Senator Ahmed Zannah
| credits: 247nigerianewsupdate.co
| credits: 247nigerianewsupdate.co
The Senator representing Borno Central in the
National Assembly, Ahmed Zannah, on Wednesday raised the alarm that Boko Haram
insurgents had started massacring teenage and adult males in its drive to expand
its caliphate in the North –East.
Zannah, in a telephone interview with one of our
correspondents, also insisted that the insurgents had taken over Bama, a town
less than 78 kilomitres from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
The Senator, who is a native of Bama, spoke just
as Reuters news agency reported that the Islamist fundamentalist sect
seized Bara, a community in Yobe State.
Recounting how he lost two of his nephews to the
Monday/Tuesday attacks on Bama, Zannah said, “As I am speaking to you, Bama has
been captured and the insurgents are on the prowl for any male on sight.
“Everyone is a target as long as you are a male
but for now, women and children are being spared.”
He challenged the military authorities and the
Borno State Government to take the media to Bama to cross-check his claims on
Tuesday that Bama had been captured by Boko Haram.
The lawmaker said, “Both the military and Borno
State Government are lying to Nigerians. To prove that I am the one misinforming
the public, they should take journalists to the town to cross-check the
fact.”
We’re in control of Bama
–Military source
Efforts by The PUNCH to speak with the
Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, on Zannah’s claim
yielded no results as calls to his mobile telephone did not connect.
But a top military officer told one of our
correspondents that the troops were as of Tuesday night still in firm control of
Bama.
He said the insurgents were repelled from Bama
with fighter jets and ground troops of the Nigerian Army.
The officer, who did not want to be named because
he was not permitted to speak on the matter, added that the military had since
deployed more men and weapons in Bama.
He said, “The soldiers are in control of Bama and
they are in the barracks now. Even the soldiers that came to Maiduguri from Bama
who were at Sector 9 and Sector 10 are back there.
“The commanders have also deployed more men; more
arms and ammunition have also arrived so the soldiers are in the barracks
now.
“Last night, two Air Force fighter jets and
ground troops were used for the operation which led to their being dislodged
from the town.
“It is not correct to say that only soldiers are
there; Not all the residents fled to Maiduguri, some that relocated temporarily
are back to their houses.
“The air strike affected only military and
security formations where the insurgents launched attacks.”
The officer threw Zannah’s challenge back
at him to take journalists to the town to verify his claims.
He said that in a situation like this, it was
easy for politicians to be involved in all “manner of cheap talks.”
Another security source said that some soldiers
who retreated from Bama when they ran out of ammunition and were quartered at
sectors 9 and 10 had all gone back on Wednesday.
The source said that the soldiers were in control
of the Bama barracks and other security formations within the troubled town.
The PUNCH gathered that tension was very
high in Bama and Maiduguri when rumours filtered in that the insurgents sent
a message that they would launch an attack on Maiduguri.
Bama attacks force Shettima back from
Sudan, UK
The battle for Bama made Governor Kashim Shettima
to cut short his official visit to Sudan and the United Kingdom.
Shettima, who left the state late last week was
expected to visit some school authorities and over 70 students recently
sponsored by his administration to study Medicine and Petroleum Geo-Sciences in
UK and Sudan.
It was gathered that the governor, on returning
to the country, held crucial meetings in Abuja with appropriate authorities over
the happenings in Bama and the rest of the state.
He was also said to have approved the formation
of a committee to coordinate the distribution of relief materials to the
victims of attacks in the state.
According to sources, the governor was scheduled
to leave Abuja for Maiduguri on Wednesday evening .
A former media aide to the governor, Mallam Isa
Gusau, said, “Shettima returned mainly to provide needed leadership, be with
his people, build public confidence, coordinate relief for victims, step up
co-funding and provide psychological support to the military.”
Shehu of Borno calls for three-day
fasting
Also on Wednesday, the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji
Abubakar El-Kanemi, called on all Muslims faithful in the troubled state to
immediately commence a three-day fasting and prayers for the return of peace
to the state.
El-Kanemi also urged Christians in the state
not to relent in their prayers so that the insurgents who invaded Bama could
be warded off.
A statement by the Secretary of the Borno Emirate
Council, Alhaji Zanna Laisu Kazalma, quoted the monarch, who is also the
Chairman of the state Traditional Rulers Association, as advising that the
fasting and prayers should start on Thursday (today) and end on Saturday .
The statement read in part, “The Umma is equally
urged to offer special prayers in all mosques and recitation of Khalimat Shahada
‘La Ilaha Illallah’ continuously during the fasting period. It is also urged
that each and every Muslim individually and collectively offer Sadaqat to the
needy and the underprivileged, especially to those internally displaced persons
in various camps.
“In the same vein, the Royal Father also urged
the Christian community in the state not to relent in their continuous prayers
for peace and security to prevail in Borno State and Nigeria as a whole.”
Boko Haram takes over two Yobe
villages
In Yobe State, the insurgents seized Bara and
Gulani, two communities without noticeable presence of the military.
They also killed two policemen after an attack
on Toro Local Government Area. The policemen were reportedly shot and killed
and their guns stolen by the attackers at a mining station in Magama Gumau.
“The militants went preaching in the whole town
asking people to leave government work and join them to do the work of Allah,”
Musa Abdullahi, a trader who escaped from Bara told Reuters.
In Gulani, the insurgents allegedly occupied the
local council secretariat complex and the lodge on Tuesday night.
According to residents of the community, the
attack recorded no death in the town as the insurgents claimed they came to
preach Islam.
