₦airaland Forum

Xbee007:
More serious operations against armed bandits in NW since yesterday.

It's like buhari has woken up, multiple operations against non state actors.

kabe1:
Nigerian pilots and technicians practicing on the Tucano

The continuation of the training program gives hope that they will be delivered when due.

A lot of people are in pains tonight

They are past the denial phase of grief, they are now in the anger phase

PetroDolla2020: Have they finished fighting boko haram? what are they doing in Ghana?

Less than 15% of Nigeria's military strength is currently fighting bokoharam. I understand the number seems enormous to you as that is about 2 times the quantity of the entire active personnel of the Ghanaian military.
At the height of the insurgency, Nigeria deployed troops to Mali and Gambia.

GeneralFarouq:
Executing him, was probably not part of the terms of extradition.

I did not mention execution oooo.
And then, I heard he was arrested in Cameroon while trying to sneak into the country for photo ops.

The buhari administration might have made another mistake. Who are they trying to impress by taking him to court and publicizing his arrest? No matter how transparent the judgement is, his supporters and buhari's haters will not release him unless he is set free. Less than 100 people would have known about the plan before the announcement, he should have been made to disappear instead.

DubaiLandLord:
I don't see any politician or a civil servant standing as surety for him again, but I hope Nnamdi Kanu is ready sha, because he will surely be incarcerated till GMB leaves office. I no com know wetin fit happen after he leaves office sha.

Don't be shocked if he is released again by either the police or the judiciary. Na dem dey Bleep things up. The military also captured the former bokoharam leader Yusuf in a clean operation, the police spoilt the show for everyone.

By now, I expect the ESN commanders to be finding their ways out of the country, he will provide the names of all his contacts within Nigeria too.

seankafor:
he knows what he signed up for when he took the megaphone to be dishing out those orders..

Me I care less about the man nor his ideology but I'll always stand with my people no matter what..

If anything happens, there will be turmoil in the south east region..
Nigeria cannot afford any guerilla warfare..

Since ugm calm down.. I don dey flex my night life for Owerri..
Be like those Fulani redheads no like am

When he is made to produce the list of all that donated towards the burning of the country, the foot soldiers won't be able to carry on with the insurgency.

DubaiLandLord:
Ajayi indeed.

How true is the news flying around about Kanu been arrest in London and getting deported to Nigeria.

He made a big mistake going against security personnel, fighting government is no child's play

Not deported, extradited. The minister of justice and arttoney general reported in a news conference

DubaiLandLord:
USA was not fighting on their territory, a terrorist organization dare not go the violent way in the USA, it won't last up to a day. The Nigerian army have been fighting terrorists in the North East for more than 10 years on Nigeria soil.

Yes, US might be able to crush any country in a conventional war, but they might only win the battles, but might never win the war.

In fact, make I tell myself the truth, the Nigerian army have not been learning anything in this fight against insurgency. This is why ISWAP is still confident enough to take the way to the army.

I agree with most of what you've said except the boldened. The army is slow to learning but they've learnt a lot over the years, they still need to learn more. The terrorists are also learning and learn and adapt very fast. The difference is in the structure of the two organizations. The military is a very rigid organization, the terrorists are very fluid and that is how it is all over the world with a little variation in degree of fluidity or rigidity.

Going by your analogy, the Taliban should by now not have confidence to attack US and Afghan military, same with all other armed groups, from ISWAP to alqaeda and all their branches all over the world.

We need to study the insurgency in Sinai to understand the reality of what is happening in Nigeria.

DubaiLandLord:
Boko Haram and ISWAP members do use drugs too. Haven't you seen drugs and condoms in different Boko Haram and ISWAP camps that are always raided by the army?

ISWAP members uses it but it is frowned against and attracts punishment most times.
Why then did the bandit leader chase out those selling drugs from his camp?

DubaiLandLord:
“He has fixed prayer times and has preachers preaching in the community. He has also chased out all those selling drugs and engaging in all forms of lascivious acts,” said a source in one of the neighbouring communities.
https://dailytrust.com/boko-haram-others-in-mass-recruitment-of-bandits

This is what will destroy the alliance. Majority of the bandits are common criminals with no regard for morals or codes. Many of them are hooked on drugs for life and will rather die than allow anyone prevent them from taking the drugs. Most of them are in it for materials gain, the terrorists will be expecting them to make payments to them and another problem will start from there.
With JAS in trouble, their bandits friends should have been moving in to help them fend off against ISWAP but no show. Common criminals shouldn't be expected to fight for ideologies.
They may team up for now to ensure survival but it can may not last long.

SamuelAnyawu:
This is how it should be done. I do not subscribe to rehabilitation. Even the Governor is now thinking twice about this rehabilitation because over 70% still go back to the bushes.

