPOB. With our civilian skills, we have been able to prove that it is very easy to gather dossiers on the identities of IPOB terrorists abroad; we hope that our law enforcement agencies will use their own advanced skills and access to technology to track down these criminals with a view to taking them into custody and arraigning them for trial when they visit Nigeria for Christmas. And this approach is only for those ones among them that have not been repatriated or expelled before Christmas.

We appeal to the media not to repeat the mistake they made with Boko Haram, whereby they unwittingly assisted terrorists to promote their propaganda while thinking they were breaking news or dishing out exclusives. Situations where the media highlight things like IPOB placing bounty on Igbo leaders or Kanu ordering attack on President Buhari and other politicians does not depict an acceptable level of ethical consideration demanded of them. The only time such barbaric behaviors should be reported should be when it is with a view to condemning such.

In the meantime, Senator Ike Ekweremadu has our support and solidarity. We are happy that he came out stronger after the attack and even described his attackers as drunkards and drug addicts, for no self-respecting Igbo man that is thriving abroad will engage in the despicable acts of the IPOB miscreants.

CSO petitions Human Rights Commission over EFCC's continued detention of Galaxy Construction Boss, Babagana Dalori.

A Civil Society Organization, Centre for Public Accountability (CPA), has petitioned the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) over the continued detention of Engr Babagana Abba Dalori the Managing Director of Galaxy Transportation and construction Services, who has been illegally detained by the EFCC, since March 2019.


The group led by its Executive Director, Comrade Olufemi Lawson, in a petition submitted on Thursday asked the NHRC to in the interest of rule of law and compliance with human rights obligations, call the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC to order an immediate release of Babagana Dalori.
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A copy of the petition, which was sent to President Muhammadu Buhari, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, and the Media, said
Engineer Dalori has been held incommunicado in dehumanising conditions since March 2019 by the EFCC, where it has over the period, subjected him, to mental, psychological and physical harassment in manners that violates his human rights.

"Furthermore, in utter contempt of court the EFCC have defied valid and subsisting orders of the Federal High Court ordering the immediate release of some of the detainee. Apart from the contemptuous conduct of the EFCC, it has also illegally impounded some properties belonging to the detainee, without any valid order of the court." the group said.

"For the purpose of clarity, the basis for the travail of Engr Babagana Abba Dalori, emanated from a business dealing, involving his company and some investors, who lost part of their financial investment after a flooding incident sometimes in the year 2018. The company lost sand and equipment to flooding in 2018, and attached to this letter, are copies of sympathy letters from Emirates in areas of operation to the company.

The unfortunate incident which affected many of the dredging equipments of the company was brought to the notice of investors, thereby leading to some of them demanding refund of their investment, thereby necessitating their involvement of the EFCC." the petition read.

The group further said the EFCC should be reminded, that all Nigerians are entitled to their fundamental rights to dignity and liberty guaranteed by sections 34 and 35 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended and articles 5 and 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights Ratification and Enforcement Act (Cap A9) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, as it urge the Human Rights Commission, to impress it upon the EFCC to immediately release Engr Dalori from unlawful custody or arraign them in court without any further delay.

"The illegal detention of citizens without trial and against the directive of competent clearly violates human rights, and constitutes a threat to our hard earned democracy." it concluded.

By Abraham Otigba

Nollywood, Nigeria's home movie industry is getting enriched every day, with new actors and actresses. I love it's comedy brand passionately because of it's exhilarating treats.

When ace comedy actors like Nkem Owoh,. Francis Odega, Mr. Ibu ( John Okafor) and the real stamp of comedy, Sam Loco ( of blessed memory) and so forth, perform their "miracles" on stage, I know God has blessed Nigeria.

These comic actors are "crooks," because they quietly steal both my money and laughter, even in depressive moods, very nicely.

I am happy for the inventors of Nollywood. At least, they have made a bold statement that Nigeria has not failed completely in every spectrum of life. None of us can deny that Nigeria's entertainment industry is booming and creating waves globally.

Nollywood bristles with new entrants every minute; the formal and informal actors do not hesitate to congregate on our souls on humourous soul refreshing trips. I enjoy it extremely.

Consequently, the nest of Nollywood has kept expanding for the entertainment of Nigerians. The latest informal entrant or sign- up actor into Nollywood's world is Shiek Ibraheem EL-Zakzaky, the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, (IMN) popularly known as the Shiites in Nigeria.

We are aware of the nasty tales surrounding EL- Zakzaky and his extremists adherents in Nigeria. Nigerians know about the lawful incaceration of EL- Zakzaky and his wife as accomplices for alleged serious crimes against the state.

This spiritual leader of the Shiites sect has enviable guts. EL- Zakzaky dared both the FGN and the Kaduna State Government in devilry confrontations, dismissing the anger of Government as hogwash.

But queerly, EL- Zakzaky and his followers believe in the creeds of the government of a foreign country, the Republic of Iran and it's terrorists overlords in the Middle East. They hold it as sacrosanct.

Needless to say, EL- Zakzaky and his wife, who have been under lawful custody and undergoing court trials for alleged culpable homicide, unlawful assembly and disruption of public peace and order, claimed multiple ailments while under custody. The charges against them are as many as the strands of hair.

Many deaths and destructions to public and private properties in Nigeria are directly or remotely allegedly linked to EL- Zakzaky, the Shiites spiritual leader. And his trial is only but gathering momentum now. The FGN is sorting it out with him at the Appeal Court; while the Kaduna State Government is also resolving some knotty issues with him at the State High Court.

So, the IMN leader and his wife applied to the court seeking permission to travel abroad for medical attention on the grounds of deteriorating health condition. And a Kaduna State High Court days back granted EL-Zakzaky and his wife leave to travel to India for medical treatment under certain conditions and tight security.

EL- Zakzaky's friend and counsel, Femi Falana who filed the application for medical leave nourished it by painting a graphically pathetic health condition of EL-Zakzaky and the wife. Personally, I was not opportuned to see the IMN leader while in detention.

But the imageries of EL- Zakzaky's ill-health as portrayed by Falana made some of us weep at the "cruelty," of Government. Media photographs of him on the day he was released for the medical trip somewhat convinced some of us the severity of his medical afflictions.

