$1bn ECA withdrawal to fight b/haram: How justified?

 

Why is the Federal Government withdrawing $1bn from the Excess Crude Account to fund the fight against insurgency in the North-East after Nigerians have been made to believe that Boko Haram had been defeated? What about the huge sums of money allocated annually to defence spending? Has the Federal Government considered the opportunity cost of this decision given that the amount in question (about N365bn) is more than the combined 2018 capital allocation to critical sectors of the economy such as  Agriculture (N118.9bn), Health (N71.1bn), Education (N61.7bn), Science & Technology (N43.2bn), Mines & Steel Development (N12.9bn)? Shouldn’t approval have been sought from the National Assembly to withdraw money from an account having no constitutional backing?These are some of the questions agitating the minds of many Nigerians following a recent decision of the National Economic Council (comprising all state governors as members with the Vice President as the Chair) to permit the Federal Government withdraw $1bn from the Excess Crude Account (with a balance of about $2.3bn) for the “purchase of security equipment, procurement of intelligence and logistics and all what is required to ensure that we finally put an end to the scourge of insurgency” to borrow the words of the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, who made the disclosure to journalists after a meeting of NEC. Expectedly, Defence Minister, Mansur Dan-Ali, was excited about the approval arguing that it was in line with decisions reached at the conference of ministers of defence and chiefs of defence staff of member states of the Multinational Joint Taskforce held in Chad. So, what is the justification for this NEC decision in the light of genuine concerns by well-meaning Nigerians?

The Federal Government maintains that the counter-insurgency which intensified in 2015 has left Boko Haram a spent force or “technically defeated or degraded”. The reduced scale of destructions wrought by this sect in many cities including the Federal Capital Territory lends credence to the claim that the terrorist group has been “technically defeated”.  However, attacks on military bases, including suicide bombings against civilians, are still being witnessed in the towns of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states. Many Chibok girls are still missing. Only recently in Algeria, the African Union’s Commissioner for Peace and Security, Smail Chergui, drew the attention of African leaders to an intelligence report which disclosed that “over 6,000 African fighters among the 30,000 foreign elements who joined the terrorist group (ISIS) in the Middle East,” were on their way to Africa and are most likely to join forces with Boko Haram, an affiliate of ISIS. Indeed, the return of these elements to Africa poses a serious threat to national security and stability and requires a proactive measure such as the one being contemplated by the Federal Government which has necessitated dipping hands into the ECA.

It is true that annual defence budgets have been huge in absolute terms especially since the counterinsurgency began but the bulk has remained recurrent spending. In 2016 for example, data from the website of the Budget Office indicate that a total of N443.1bn was allocated to defence. This amount comprised recurrent spend of N312.2bn and capital expenditure of N130.9bn. Again in 2017, out of a total of N465bn meant for defence, the capital budget was N140bn with the recurrent as high as N325bn. Like many other sectors, the implementation of the capital component must have been adversely affected due to shortfall in projected revenue. As of the end of the third quarter 2017, the capital component of the 2017 budget recorded just 15 per cent implementation. The 2018 budget before the National Assembly is also following the same trend with a total of N567bn voted for defence out of which recurrent expenditure is expected to gulp N422bn. Against this backdrop, resorting to the fiscal buffer to augment the funding of the war against insurgency could be justified.

It is also a fact that the opportunity cost of this decision is high as $1bn could do a lot in the education and health sectors or even improve the poor state of infrastructure in the country but it pales into insignificance when viewed against the consequences of insurgency on the economy. Boko Haram attacks have devastated the economies of the North-East region leaving in their wake collapsed public infrastructure especially schools. In Borno State for example, out of the N183bn projected expenditure in 2017, the largest chunk of N33bn was allocated to reconstruction of schools destroyed by Boko Haram. The Yobe State Government has proposed a budget of N92.1bn for the 2018 fiscal year while the Adamawa State Government has made a budget of N162.7bn for the 2018 financial year with modest projections for Internally Generated Revenue which will be largely unrealised if the spate of Boko Haram insurgency is not curtailed. Recently, the North East Nigeria Recovery and Peace Building Assessment team disclosed that the impact of the devastation which occurred between 2011 and 2015 in the region cost the nation about $9bn with loss of agricultural production put at $3.5bn. The team also indicated that to rebuild the crisis-torn region would require at least $6bn. In the 2018 budget, the Federal Government has earmarked N45bn as counterpart funds for the reconstruction of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states. But for the insurgency, these huge sums could have found better applications. Moreover, for a country that is in dire need of capital inflows, insecurity thwarts efforts to attract the much-needed foreign investments.

Therefore, the NEC decision appears justified. However, the government should ensure that the money is judiciously utilised and properly accounted for. The major concern of civil society organisations is that past allocations to defence and the anti-terrorism operations had yet to be properly accounted for. The opaque nature of the ECA operations has not helped matters. On December 16, 2014, the Federation Account Allocation Committee meeting ended in a deadlock because representatives of the 36 states and the FCT accused the Federal Government of not accounting for about $1bn withdrawn from the ECA, an allegation the then Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda, denied. Also, not too long ago, a former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole, alleged that given the number of barrels of oil produced in the country and the crude oil price between 2012 and 2014, the amount in the ECA was short by at least $30bn. This allegation was refuted by the former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. What all these suggest is that the operation of the ECA leaves much to be desired.

