Category: Security and Crimes

The Federal Government has reiterated its determination to continue to procure sophisticated weapons to keep the nation’s military in good fighting shape, saying the country will take delivery of Super Tucano fighter jets in 2020.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Tuesday night, said the fighter jets, expected from the United States, would be deployed in checking terrorist activities in the country.

He said: “While the military arsenal is not something you pay for and get, requiring mostly long-time orders, weapons will come in accordance with the terms of contracts.

“This country is expecting the commencement of the delivery of Super Tucano fighter jets, very effective in this kind of warfare, beginning next year from the United States.’’

Shehu, who lauded the efforts of the armed forces in suppressing the activities of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in the country, described as `fantastic’ the recently launched “Super Camps’’ by the military.

According to him, the essence of this is to act proactively and respond quickly to the changing nature of terrorism.

The presidential aide noted with delight that the Buhari administration had made the country safer than it met it in 2015.

“The position of the Nigerian government is that the Boko Haram terrorism has been degraded and defeated. The real Boko Haram we know is defeated.

“At the moment, the Nigerian government under President Muhammadu Buhari has made the country safer than it met it.

“In 2015 when he took power, Boko Haram terrorism was active in nearly half the number of states in the country.

“They controlled a territory the size of Belgium, with a flag and systems of administration and taxation of their own.

“Emirs and Chiefs had fled their domains along with hundreds of thousands of ordinary citizens. Such is no more; they have been taken from them,’’ he further observed.

Shehu added that, at present, terrorist activities had been confined to the remote, rural agrarian areas of Borno  and pockets of outrages in Adamawa and Yobe states.

He disclosed that the administration had embarked on an ambitious electronic/digital border monitoring scheme to curtail the porosity of the borders.

He revealed that the government was also working with the UN agencies, the World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, donor agencies and friendly countries towards addressing the problems created as a result of the activities of the terrorist groups in the affected areas.

“A few weeks ago, the administration inaugurated the Northeast Development Commission, to fast track development and poverty eradication in the affected areas.

“The Buhari administration is strongly encouraged by successes recorded so far by our armed forces and the MNJTF, and is optimistic that in the same way as our military defeated the Boko Haram, so would the ISWA terrorism be defeated,’’ he added.

NAN reports the Super Tucano is a durable and flexible aircraft designed for counter-insurgency and close air support roles.

It can also be used for reconnaissance missions in low-threat environments and for pilot training, and is capable of operating from unimproved runways.

The aircraft can be equipped with advanced avionics, an electro-optical, infrared and laser targeting system, as well as communications and datalinks to enhance its combat capability. (NAN)

A former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alh Abubakar Kawu Baraje, at the weekend proffered solutions to security challenges confronting the nation. (more…)

Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta has said that documenting immigrants will ensure proper planning and assist in the security of lives and property in the country.

The governor stated this on Tuesday when the Comptroller-General of Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Mr Mohammad Babandede, visited him in Asaba.

He said that documenting the aliens was part of appropriate reforms to be taken for the benefit of Nigerians and the country.

“It is very important both for security purposes and for our population plan, for foreigners to be documented.

“Without appropriate documentation, it can impact negatively on the planning for the nation when it comes to taking care of our people.

“So, without the right account of our people, our resources will become depleted and planning will be affected drastically,” he said.

The governor added, “We must congratulate you on the immigrant reform.

“I think it is important for us as a nation because you find out that people from other countries just come into our country and settle in any part of the nation.

“They are not documented in any manner and that is not good for a nation because if they commit crimes, they cannot be traced.

“It is important that even without people committing crime, we should have documentation of foreigners in our country”.

He commended NIS for initiating other landmark reforms, particularly the e-passport which would be tied down to national identity.

“It is something that is very innovative, something that I believe can really help us in national security.

“This is because, people bearing all manner of names and people with more than one passport will surely become a thing of the past.

“So, we want to thank you for thinking about this thoroughly and bringing up this reform,” he said.

The governor assured the Service of his administration’s support in rendering vital services to Deltans and Nigerians in general.

Earlier, Babandede had said that he was in Delta to commission some projects.

He commended the governor for his administration’s numerous support for NIS.