Falana convinced the court into granting the application by insistently articulating that medical doctors in Nigeria have confirmed, EL- Zakzaky has already lost an eye in detention, which implied partial blindness. And the second eye may be lost to advanced glaucoma, if no care is given to his health condition.

El-Zakzaky covenanted with the court to return to Nigeria , with his wife as soon as the Indian hospital discharged them after treatment.

Falana, SAN also listed other "threatening" health conditions affecting the IMN leader. And some Nigerians wailed; and the Shiites sect members kicked violently.

The ante was pushed higher for EL- Zakzaky by an assemblage of 186 medical doctors from seven countries namely – Pakistan, India, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. These are countries which pride as the bedrock and hubs of global terrorism. I am still trying to reconcile what motivated them into the empathy for the IMN leader.

But the coalition of medical doctors wrote a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari drumming that EL-Zakzaky’s physical conditions demands that the Nigerian government transfers him to a well-equipped hospital for treatment.

The medical doctors argued in part; "He ( EL- Zakzaky) is suffering from a total blindness in the left eye, and is also suffering from vision problems in the right eye including glaucoma and progressive macular atrophy."

They cautioned that EL- Zakzaky, "will lose his vision sooner or later if the current circumstances do not change. He has shown symptoms of Ischemic heart disease which can lead to Myocardial Infraction." It sounded frightening to me.

But ironically, it turned out to be fluke and a movie scripted and acted by the IMN leader. I remember during arguments for his release for medical treatment, a defence counsel opposed it, positing that EL-Zakzaky's ailment is treatable in Nigeria. But the court thought otherwise and granted the order.

But the moment of truth came sooner. You know, it's deceptive to believe the actors world. The stage is quite different from reality and they care to warn us about their fictional content as merely acting or reflecting what they think of the world. Only an excursion into their minds reveals the real motive for the actions.

So, I was not surprised that EL-Zakzaky who opted for treatment in Medanta Hospital, India began to manifest early symptoms of distrust in Dubai, even before reaching India.

And in India, a man portrayed as very sick, partially blind and in some sense, a " walking corpse," physically unfit to stand trial had almost water-proof initiatives to break approved procedures for his movement and diplomatically scuttle his treatment and divert attention away from him.

A purportedly severely sick EL-Zakzaky and too frail to appear in Nigerian courts to defend allegations against him became very strong and dubiously calculative, craving to outsmart the security details around him.

Like my comedy movies idol, Sam Loco who connived with his wife and children to feign death in one of his classics to extort condolence money from friends and family members; in India EL- Zakzaky refused to subject himself to preliminary medical examination; preferred lodging in a five-star hotel, instead of the hospital.

The IMN leader also requested that his international passport in the possession of state officials be handed over to him. Quite strange to the behavior of a very sick person as portrayed, EL-Zakzaky demanded freedom for free movement and access to assorted visitors all over the world and the withdrawal of Indian Police protection from him.

The state officials detailed around him are nice guys. They rejected all his requests. They sensed a sinister intention.

The trickish IMN leader was still not convinced that his ulterior motives for hiding under the guise of medical treatment to hoodwink the Court in Nigeria to grant his application for medical treatment. So, he took one more delve in the waters of luck.

EL-Zakzaky then demanded nomination of doctors of his choice to pair up with their colleagues at Medanta Hospital to perform medical treatment on him and his wife. The demand was in contravention of medical ethics and standard practice and so, dismissed. Everyone turned cold and amazed at his calculative shrewdness.

Both the Indian doctors and Nigerian State officials on the trip with El-Zakzaky were shocked at the miraculous recovery of a very "sick," man whom many feared in the last two weeks, could die any minute, if denial of medical attention is sustained. And he was personally contriving and working out these subversive or dodgy schemes.

I was motivated into this comic commentary on EL- Zakzaky because a tweet from a bemused African, Kikute thrilled me. Probably, Kikute also keenly monitored the EL-Zakzaky saga and laughed at the turn of events.

Kikute wrote on his Twitter: “Zakzaky walked. He talked. He glanced at his wristwatch and said the time. He is seeing clearly with his two eyes. Zakzaky is not sick. Baba Falana...nooooooo."

I know, India is a no nonsense country. And when the IMN leader thought he could blackmail the Indian Government when his plots to use India as his escape plank to evade justice failed, he embarked on the familiar grandstanding we know in Nigeria.

So, he cried out comically and coated it with the finesse of " refusing treatment from unknown doctors." He never bulged to the ultimatum issued him by the Indian Government to accept treatment or be returned back to Nigeria. It is the first time in my lifetime, a man supposedly on a dying bed still retains the senses of dictating which doctors should treat him. Only in movies it is possible!

By now, EL- Zakzaky must have been flown back to Nigeria. But deep down in his heart, he knows feigning the gravity of his ailment.

The Court application for medical treatment was designed to open a window for the IMN leader to escape justice. What else can I fathom outside that while in India, medication became secondary agenda; and he had his eyes fixed on the comfort of luxuriating in the urban cities and countrysides of India, outside the confines of the hospital.

Next to it, was how to perfect his plot of asylum in India, intent on relocating to another country in the nearest future in total disregard for international procedures. EL-Zakzaky clandestinely initiated contacts with a team of lawyers led by Ali Zia Kabir Chaudary and Gunjan Singh in India as well as some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), such as the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) and other Shiite groups to execute this agenda.

The personalities and groups were mandated to procure the leave of a court in India to grant the IMN leader leave to relocate to another country, instead of returning to Nigeria. He know it was impossible under the terms and conditions the court permitted him to travel for medication, but he nonetheless, acted it. But the Indian Government avoided the IMN leader like a plague and frustrated his plots to discreetly use India as a platform to internationalise his IMN version of Shiites sect.

Therefore, welcome back to Nigeria EL- Zakzaky! The proposed blockbuster comedy movie production abroad is over. What you had was a rehearsal and time to act the final script is now in Nigeria by facing the courts to defend the allegations against you. It is a settled matter because the IMN leader has recovered from sickness superbly. How I wish my friend Sam Loco were alive to fete his exact replica.

Otigba is a forensic psychologist and wrote from University of Lagos.

El-Zakzakky: Group commends Buhari for obeying court on IMN leader’s medical vacation, asks court to commence trial


A civil society organization under the aegis of the Peace and Justice Forum has commended President Muhammadu Buhari obeying court order, which allowed the embattled leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, to embark on medical vacation overseas.