In my community here Rehabilitated BH don’t go outside the IDP camp because they might be lynched by the folks who have lost loved ones.

Those that the rehabilitation is for are those that were forcefully recruited by the terrorists. They were screened before admitted into the program. Screening includes checking under the nails for gunpowder residuals to ascertain whether the individual is an active shooter or not. The trigger finger is also checked. There are a lot of other things that they check too. Definitely some of them will return to the terrorists, it should be expected and should also be weaponized by the government to embed people who will be giving the security agencies Intel on the terrorists. If more than 80% of those that pass through the program do not return to their old ways, it should be continued.

DubaiLandLord:
On what basis should the government give them "a little incentive"? I don't agree with you.

It is a cheaper way to get rid of the security problem in the northwest. The security services seem not to be able to compel them to surrender or destroy them, a non-kinetic approach can be used instead.
Use the devision among them against them. It will reduce the number of military casualties by a lot. And it will bring the region closer to peace and stability.
Military might should have been the incentive but it is failing, any other incentives should be used.

And then government should accept the role of locals in fighting crime. They are sometimes more effective than government forces in internal security. There are hundreds if not thousands of yansakai vigilantes willing to go after bandits in the northwest but are being prevented by government, for good reasons though, they worsened the intra-ethnic conflict between fulani and other ethnic groups in the northwest but government can find other ways to limit excesses on the part of the vigilantes other than outrightly banning them.

DubaiLandLord:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNFGy9g5yRY

Gallant Nigerian soldiers and police, person dey challenge una for zamfara o

See the kin boldness the mallam dey use talk sef

Nigeria is becoming a lawless state.

No useless Northern group will place a bounty on this one that is busy killing our soldiers like mosquitoes.

See opportunities wasting. This guy will cooperate with a little incentive. Government should take the advice of gunmi, use those who are ready to repent to fight the others, turn them against each other and when they are significantly weakened, blow up those who refuses to surrender.
Even if they won't fight each other, use some of them to get intels in the position and operations of others and send the airforce after them.

Xbee007:
Anytime I pass in front of the base, I get concerned for the things that make the base very easy to attack. Too many foot and vehicular traffic in and out of the base. There is a tertiary institution inside the base, so many shops attached to the fence of the base. No barb wires on the fence. It is just ridiculous!

We will learn, either reasonably or with punishment.

Desperately waiting for the delivery of the tucanos. It will change a lot on ground.

Concerning the weapons expected from China, I doubt if reasonable quantities of the VT4, SH5 and ST1 were bought. Pakistan recently took delivery of over 40 VT4s. Only six were delivered to Nigeria, I'm sure if the quantity ordered was reasonable, more than 6 would have been delivered.

Xbee007:
It's a figment of the author's imagination.

I'm concerned about why this was planted in the news though. Was it meant to generate some reactions from NAF?

Whether fake or not, NAF should be concerned and work further to improve on base protection. One of NAF regiments base was attacked yesterday and it is reported that all within were killed. There is a video of a bandit boasting about how he specializes in raiding military vehicles including APCs. The military should really be concerned about this bandits. They will be easier to deal with because they are just after money and wealth, no ideology and are not interested in establishing a state. The more time it takes for the military to end them the stronger they get.

SamuelAnyawu:
I’m not sure I can really believe this incident happened

It's believable Sha. NAF has been a bane to the bandits in the northwest. It's only reasonable they attempt to take the aircrafts out on the ground since they do not have the capability to take it out in air.
Whether it is JAS/ISWAP or bandits is another thing entirely.

Stormtrooper11:
It will be deadly. ISWAP want to hold the town. Even if its for 24hrs. They wanna show that we can still be hurt. It will be disastrous even if we can take them out. Their will be a lot of stragglers.
In other to avert this, we must commence offensive operations immediately.

You are still validating my claim that the are weak and most of their operations are aimed at PRs. They are sacrificing manpower and resources to show that they can still hurt.
It is very possible for them to capture and hold Maiduguri for a few hours but the human and capital cost will be so great that they won't be able to capture any other town several months.
To capture a town as large as maiduguri, it will require thousands of men and for a town that has a ditch around it, the terrorists have very few entery points meaning they will be massed up in few locations ;easy pickings for airforce and in a town with airbase, the aircrafts will have room to expend ammunition, return to base to resupply and fly out again to kill more terrorists. If the terrorists eventually gets victory, it will be worse than a phyrric victory.

Even in the height of the insurgency, when the terrorists controlled more than 10 times the area they control today, they were unable to capture Maiduguri. The number of troops in the city alone is enough to deter any attacks on the city. The only thing they can do is what they've been doing. Hit and run attacks and launching mortars and rockets into the city and ambushing traffics leaving or entering the city.