The Yobe State Police Command said it would conduct a mop-up screening exercise for applicants who missed its recruitment exercise with genuine reason.

The command disclosed this in a press release signed by Abdulmalik Abdulhafeez, the Police Public Relations Officer in Damaturu.

“The Yobe State Police Command wishes to inform the general public and the successful shortlisted applicants for the 2019 recruitment who missed the exercise with genuine reason with proof, that July 22 is set for the mop-up screening exercise.’’ Abdulhafeez said.

The statement noted that the exercise would hold by 08:00 a.m. at the State Centre for Art and Culture Damaturu.
The command warned that anybody that had nothing to do with the exercise should not come within the vicinity of the screening.(NAN)

By Ismaila Chafe

The Presidency has dismissed Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) allegation that the one billion dollars drawn from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) was spent by the Muhammadu Buhari administration on the 2019 general election.

The Peoples Democratic Party in a statement on Sunday asked Buhari to explain to Nigerians what his administration had done with one billion dollars drawn from the ECA in 2017 and meant to address the nation’s security challenges.

The amount was approved by the National Economic Council in December,  2017, to be used to purchase weapons to fight insurgency across the country.

However, Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, said “this unverifiable allegation’’ clearly indicated that the PDP was suffering from socio emotional distress.

He said  PDP ”thinks that all governments in the world run on the basis of freewheeling looting as they did their own.

”Here is what happened to that 1,000 million dollars.

”It’s on record that the Buhari administration paid about 490 million dollars for a dozen Super Tucano fighter aircraft in a direct, government-to-government (no Contractors or Commission Agents) transaction with government of the United States.

”Various other military procurements have been made. Balance of expenditure stands at about 880 million dollars or so.

”The PDP spent Defence procurement funds on their failed 2015 political campaigns as proven in court.

”That is not to say every succeeding government, more so one led by a Buhari will do the same.”

The presidential aide added that, barring considerations of national security, the details of the stage of implementation, the procurements made and the suppliers will be obtained and made available on Monday.

A security guard Amos Mboni has killed himself at work after he had gone for four months without receiving any pay.

According to The Chronicle 56-year-old Zimbabwean shot himself three times using his service pistol supplied by his employers.

He shot himself at the Zimra yard at the corner of Fort Street and 8th Avenue in Njube, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, where he was stationed.

Bulawayo acting police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube told said “The deceased was employed by a security company and when he arrived at his workplace at 6 a.m., he was handed a revolver by his colleagues who were signing off from duty.”

He further said that Mboni died on the spot after shooting himself three times, noting that two of the shots were reported to have hit his left nipple area while the third one shattered his collar bone.

One of Mboni’s daughters who chose not to be identified told said “It’s so unbelievable that my father shot himself. My father left home depressed because he had not been paid for almost four months at his workplace.

“I was the one who was now working and fending for the family and it was stressing him. The landlord would ask him for money for rent every day but he didn’t have it.”

However, one of Mboni’s sisters who also didn’t mention her name said that she suspected foul play.

She said: “He left home around 5:20 a.m. He starts work at 6 a.m. and said he would come back in the evening; Amos loved his children.