Recall that a Kaduna court led by Justice Darius Khobo, had on August 5 granted El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat, leave to travel abroad for medical treatment.

The group said by that singular gesture, the government proved that their detention and trial were not in bad faith but were necessary steps taken in national interest.

Addressing newsmen on Sunday, the group through its President, Elder Andrew John Onuche, urged the court to commence the trial of the IMN leader without delay.

The group further called on el-Zakzaky's counsel, Chief Femi Falana (SAN) and his supporters to prevail on him to defend himself in the court where he is being tried and stop the unnecessary comedy of embarking on medical tourism as an escape plot.

The statement below.

Gentlemen of the press, for the past several months, Nigeria came under attacks from the radical and extremist elements of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN). They first relocated their violence from Kaduna to the nation’s capital, Abuja and eventually spread their disruptive activities to other cities across the country. These extremist activities only mellowed after the court proscribed IMN as a terrorist organization in accordance with the anti-terrorism legislation in Nigeria.

The basis for these violent protests was the excuse that IMN militants were protesting for their leader, Mr Ibraheem el-Zakzaky to be freed even though he was in custody while being tried for treason, murder and sundry crimes. While the protests began as unruly affairs that involve IMN members menacing innocent Nigerians and depriving them from moving freely about their daily business, the propaganda lunched - with the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran – that el-Zakzaky was mortally sick became a basis for them to engage in full blown terrorist activities, including a brazen attempt to overthrow the National Assembly as well as targeted assassination of police officers and journalists.

Note that a group of doctors from Iran visited el-Zakzaky and his wife in detention came up with a catalogue of ailments that hinted the leader of the terrorist organization may have only weeks to live if he was not urgently flown abroad for treatment. They created the impression that the hospitals in Nigeria are unable to treat his ailments. This assertion was curiously reinforced by a team of 186 doctors from seven countries, who were mostly Shias like el-Zakzaky.

We thank the Federal Government for taking the humanitarian step of allowing el-Zakzaky and his wife to seek treatment abroad, even when acceding to this request appeared like pandering to the demands of terrorists. By that singular gesture the government proved that his detention and trial were not in bad faith but were necessary steps taken in national interest.

El-Zakzaky is now back in Nigeria as the authorities in India found him insufferable and disruptive to the point that they were not able to put up with his behaviour for 72 hours – law-abiding Nigerians should thus be commended for enduring decades of this plague in human form. He was simply belligerent. He pestered the security accompanying him to return his passport during a Dubai stop-over, he wanted to be checked into a five-star hotel, he rejected treatment from one hospital and rejected assigned doctors when he eventually got to his preferred hospital. He refused to submit for pre-treatment tests but was rather receiving an assortment of visitors and above all made a video broadcast that gave him away as a scam, a fraud.

It is worthy of mention that El-Zakzaky only sought a medical vacation as a ruse to escape. His must have thought that only himself, his Iranian handlers and lieutenants were aware of the nefarious reasons for acting the way he did but facts are now emerging. It is now known that had he been given his passport as requested he would have later requested to use the toilet facilities from where he would have sneaked out into the waiting hands of his Iranian handlers who had a private jet positioned to take off within minutes. Had he been checked into a five-star hotel as requested his Iranian handlers had infiltrated the place and would have drugged the security team and proceed to ferrying him to Iran.

The same arrangement was made as a fallback option when he was checked into Medanta Hospital, which explains his frustration when he discovered that India had a full complement of security to support the Nigerian team. Seeing that the game was up he became irritable and dramatic. It should be noted that the rejection the assigned team of doctors and declining to submit for new medical tests was because both instances would have led to the discovery that the ailments, they had reported, were either a ruse or highly exaggerated. It is a development that would have made self-respecting countries withdrew the medical licenses of these doctors that placed their sectarian affiliation above professional ethics.

There are however positive aspects that have emerged from the entire saga. We have found out that the “el-Zakzaky is sick and dying” story is a big fat lie, a pig in a poke. As one social media user, Kikute, puts it on Twitter: “Zakzaky walked. He talked. He glanced at his wristwatch and said the time. He is seeing clearly with his two eyes. Zakzaky is not sick. Baba Falana...nooooooo”. The whole of this is a conspiracy to assist him in escaping to Iran to direct IMN’s terrorism from there.

From his assertion that the security around him in India made Kirikiri Prison to feel like a five-star hotel, it can now be concluded that law enforcement and the military in Nigeria have shown him such courtesy as he and his group do not extend to other citizens. It has equally been proven that he has received in Nigeria the kind of medical treatment that assured him to reject treatment in India.

Another fact that has emerged from el-Zakzaky's aborted medical tourism in India is that through the video broadcast he made confirmed that he is not remorseful for the deaths he has caused – his members, military and law enforcement personnel, journalists and innocent Nigerians have died from situations created by him. It is now clear that he will make inciting multimedia messages to urge members of the IMN terrorist organization to launch attacks against Nigerians if the mistake is ever made of allowing him escape to Iran then the world should brace for such terrorism has never been experienced before.

We call on el-Zakzaky's counsel, Chief Femi Falana (SAN) and his supporters to prevail on him to defend himself in the court where he is being tried and stop the unnecessary comedy of embarking on medical tourism as an escape plot. He may think he is engaged in a juvenile game of hide and seek but it is grossly irresponsible to squander taxpayers fund the way he did on his India trip.

Our expectation is that those who were deceived into being sympathetic to el-Zakzaky's the IMN’s cause now have a vista into what they have been supporting. Nigerians should begin to question the NGOs that had sold the lies that the IMN is an armless group.
Even as we commend the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for giving el-Zakzaky the privilege to have gone on the Indian medical trip, we urge that there should be no further waste of taxpayers’ money for what has now been proven to be an escape bid. Such funds should rather be channelled into rehabilitating repentant IMN members. The government should in the meantime approach the court to note how the accused abused the travel leave granted by the court for making the inciting video broadcast.

It should as well send a commendation not to the government and people of India for their support in managing the situation in a way that it was not internationalized like the IMN and Iran wanted.

The Nigerian government should equally run its own set of medical tests to establish the lies told by the Iranian doctors and supported by the group of 186 doctors with a view to reporting the other doctors (that are not Iranian) for medical malpractice. They abused their position of influence by lending themselves to a terrorist plot.