Gulani is a border town with Buni/Yadi, which is
believed to have already been captured by the insurgents. It is about 164
kilometres west of Damaturu, the state capital.
A resident, Bukar Isa, told journalists on the
telephone on Wednesday that “no one of us was killed during the Tuesday
invasion.
“The insurgents have taken over our secretariat
complex and lodge by noon, before telling us that they stormed the town not to
kill, but preach and do the work of Allah (God), according to the Quran,” he
said.
246 Nigerian soldiers, customs officers
flee to Cameroon
The Cameroon Radio Television however
reported on Wednesday that 246 Nigerian soldiers and customs officers fled to
the far north region of Cameroon during a gun battle with Boko Haram
insurgents.
About 480 Nigerian soldiers fighting the sect
members had on August 25 ran into Cameroon in what Nigerian military authorities
described as “tactical manoeuvre”
Although the radio/tv station did not name the
Nigerian border town where the battle started, it reported that 40 insurgents
who also fled to Fotokol, the Cameroonian side of the border, were killed when
they also engaged the gendarmes in combat.
Two vehicles belonging to the militants were
destroyed while a gendarme was injured during the three-hour battle which took
place on Monday.
It said the 246 Nigerian soldiers and customs
officers had been officially handed over to the commander of the Nigerian
military operations in the area.
The radio/ tv station quoted official sources as
having said the clash was a fallout of the fighting between Nigerian forces
and the insurgents at Bama.
The fighting, according to the report, has led to
the influx of refugees into the far North region of Cameroon.
Nigeria, others want Boko Haram’s funding
sources blocked
Earlier on Wednesday, foreign ministers of
Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republic as well as representatives of
the United States, Britain, France, Canada and China met in Abuja over
strategies to curtail Boko Haram.
The meeting also had officials of the African
Union, the United Nations, the European Union, ECOWAS and the Organisation of
Islamic Countries in attendance.
It resolved at the end of the talks that Nigeria,
its neigbours and other partners should ensure that arms supply and funding to
Boko Haram were cut off.
It also regretted that in spite of efforts by the
Federal Government and its international partners, the over 200 schoolgirls
abducted since April by the sect were still in captivity.
Nigeria and its neighbours had agreed during a
recent Paris mini-summit on a regional plan of action to combat Boko Haram to
find the schoolgirls.
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Aminu
Wali, who briefed journalists, said the parley underscored the need to
effectively address the sources of funding for and the supply of weapons to Boko
Haram.
“The meeting called for greater cooperation of
the international community to assist in tracking these sources with a view to
putting an end to these practices and all forms of illegal transfer of arms and
ammunition,” he said.
According to him, the participants also called
for strict implementation of relevant UN and other international sanctions
against terrorist groups, especially Boko Haram.
It also called for a redoubling of efforts on the
part of all concerned given the critical importance of intelligence sharing in
the fight against terrorism.
The minister said the participants urged support
for the implementation of multi-dimensional measures adopted by the Nigerian
government to combat terrorism and called on regional governments and
multilateral development institutions to intensify socio-economic cooperation
aimed at poverty eradication, economic upliftment and inclusive development.
On the Chibok girls, the meeting reiterated the
need to mobilise support to end their captivity and called for support to end
sexual violence.
Wali had in his address at the event called
on the international community not to allow Boko Haram to establish fresh links
with another terror group called the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
He described Boko Haram’s claim of establishing
an Islamic Caliphate in a few parts of the North as ludicrous and untenable.
The minister stressed that the Federal Government
would never surrender to any terror group.
He said, “As the Nigerian government confronts
this challenge, what bothers us most at this time can be reflected in a number
of posers that I will like to share with this meeting: Who are the sponsors of
Boko Haram terrorist campaigns? Who are those funding the insurgency? Where are
the sources of the sophisticated arms and ammunition being used by the
terrorists? Who are those seeking to re-define the territory of Nigeria and
Africa in the 21st century?”
I’m ready for any panel –Ex-Borno
governor
A former Governor of Borno State, Senator Ali
Modu Sheriff, has described as unfounded, the accusation by an Australian
hostage negotiator, Dr. Stephen Davis, that he was a sponsor of Boko Haram.
Sheriff, at a press conference in Abuja on
Tuesday, also denied that a political group he founded metamorphosed into the
militant Islamic sect.
He said that he was ready to face any panel over
the issue, adding that he would sue the Australian negotiator.
Davis was reported to be involved in a
negotiation between Boko Haram and the Federal Government for the release of the
Chibok girls.
The Australian, in an interview last Thursday,
said he had been informed by Boko Haram commanders that there were prominent
politicians who had been sources of funding to Boko Haram.
Davis had said, “First thing to do is to arrest
the former Governor Sheriff. Former Governor Sheriff has been funding this for
years. He is satisfied that he will be picked up and he has now switched to the
ruling party (Peoples Democratic Party) in the hope this will give him
protection.
“That guy is really a bad guy and he is known to
be corrupt and why the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) has not
picked him up is anybody’s guess.”
Denying the allegation, the former governor said,
“I have already instructed my lawyers to sue the Australian. We will track him
anywhere he is so that our lawyers will get to him.”
Sheriff also described as false, an allegation
that a group, ECOMOG, he founded, when he was governor, metamorphosed into
Boko Haram
He said that a former Minister of the Federal
Capital Territory, Gen. Jeremiah Useni (retd.), who was reported to have made
the statement, had denied it.
PUNCH
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