A military helicopter crashed in Kenya killing 17 troops, 6 were rescued.

demolition:

First it's not my fault that you can't actually comprehend English.
I can say I saw someone a while back and that could be ten years ago.

Its called a while because it's not recent.

Secondly if you're truthful to yourself or know anything about that period you'll know they is video evidence of them torching plans that period.
Except you just want to be intentionally ignorant.

You can quit trying to be smart now.
It's not your path.

We lost aircrafts not airbase. There is a huge difference.

Using the analogy you gave, if a thief or a burglar enters my house and torches my TV before leaving, I lost my TV not my house.

SamuelAnyawu:
I don’t think it was stripped. I usually notice some LT Col, Col and Brigadier General truck here mostly don’t carry guns on it.

I feel the military guys withdrawing might see it as a risk moving withdrawing without shooting cos most withdrawals I hear from Gun truck guys Na massive fire them Dey release as dem Dey withdraw

The MRAP was also without a gun.

demolition:

Knock yourself out.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-25187142

https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/12/boko_haram_overruns.php

Do you know what "LOST" mean?
How does a hit and run attack on a airbase mean we lost the airbase?

demolition:

Have you asked yourself what a presumed weak enemy would be doing around the city gates?

Like it's their doctrine to poach you and still use your tools to fry you.

Those brand new Hilux we just dumped would see a set of iswap fighters riding comfy, instead of cramping at the back of a guntruck.

We underestimate this guys too much.

And that was why we lost an airbase to Boko Haram a while back.

Which airbase was lost to bokoharam?

A weakened enemy is still very capable of stinging attacks. They being weakened doesn't mean they won't be capable of plan attacks on vulnerable targets.
They are unable to hold new territories and their attempts to dislodge troops from towns fail far more often than ever before. There is increase in the use of child soldiers which signifies manpower problems and so on. They are holding the territories they still control because the military hasn't made attempts to dislodge them.
And more importantly, majority of their attacks are major aimed at PR. No strategic gains yet losing lots of men in each attack.
Winning battles yet losing the war. They are increasingly becoming like ISIS in Iraq which still attacks soft targets but has been rendered insignificant.
If the army continues the offensive today, their fate will be the same as JAS.

.

Reports that it was a construction site with a little military protection and the MRAP has been out of operation for quiet some time. There appears to be no guns on the guntrucks too(could be that the terrorists stripped it before snapping but why detach when they could have moved the guntrucks and every components with it).

DubaiLandLord:
If you believe it could still last for decades, then is not in is last phase, anything can still happen. They can still attack a brigade or battalion sized forces when they are ready to do so, I will remind you of this when they do so.

Stop thinking on behalf of ISWAP , I'm sure you never saw them attacking Boko Haram and even killing Shekarau in just a single operation(What the Nigerian military and paramilitary have not been able to do since 2009).

They won't just vanish into thin air, they will keep getting weaker and sometimes get divided for several months until it joining isn't attractive anymore. This will happen naturally and government actions can accelerate it. Yes they could get stronger at any point but it would only be temporary. And yes they may yet attack brigade/battalion sized forces but it will never be as frequent as it used to.

SamuelAnyawu:
Yes it’s a camp in Chabbal area not too far from Kasuwa Fara. Chabbal is in Maiduguri gate area coming from Gubio.

The Military might have withdrawn so fast. The Military really needs to improve on its situational awareness.

Even as a Humanitarian dude I tour the community in the morning before I approve colleagues movement and tour at nights even when I know there are no attacks.

This is where I must commend the CO of that base, he recognized that he had failed to notice the attack until it was too late and rather than wasting lives of troops under his command, he decided to give ground to the terrorists. It's far better to lose weapons than to lose men. He could have done better though. The troops will live to kill more terrorists another day.

cutievik:
I don't know what to talk about again...Too many lapses, the most common, when you pass check points and see the vehicles with machine guns unmanned, you begin to imagine, if this guy's on stop and search come under attack certainly, the vehicles are gone because they would be abandoned with such cache of weapons.

The painful ones are the APC's left lying fallow outside barracks or police stations unmanned, the believe a parked unmanned vehicle is a deterrent...hahahah, Nigeria too like eyeservice sha, so if I hardened criminal Unknown Gunmen see parked APC them go run? we all saw a video recently in imo state where the new MRAP that was delivered was patrolling on the road without a gunner, in Imo state ooo!, Where wahala dey..

My guy, these issue deeep

For a base that hasn't been attacked for several years, you won't expect the troops to be as mentally and physically alert as those in bases in northern Borno. A little motivation like demoting COs of bases like this and detaining troops who fail in their responsibility for some time will improve their alert status.
And then no soldier should be on guard duty and sentry for more than an hour or two in a stretch to avoid fatigue.