It is our sincere wish that these exposure of the sham by el-Zakzaky, his legal counsel, doctors, IMN, Iran, and retainer NGOs will bring closure to the demonizing of the Nigerian state.

By Nkechi Odoma

The office of the Chief of Army Staff ( COAS) is powerful anywhere by every yardstick of perception. The occupant of the exalted office, and in the case of Nigeria now, Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai who wears a second heavier badge as leader, counter- insurgency operations is an influential personality by all standards.

As Nigeria's number one soldier, the COAS wields enormous powers both within and outside military circles. And in the age of perennial and festering insurgency in Nigeria, Gen. Buratai ought to have been egoistic as Nigeria's most priced warrior or man of valour.

Others in his position would have been prancing the Nigerian space with panache, haughtiness and magisterial aura for decimating and significantly crumbling Boko Haram insurgents. It is an uncommon feat.

And it is the experience of Nigerians with most previous occupants of the esteemed office of COAS, even when they have nothing to show as positive results for the war against terrorism. But such officers usually have enough pride and prompting for showmanship.

But Gen. Buratai's humility, discipline and simplicity is remarkably unparalleled with some of his professional colleagues, including those of lesser status. He is always in control of himself in decency; he does not allow the aura of his exalted position usurp and suspend his senses as evident in his public outings and interactions with soldiers, and Nigerian public consistently.

He is grandiose in thoughts and calculative in actions. For ages, the people knew, an average Nigerian soldier is traditionally brash, brutish, fastidious, beast-like and permenantly callous. But even as the leader of Nigerian Army, Gen. Buratai is the direct opposite of the aforementioned traits.

Although a crack soldier, rugged and rough in the trenches, but the Army General and leader of counter-insurgency operations in Nigeria is unassuming, amiable, honest, blunt and a level-headed team player. He walks into a public place and departs unannounced, unlike other high-profile personalities.

And right from childhood, Gen. Buratai imbibed the virtues of discipline, self-esteem, hard work, truthfulness and preseverance. He has nurtured and grown up with these qualities. A strict soldier to a fault, Gen. Buratai is a stickler to excellence, timeliness and obligations he covenants with people.

These personal principles have endured in Buratai throughout his military career. They have been his source of nourishment especially when he began holding leadership positions in the Army. For years, he commanded the several special operations launched against militants in the Niger Delta. And thereafter, he participated in United Nations Observer Missions/assignments in Angola and elsewhere in the world, emerging with worthy medals in virtually all instances.

Therefore, upon his appointment as the COAS, by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, Gen. Buratai met an Army that was unprofessional, undisciplined, disloyal, unpatriotic and frustratingly weak. It is mild statement to say, he inherited an Army was in complete disarray.

Many may hate to recount, but it was a national shame and disgrace that Nigeria had an army that faltered before Boko Haram insurgents or shirked womanishly in the frontline of battles with terrorists. Buratai knew, an effeminate Army was the worse thing that could ever happen to a country.

Instantly, Gen. Buratai realized at once that a burden has been placed on his head to rebrand the Nigerian Army into a professionally responsible and responsive institution worthy of a great nation like Nigeria. He had the daunting task of remoulding Army personnel to align with it's core constitutional mandate of preserving, safeguarding and protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Nigeria.

Gen. Buratai hit the ground running, by immediately touring Army Divisions and Formations throughout the country. The visits afforded him a platform of personal interactions with officers and personnel. He gathered firsthand information about their problems and afflictions.

There was no time to waste, as the fire of a raging Boko Haram insurgency need to be urgently extinguished. The Army Chief instantly solved interim problems afflicting the Army such as poor or lack of fighting equipments, unpaid or delayed salaries and allowances which dampened the spirit of soldiers in confronting terrorism.

Going forward, he introduced welfare schemes such as ownership of personal houses by soldiers in retirement, expansion of office and barracks accomodations, alongside renovation of existing Army establishments across the federation.

Gen. Buratai introduced reforms and innovations in the Army which were strictly anchored on discipline, loyalty, patriotism, hard work, transparency and honesty, as pathfinders, which morally, pyschologically and physically prepared the Army for excellence in the performance of it's constitutional responsibilities.

These were achieved via training and retraining of Army personnel through workshops, seminars and scholarly courses in specialised military institutions. Gen. Buratai's creed which is popularised and has become a singsong in the Army is strict adherence to oath of office, professional ethics and Rules of Engagement ( ROE) at all times, whether on Internal Security (IS) special assignments or battling the religious extremist sect, Boko Haram.

It is to Gen. Buratai's credit that a reformed Nigerian Army is substantially complying with the defined operational creeds, as soldiers are aware of Buratai's zero tolerance for professional misconduct. And soldiers also knows, he does not fail to punish erring soldiers each time one is found culpable.

The Army Chief's aversion to soldiers human rights violations of Nigerians is infectious. Apart from ensuring a smooth Army/ civil relations, Gen. Buratai has established a Human Rights Desk at the Army Headquarters ( AHQs) and replicated same in all major Army Divisions for ease of access to members of the public with such complaints against soldiers.

Today, and through the perfect reorientation of the Army by Gen. Buratai, soldiers are now served court summons by civilians who have disputes with them. And they appear in court to defend their actions in accordance with laws of the land. This was impossible in the immediate past history of the Nigerian Army and alien in civil/ military interactions.

But notwithstanding the stiff discipline imposed on the Army by Gen. Buratai, there are a few bad eggs who deviate from the norms by violating the code of conduct or creed of professionalism as persistently trumpeted. It's not in doubt that every institution or system has it's share of deviants.

However, Gen. Buratai spares no one caught in the ring over any professional misconduct. He has been consistent in punishing every established infraction by any soldier, no matter his rank. Those who have tested and relished Gen. Buratai's affection for his personnel, but rewarded it with engaging in professional misconduct usually encounter him at a sour point.

Recent examples would suffice and for instance, by end of 2018, the General Court Martial (GCM) sitting in Maimalari Cantonment Maiduguri, Borno State handed down different punishments to
five personnel of the Nigerian Army for various offences.

President of the Court Martial, Brig. Gen. Olusegun Adesina revealed that the offences hinged on cowardice, negligence, abduction and indiscipline.