“It’s murder; how can he possibly shoot himself thrice?” She queried.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has pledged that the Nigerian Army will support the effort of Zamfara State Government to end banditry in the state and other parts of the country.
Buratai made the pledge when the Governor of Zamfara, Dr Bello Matawalle, paid him a courtesy visit at the Army Headquarters on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said that the army had achieved a lot of successes in their operations against banditry in the state and other parts of the country through collaboration with other security agencies.
He said that in as much as the army believed in dialogue in crisis situations, the dialogue and peace effort must be holistic.
Buratai said the army believes in dialogue with the bandits, adding that the use of force only becomes necessary if all other options have failed.
According to him, there must be deradicalisation, there must be deindoctrination and disarmament of the repentant bandits.
“We are quite interested in the security situation in Zamfara state and more so the democratic process that is managed by the governor.
“We are 100 per cent in support of whatever the civil administration decide towards bringing about peace and security in our country.
“We have remained apolitical and indeed the military is an instrument of the state for it to achieve the state objectives in bringing peace and development to the country.
“Let me say that the political direction is key and the great leadership trait that you have exhibited.
“Today, major success has been achieved and we are ready to go along with the step you have taken to dialogue and to ensure that the peace process does not fail.
“Definitely as I said it is a collective effort.
“Just about two days ago, the combined troops of the military including the police and the state services went from Zamfara into Katsina state to flush out these bandits and over 170 of them were either neutralised or captured or absconded from their camps.
“This is one of the pressures that the army has  put on the criminals that have forced them to look for the dialogue option,” he said.
According to Buratai, I want to say that the dialogue option must be comprehensive, there must be disarmament which is quite fundamental and also the issue of release of captives which is ongoing and you have started.
He pledged that the army would support the government to ensure complete disarmament and deradicalisation and other political process that the government would undertake.
He said that the army would also support other states that were facing the issue of banditry especially Sokoto, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger.
Earlier, Gov. Matawalle said he came to show appreciation to the army chief for the effort of the army to flush out banditry activities in the state.
He said the army commanders in the state had given the government the necessary support to address the security challenge in the state.
The governor said that the government had recorded successes through the initiative of dialogue it had adopted, adding that, he believed that dialogue was the best option.
He said that banditry in Zamfara had reduced by over 90 per cent, adding that the effort of the military made the bandits to opt for dialogue.
According to him, the bandits told us that they would not have embraced peace if the army was not giving them too mush trouble.

“So we agreed that army should reduce attack on them so that they can come out.
“We have secured the release of over 120 captives including foreign nationals and arrangement is on ground to release another 25 captives including women and children.”
Matawalle urged the Chief of Army Staff to direct all the sector commanders in the state on the need to key into the dialogue option of the government .
He said that his government was ready to cooperate with the military to end banditry in the state, pledging that logistic supports such as vehicles would be made available to the army.
He expressed his desire to return Zamfara to its peaceful state status and restore its lost glory. (NAN)

Governor of Borno State Mr Babagana Zulum has said that addressing the root causes of insurgency will go a long way toward solving the current security problem and ensuring sustainable development in the Lake Chad region.

Zulum said this at the 2nd Meeting of the Lake Chad Basin Governors’ forum on Wednesday in Niamey.

According to him,  Boko Haram insurgency has triggered acute humanitarian problems in the lake chad region which has resulted in the forced displacement of populations in the affected areas.

He said that the devastating socio-economic impact on the population had further deepened poverty in the region.

“The most important thing for us to do in this Regional Stabilisation Strategy (RSS) programme is to address the root causes of the Boko Haram which are not limited to poverty, basic illiteracy, high unemployment rate, social inequality, poor social and economic infrastructure.

“Poor economic output, drug abuse, environmental degradation, climate change among others.

“We must understand the nexus between peace, security and development.

“Without peace, there is no security and without security there is no peace so we need to address the root causes of insurgency,” he said.

Mr Mai-Mala Buni, the Governor of Yobe State, said that the state government would continue to cooperate with other regions, the LCBC and other stakeholders in achieving the content of the strategy through the implementation of the Territorial Action Plans (TAPs).

Buni who was represented by Mr Baba Malam Wali, Secretary to the government said that to achieve this a developmental roadmap has been unveiled by the government of the state in its priority areas.

“This roadmap includes revitalising the Basic and Secondary Education Sector, agriculture, health care delivery, Water Resources Development and Management.

“Infrastructure, rural development, security, good governance as well as youth and women empowerment,” he said.

He stated that the government would continue to be committed in all regional initiatives that would bring about sustainable peace and development of the region.

Governor of Adamawa State, Alh. Ahmadu Finitri said that response to insurgency alone could not solve the problem, adding that there was need to adopt other measures such as integration of former Boko Haram fighters.

The governor, who was represented by Mr Crowther Seth said intensifying efforts to community reconciliation and inclusive roles of the traditional rules, women groups and various CSOs were also part of the measures needed.

“There is need to move from emergency to humanitarian approach to long term developmental and environmental sustainable programme and interventions.

“The need for synergy, consolidation and coordination of effort in the Regional level is timely and Adamawa is ready to stand by it,” he said.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report that the Lake Chad Governors’ Forum was launched in Maiduguri to tackle the menace of Book Haram insurgency. (NAN)