So, Captain Alhamdu Kwasau was found guilty of cowardly behaviour and negligence while on military duty. He had his rank of Captain reduced to a Lieutenant with two years lost of seniority.

The second and third accused officers, Captain Jimen Babangida and Lieutenant Sanusi Bello were also found guilty of conduct prejudiced to service discipline and were punished variously by the GCM.

Also, Sergeant Aliyu Hassan and Lance Corporal Bello Nasiru were found guilty by the GCM on offences bordering on abduction or attempts to commit abduction and extortions. They were sentenced to as much as five years imprisonment on different counts, aside demotion in ranks.

Similarly, last week, the Nigerian Army arrested a soldier, Ajayi Johnson who allegedly shot dead a commercial motorcyclist Chimaobi Nwaorgu of Umuokereke-Ngwa community in Obingwa Local Government Area, of Abia State.

The acussed soldier has not only been b arrested, but detained and the disciplinary procedure of trial is in progress in accordance with extant military laws. And if found guilty, he will be dismissed and handed over to the police for civil prosecution.

Additionally and in some instances, Gen. Buratai has had cause ton dismiss soldiers who indulged in professional misconduct and compromised the integrity and tainted the reputation of the Army as an institution.

In 2016, at least 38 Army personnel deployed on election duty were dismissed from the Nigerian Army for professional misconduct, as a disciplinary measure to serve as deterrence to others. And when Nigerians saw the vehemence Senior Army officers resisted alleged financial inducements by the Rivers State Gov. Nyesom Wike to compromise the 2019 general elections in the state, it was a loud testimony of Gen. Buratai's reformation and rebranding of the Army.

Therefore, there is no doubt that Gen. Buratai is the Nigerian Army's shining portrait of discipline and mirror of excellence. His dream and efforts at making the Nigerian Army one of the best in the world is gradually coming to fruition with a drastic reduction in incidents of professional misconducts by Army personnel generally.

Nigerians must necessarily spot the thin dividing line between an individual bad soldier and the institution of the reverred Nigerian Army. Much as they are intertwined, but there are slight differences.


Odoma wrote this piece from Garki, Abuja

By Philip Agbese

The supremo of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Sheik Ibrahim el-Zakzaky finally had his wish to travel abroad for medical treatment granted. This should ordinarily have been a good development, especially in a country where the perception is that getting treatment abroad is the ultimate when healthcare is concerned. But for el-Zakzaky, it turned out to be a “one chance” trip to India. A trip that has exposed his branded victimhood to be a sham.
“One Chance” is the street parlance for a form or robbery targeted at lone commuters. Usually the bus or car would be almost fully occupied by passengers save the last seat, sometimes two, while the driver or conductor in the case of a bus will be bellowing that there is one more chance left such that the prospective victim is encouraged to join the ride. The trouble is, within minutes of picking their victim, the occupants of the vehicle would show their true nature by robbing them and throwing them out of the vehicle while on motion – this had proven fatal in too many instances.
El-Zakzaky attempted to pull such trick on Nigeria and the world. He would have succeeded but for the thoroughness and professionalism of the Nigerian security personnel that accompanied him on the trip, coupled with the sterling diplomatic behaviour on the part of India.
It is now obvious that the man was never ill on the scale propagated by his members and the Iranian doctors they brought into Nigeria in April to blackmail the government into sending him for treatment abroad. Yes, he might have appeared frail when he last appeared in public view but that can be accounted for by his age and the injuries he suffered during his arrest. But to cook up the lie of a dying man just so that he can attempt to pull the “one chance” trick on the rest of us is the height of irresponsibility. In his own case, the stunt he wanted to pull was to slink off from the custody of the security guarding him and from there head for the Islamic Republic of Iran.
From the information surfacing after India was compelled to throw him out of their jurisdiction, it is now certain that he rejected the flight provided by the government and opted for a commercial flight with a stopover that he had hope he could exploit, which explains why he reportedly pestered the security personnel for his passport during the stopover. We now have an insight into why a man, who with the assistance of his legal counsel and doctors, claimed to be grievously ill will request to first be checked into a hotel as opposed to rushing to meet with his doctors. There is now a basis to question how it was possible for a man as sick as earlier reported, who left Nigeria wearing an oxygen mask, to vigorously reject treatment with lame excuses like the doctors on call being strangers to him or that they were going to run new tests on him.
The recalcitrance he demonstrated to his host is confirmation that people can pretend but can never hide their bad attitude or character. For a man who presents himself as the beleaguered president of Shiite republic in Nigeria, reason should have prevailed on him to leverage his scheduled treatment in India to project himself and his group’s ideology in a manner that would have secured him international understanding and possibly sympathy. Instead, he demonstrated the only reasoning he is capable of, a rabid hatred of organized society, a disavowal of structured government and a fanatical subservience to Iran with robotic commitment to do its bidding of spreading terror across the world.
Not even the warning and ultimatum from the Indian government could jolt him to have a rethink. All he could think of was the relaxing of the conditions around him so that he would find the loophole or gap to escape so that he can report to Iran. If he had found his way to Iran a stalemate would have ensued. Iran will not agree to repatriate him, India would have been left in a quandary of how he allowed a flagged terrorist to escape from its jurisdiction while Nigeria would have become the target of terrorist propaganda that el-Zakzaky would have been directing from Iran.
Once it became clear that one chance ploy will not work the same man that had amped the cry for foreign treatment through his members, NGOs, Shia doctors amongst others, suddenly abandoned the much sought after treatment. To give himself a soft landing, he mentioned a list of other countries where he claimed he could get satisfactory treatment – never mind that these are countries with ties to Iran from where he will escape without resistance. It should be noted that video he made to list this demand clearly showed a man who is not as sick as his Iranian doctors had claimed. It also gives an indication to his real motive for trying to escape, first from Nigeria then later in transit and in India. His intention is to get to Iran.
It is unfortunate that as Nigerians, we are never keen on exacting consequences for bad behaviour, we may allow this ugly scheme to go unquestioned. It is the reason that “One Chance” suspects sometimes get lynched by those who have had bitter experiences at their hands; it is because people do not trust the system to punish such criminals and their accomplices sufficiently. In the case of the fraudulent Indian trip, the questions are not for el-Zakzaky, he is back to Nigeria and will continue to face his trial. The consequences we should exact as is from those that assisted him to perpetrate the attempted fraud.
El-Zakzaky’s counsel, Femi Falana, should at this time be explaining if his client is as sick as he misled the court to believe. If he was as sick he would not be in a hurry to run from India after discovering that he cannot lam to Iran from there. Falana should make this explanation against the backdrop of other claims and assertions he has made on behalf of IMN and its leader.
We must also question the commercialized NGOs and their coordinator, Amnesty International, which had held up el-Zakzaky as the poster child for a supposed government clampdown on dissention. They were the ones that mounted the pressure, including supporting disruptive protests, that paved way for the questionable medical evaluation that preceded the trip to India. We should at this point begin to ponder all the figures and statistics that this group have published in their spurious reports in the past. If they were part of the fake scheme for el-Zakzaky to escape in the course of seeking treatment abroad then they are not trustworthy enough for their views are reports to be acceptable. It they were not part of it and were taken in then they are not reliable and thorough enough to be taken seriously. Going forward, these groups should be disregarded.
The Federal Government must on its part ensure that unlike “one chance” criminals that rob people without consequences those identified as propping up the IMN/el-Zakzaky Indian scam are made to answer for their crime. In doing this, the government should disregard the pontification of the pro-terrorists crowds that will allege a “harsh crackdown” on dissent. After all, el-Zakzaky has helped us confirmed that he enjoys better in Nigerian detention than the five-star hospital he checked into in India, which in his words was not as comfortable as our Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison. If a once chance medical tourist knows this who are we to disagree?


Agbese wrote this piece from the United Kingdom.

Sallah: North-East residents express joy over the peaceful celebration, wants other stakeholders to emulate Buratai, Nigerian Army

 
Residents of North-East Nigeria have expressed joy over the peaceful celebrations during the Eid celebrations. This much was gathered when our reporters visited communities in the various states in the North East. The atmosphere was calm with Muslim faithful’s going about their Sallah celebrations without fear from harassment and intimidation.
 
In the communities visited in Borno State, the resident expressed delight that the Boko Haram terrorist was not able to disrupt their festivities, unlike in times past where bombs would detonate in religious centres and other places where people are gathered. According to the district head of Baga, Mallam Shehu Garba, he stated that this year’s Sallah celebration was one of the most peaceful his community has experienced in recent years.
 
“It was an enjoyable and peaceful celebration for us as we went about our normal businesses. However, if not for the presence of the Army who kept watch over our community day and night, we were not sure of what would have happened, especially from the Boko Haram boys.”
 
He also stated that the Nigerian Army personnel stationed in the district assured them that there would be no disruption of the festivities. “Soldiers came to us days before the Sallah to ask for our support by reporting suspicious faces and movements and that they were on ground to foil any attempt by the Boko Haram boys to disrupt our celebrations. Also, true to their words, all went well, and we are very grateful to the Nigerian Army.”
 
In Maiduguri Metropolis, residents went about the festivities with excitement. A couple of people interviewed expressed satisfaction with the way and manner the Nigerian Army was able to prevent any form of disruption of the festivities by Boko Haram terrorists. Mallam Ali Goni, a tea seller, stated that for him, this is the most peaceful Sallah celebration he has witnessed in recent times. He said that people stayed out late into the night without fear.  
 
“This year’s Sallah was very nice to all of us. We prayed to Allah to protect and save us from the hands of the bad people, and Allah did it for us. We also thank the soldiers who were patrolling everywhere from morning till night,” he said.
 
This same sentiment was expressed across other parts of the state where resident chanted “Sai Baba” when our reporter interviewed them. According to them President Muhammadu Buhari indeed gave them a perfect gift for Sallah by ensuring that there were no attacks by Boko Haram fighters or suicide bombers.
 
“President Muhammadu Buhari is a good man that has the interest of the masses at heart because there is nothing like peace of mind. You can have plenty to eat and drink, but without peace of mind, everything is useless. So we thank him for providing us with adequate security during the Sallah” says Alhaji Garba Gubio, the head of the tricycle operators in Maiduguri.
 
Mallam Ali Goni, a worker in one of the ministries in Borno state, commended the Nigerian Army for the display of professionalism throughout the duration of the festivities. He stated that if all critical stakeholders can maintain this tempo, then lasting peace would return to Borno state and its environs in good time.
 
“Most of us have come to understand if all stakeholders can lend their support to the Nigerian Army; the fight against Boko Haram would have been long concluded. However, again, the play of politics by some stakeholders are undermining the efforts of the Nigerian Army, and we believe that with time, these challenges shall be overcome.”
 
Similarly, in a chat with religious leaders in other parts of Borno State, they stated that the efforts of the Nigerian Army in ensuring that the Sallah celebration was without skirmish is highly commendable.
 
“The Borno State religious’ council is highly appreciative of the efforts of the Nigerian Army in ensuring that the Boko Haram insurgents did not thwart our Sallah celebrations and that no life was lost throughout the period.”
 
“This is one of the best Sallah celebrations for us in North-East Nigeria because people were not stopped from freely practicing their religion, there were no bomb blast, women and children were not kidnapped or harassed and no gunshots anywhere.”
 
The Borno State traditional council in its goodwill message to the people during the festivities appreciated the efforts of the Nigerian Army in the restoration of peace in the state and encouraged the hierarchy of the Nigerian Army not to relent in its efforts at ensuring that all citizens are protected at all times.
 
In a related development, it was observed that the Nigerian Army was present in almost all the communities in North-East Nigeria. Our reporter who visited select communities in Borno and Yobe state noted that personnel’s of the Nigerian Army were seen felicitating with locals during the Eid celebrations.
 
According to one of the officers interviewed, he stated that they were carrying out the directive of the Chief of Army Staff to ensure that they win the heart and minds of the local by feasting and interacting with them.
 
“What we are simply doing is an attempt at winning the heart and mind of the locals in line with the directive of the Chief of Army Staff. This is so because the use of force is not the only strategy for the war. You must have the locals on your side at all times, and this much the Nigerian Army has been doing through our cooperate social responsibility initiative.”
 
The officer also stated that as part of the CSR initiative of the Nigerian Army, there is a constant visit to liberated communities to assist those that have returned to settle down by helping in reconstruction work, the provision of amnesties such as water.
 
“The Nigerian Army has been fully involved in assisting returnees to liberated communities. As a fact, the Chief of Army Staff routinely visits these communities unannounced and away from the press to interact with locals as well as troops stationed in these communities.”
 
“This strategy has paid off for the operations of the Nigerian Army in the fight against Boko Haram terrorist as the locals are happy with our operations and provide information to us whenever they notice strange faces in their communities.”
 
In addition, a security expert, Dr. Chuks Obigwe has stated that the security situation in North East Nigerian can be improved tremendously if other critical stakeholders support and emulate the novel strategies introduced by the Chief of Army Staff in the operations of the Nigerian Army in North-East Nigeria.
 
“From reports we have gathered from the theatre of operations, it is just a matter of time before North-East Nigeria would be free from Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist if the relevant stakeholders in International NGO, humanitarian organizations, agencies, and others lend their support to the Nigerian Army.”  
 
“Worthy of mention is the need for these stakeholders to emulate the Nigerian Army in helping those that have returned to their communities to settle down to overcome their pains and begin their lives.”
 
Dr. Obigwe was also of the opinion that if others emulate the Nigerian Army, there would be no basis for Nigeria not to overcome its security challenges.
 
“As a first, the mind-set of those that have been affected by the insurgency in North-East Nigeria must be reoriented through constant interaction and acts of kindness in what the Nigerian Army through its CSR initiatives is doing in these communities.”
 
“I am aware that the Nigerian Army undertakes medical outreaches, assist in the reconstruction of houses and roads in these communities. This is very commendable, and if other stakeholders can do the same, substantial progress would be recorded, and Nigeria would be better for it.”  
 
It would be recalled that the Nigerian Army recently launched a campaign of winning the heart and minds of those affected by the Boko Haram insurgency in North-East Nigeria by undertaking various Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives in liberated communities in North-East Nigeria.

Wall Street Journal lied on secret burial of Nigerian soldiers by military - Experts investigation reveal

Contrary to a recent report by the Wall Street Journal where it alleged that the Nigerian military had buried thousands of soldiers in secret graves, new investigation by experts has shown that the media outfit lied in its claim.

The WSJ had in an article entitled, “Nigeria Buries Soldiers at Night in Secret Cemetery” alleged that the military buried soldiers in unmarked graves in the North East.

However, latest investigation carried out by a team of researchers in a global think tank called The Global Amnesty Watch said the report by WSJ was unfounded and a figment of the writer’s imagination.

The investigative team consisting of human rights lawyers, humanitarian workers, NGOs, journalists, academics said upon an extensive survey of Maimalari Barracks and its environs, it could not establish places where the secret grave is located as there were no signs of new earthwork in the area earmarked as the burial site for military personnel killed in the battlefront

The investigative report, which was presented by eight fellows of the think tank drawn from across the world who were in Nigeria for on the spot assessment, commended the Nigerian military authority for drastically reducing the casualty rate for three consecutive years.

The team noted that during interactions with some of the troops on the battlefield, they lauded the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen, Tukur Burai, for taking the issue of welfare of the troops seriously unlike in times past where those in the battlefront were neglected and left to their fate. His frequent visits to the theatre of operations have served as a morale booster.

Bill Campbell while presenting the report on behalf of GWA, therefore, recommended that the Wall Street Journal should tender an unreserved apology to the Nigerian authorities for the highly misleading report it issued without recourse to the sensibilities of families and relatives of those engaged in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria.

The full report below.

The global amnesty watch in collaboration with critical stakeholders embarked on a verification mission to north east Nigeria under the auspices of fact-finding committee of the global amnesty watch visited north-east Nigeria starting from strategically select communities in northern and southern borno state, perceived as the hotbed in the ongoing battle against Boko Haram/iswap fighters.

The team was also mandated to visit other select communities where heavy casualties have been recorded since the fight against Boko Haram in Nigeria started. The idea was to have first-hand information in an attempt to leave the realm of speculation.

The team was also charged with the responsibility of interacting with stakeholders in areas visited such as traditional rulers, community rulers, members of civilian task force (JTF), government agencies, non-governmental Organizations, Idps, primary healthcare centres, government hospitals, military hospitals, military personnel’s, officials of local government areas, military cemeteries, public cemeteries, as well as civilians domiciled in the affected communities.

The team was accompanied by a team of security operatives drawn from the Nigerian army, the Nigerian police, the civil defence corps, and agents from the department of state security service (DSS).

Method of Data Collection:
The Team employed the use of physical interaction and inspection of places and timeline of events in areas that have been affected in the crisis. The Team also engaged the services of indigenous interpreters to bridge the communication gaps that would arise for seamless interaction. Questionnaires were also designed in such a manner that would elicit objective responses from those to be interviewed. Video recording gadgets, as well as still cameras, were also used to capture events and places in the course of the research.

The findings were also subjected to a series of cross-examination by a team of experts in research methodology from the University of Maiduguri.

The Issues:
The Wall Street released a report on the existence of mass graves where the army authorities hurriedly buried thousands of military personnel in a bid to cover up for the heavy casualties it suffered in the fight against Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist in North-East Nigeria.

The Wall Street Journal also alleged that a large portion of land in Maimalari barracks in Maiduguri, Borno state has been fenced to serve as the burial site for over 1000 soldiers killed at the battlefront. It was also alleged that some farmland had been taken over by the military authorities and fenced from the viewing eyes of the public to serve as an extension of the secret graveyard for soldiers killed in the line of duty.

The Wall Street Journal report also alleged that military commanders were not conversant with operational strategies which resulted in the poor coordination and the execution of the war against the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist. It also sighted poor welfare of troops, lack of fighting equipment’s as well as highly demoralized Military engaged in the fight against Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist.

Our Findings:
The Team of researchers after an extensive review of all the allegations contained in the report of the Wall Street Journal, the Global Amnesty Watch consequently embarked on the mission armed with all the necessary support it can get from the relevant stakeholders who facilitated access to military bases ( Mailamari Barracks), public and military morgues, as well as an unhindered access to military personnel and their families in Maimalari barracks who were granted permission to speak to the Team without fear of victimization from the military authorities.

Secret Grave:
The Team upon an extensive survey of Maimalari Barracks and its environs could not establish places where the secret grave is located as there were no signs of new earthwork in the area earmarked as the burial site for military personnel killed in the battlefront. The only sign of earthwork was dated June 2018 on about 20 graves with the names of the soldiers inscribed on a wooden plate stating the date of burial and name.

The large portion of the site had been taken over by grasses as there were no signs of a pathway or recent excavation of the ground to suggest that mass burials had taken place in recent times.

Perimeter Fencing:
It was also discovered that as standard with military formations, the fences stand high as a defence strategy to ward off intruders into military facilities. The picture of the perimeter fencing used in the Wall Street Journal Report had been erected since 2010 in the heat of the Boko Haram crisis, and not a sign of recent construction work was noticed the length of the military facility.

The visible addition to the perimeter fence is the erection of watch towers mounted by solders and covered with sandbags. The tour guide stated that in military formations across Nigeria, there is always a reasonable distance between it and the civilian population and Maiduguri is not an exception.

Seized Farm Lands:
The Team interacted with locals within the vicinity of Nigerian Army facility and it was stated that since the Boko Haram crisis started farming activities had reduced, and people are not willing to risk their lives unnecessarily. They also noted that the land in question belonged to the Nigerian Army, and they only took advantage of its vastness to cultivate crops since it was lying fallow.

The bulk of those interviewed also stated that the Nigerian Army advised those using the Army land for farming purpose to desist from doing so after cultivation, and this message was passed to them through their district heads.

The state ministry of Agriculture compensated those who planted economic trees and crops under the supervision of state and local government officials. It was also discovered that the issue of mass movement of corpses in the dead of night could not have been possible because the whole area is well illuminated.

Overflowing Morgues:
The Team visited the Nigerian Army Reference Hospital where it interacted with Military and civilian workers. From the interactions, it was gathered that the story by the Wall Street Journal was at best a fiction as there were no such cases of overflowing corpses recorded in recent times. A visit to the wards was greeted by widespread excitement from soldiers receiving treatment for various degrees of injuries.

The bulk of those of admission were victims of landmines planted by Boko Haram terrorist in the theatre of war. The Chief Medical Director of the hospital stated that cases that cannot be handled at the hospital are transferred to the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Kaduna. A total number of 64 soldiers were on admission at the time of the visit.

The same goes for public morgues within Maiduguri metropolis. Where it was expressly stated that the Nigerian Army does not patronize the facility, but from time to time, their doctors are called upon to render assistance in areas they are experts.
The Atmosphere in Maimalari Barracks:

The atmosphere in Maimalari Barracks is that of the typical military formation. Families of military personnel are seen going about their regular business but for the high alert placed on security. The Team was granted permission to interact undercover without revealing the identities of those interviewed, and the issue raised mostly were the strict restrictions placed on entry and exit from the barracks by the authorities.

Those randomly interviewed seemed confused when some of the issues alleged in the report of the Wall Street Journal were raised. Thy refuted most of the claims, especially on mass burials and wondered how such activities would happen without the news spreading around the barracks as most of their husbands are directly involved in the battlefront.

They also stated the Nigerian Army Officers Wives Association (NAOWA) which they belong to holds meetings regularly where issues were raised and discussed.




Poor Decisions by Commanders:
The allegation of a poor decision by commanders could not be verified at the officers and soldiers interviewed. The case of the General Officer Commanding 7 Division of the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri is that of sterling performance that culminated in a special promotion by the President from the rank of a Brigadier General to a Major General for outstanding performance and dedication to duty. The bulk of those interviewed was full of praises for the military commanders whom they described as professionals.

Officers and soldiers corroborated this much at the battlefront in areas like Melete, Dambao, Baga, Faltori and other areas of military operations. They questioned the criteria used in arriving at the allegation of a poor decision. They stated expressly that the claim is laced with mischief with no iota of truth.

Operations and Funding:
The Team upon inspection of military facilities discovered that emphasis had been placed on an advanced level of security awareness. The bulk of the troops interviewed were in high spirit and exhibited the sophistication of their armory. Serviceable military tanks were well-positioned at strategic places with tons of riffles and defence equipment.

The Team experienced high spirits amongst the troops at the battlefront who were full of praises for the Chief of Army Staff whom they described as the father of modern Nigerian Army. They stated that Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai had been a role model and every officer and soldier of the Nigerian Army aspire to be like him.

The stated that in the past three years, he had taken the issue of welfare of the troops seriously unlike in times past where those in the battlefront were neglected and left to their fate. His frequent visits to the theatre of operations have served as a morale booster.

Conclusion:
The Team concludes that the Wall Street Journal Report is a mischievous attempt at painting the Nigerian authorities in a bad light as well as causing a distraction to the final onslaught on Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist who has been confined to the fringes on the Lake Chad Basin region. It must be stated that the Team relied on first-hand knowledge and not rumours or hearsays.

Our findings were in sharp contrast to the allegations raised in the Wall Street Journal report, such that it seems there must be a sinister motive as there are no substantial pieces of evidence to support their claims in the report.

The Team also wondered the methodology that was employed in the compilation of the report without reference to the key actors in the war in North-East Nigeria.



Recommendations:
The Global Amnesty Watch in light of the following revelations make the following recommendations:
That Wall Street Journal should tender an unreserved apology to the Nigerian authorities for the highly misleading report it issued without recourse to the sensibilities of families and relatives of those engaged in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria.
That the Wall Street Journal report is highly misleading and with no iota of truth and without any form of objectivity in the light of the fact that there are no secret graveyards anywhere in Northeast Nigeria and as such the Nigerian Authorities must begin the process of seeking redress in court against the Wall Street Journal.

That the promoters of Wall Street Journal should as a matter of urgency publish a retraction to its earlier mischievous report, stating the accurate picture of events with regards to the operations of the Nigerian Military in North-East Nigeria.

That the Nigerian Authorities should begin the process of scrutinizing the activities of foreign media organizations in North-East Nigeria to protect the general public from toxic information that could have far-reaching psychological effects in the polity.

That the Nigerian Authorities must enforce a ban on the activities of the Wall Street Journal and its agents in Nigeria.

1. Williams Campbell IV Team Lead
2. Andrew Stuart Young
3. Francois Déroubaix André
4. Jadas Pierre Jean-Luc
5. Prof Peter Maidoki
6. Dr Fabian Nyiakura
7. Hon. Terrence Kuanum
8. Chief Isaac Ikpa