It will be recalled that the ECA was established in 2004 as a fiscal buffer with the primary objective of protecting government budgets against shortfalls arising from volatile crude oil prices thereby insulating the economy from external shocks. But it had no backing of the law and so in 2010, NEC approved a plan to replace the ECA with a national Sovereign Wealth Fund which received legal backing in 2011 via the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority Act with an initial financing of $1bn. Despite the coming into being of the SWF, the ECA has remained in operation. So, it is time the government activated the legal process to close the ECA and have the balance transferred to the SWF.

Although the ECA belongs to the three tiers of government, the National Assembly has a responsibility to subject this $1bn withdrawal to thorough interrogation and ensure that the process of purchase of security equipment is done in a transparent manner. The seeming lack of disclosure and transparency in procurements carried out by security agencies makes the security sector susceptible to contract inflation. This is more so with intangible items of expenditure such as “procurement of intelligence and logistics” which may not be easily measurable. The President should ensure that before the $1bn is withdrawn, adequate mechanisms are in place to follow the money. Indeed, much as Nigerians are anxious to see the end of the Boko Haram insurgency, they are also demanding accountability and transparency in the use of public funds.

Governor Fayose, Yari clash in Aso Rock over $1bn Boko Haram fund

 
Latest report as Opposition by some governors to the $1 billion proposed spending on the war against insurgency may cause a rift in the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF).
Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti and Abdul-Aziz Yari of Zamfara and Chairman, Nigerian Governors’ Forum on Tuesday disagreed over the fund.
The NGF, at its last National Economic Council (NEC) meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, was alleged to have unanimously agreed to a withdrawal of $1 billion out of the $2.3 billion left in the Excess Crude Account for the prosecution of the war against Boko Haram.
But Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, who has already filed a case against the Federal Government, insisted he was never a party to the anti-insurgency deduction decision.
Fayose said the people of Ekiti State need their own share of the money to solve issues of hunger in the state.
“I am not in support of the $1 billion deduction and will never be in support.
“In my state, we have agreed to go to court to contest this.
“It is our legitimate right, all accruals to the federation must be shared by the three tiers of government, and for me to get justice I have to go to court,” he said.
Asked if the emergency meeting reached another consensus concerning the money, he said, “The issue was not discussed at all. But for me, I have taken appropriate steps because the money belongs to Ekiti people, not for any other use.”
Asked if he was canvassing for Ekiti State alone or the entire PDP states, he said he was less bothered about other states and restated that he was never in support of the proposed withdrawal.
“I am speaking for Ayo Fayose. With the PDP and the stakeholders, we have not met.
“I did not attend the meeting; even if I was part of the meeting, I would have made it expressly clear, but I will not support it.
“Every state has its own peculiarities in terms of security. Ekiti State has Hunger Haram, where hunger is ‘catching’ people everywhere.
“A lot of people are being kidnapped daily, whatever is in that money for me we should share it, let everybody go and solve his own problem.
“I have challenges and they should give me my money. It is Ekiti money.”
On whether this would have been a good platform to raise the issue, he replied, “May I say this to you, I filed the case in court as early as 12 noon today; if it was not listed as part of the meeting, how am I going to raise the issue. I have options and I have said it expressly, I have gone to court.”
On rumours that there was disagreement over the issue at this meeting, he said, “No, no, no. If it was one of the issues discussed, I would have said so. I am not a pretender, I won’t suffer in silence.”
NGF Chairman, Abdul-Aziz Yari, in his argument, described Fayose as speaking from a lone voice.
He insisted that majority of the NGF members took the decision, adding that withdrawals from excess crude account had been a norm.
He drew reference to the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan during which, he said, $2 billion was withdrawn from the ECA in 2014.
He said: “Gentlemen, this is democracy and each and every person has its own way to want to look at things and you cannot stop him from agitation.
“One, Nigeria Governors’ Forum discussed this issue at our November meeting and we agreed across party lines that this thing has been done in 2014 where $2 billion was taken in agreement with the governors at that meeting.
“Governor Akpabio was the one that moved the motion. This time we realised that there was a need to purchase equipment for the military, so we felt we should not compromise the issue of security for the entire country.
“We said, as governors, we agreed to forfeit $1 billion of our own share of excess crude which we are going to back up with state Assembly resolution at a later time.
“This is not the first time a decision like this is being taken; it happened during Jonathan’s era when they took $2 billion.
“We all agreed at that time collectively in the same chamber to withdraw $2 billion to procure equipment for the military, and also for logistics for the military because they were telling us, whether it was true or false, that our soldiers were being killed.
“Some came on the social media, saying that they were being killed like rats because they didn’t have the training and the equipment.
“That was what generated discussions at the same Chamber and there was no controversy, there was no opposition to the decision at that time.
“Secondly, there was this decision also under Yar’Adua’s time when they were sourcing funds for Niger Delta Power Holdings – they also took over N5 billion for power generation.
“We followed the same process to withdraw the money from the same account, and our respective Houses of Assembly confirmed the resolution.
“We shouldn’t play politics with the issue of national security.
“By the way, we at the Governors’ Forum, twelve members formed a quorum, at the time we took this decision we had 32 members in attendance, and there was no single opposition to the decision.
“If anybody has his own way that he wants things to go, we had the majority and there was no minority opinion at that meeting.
“We look at the country, Nigeria, first before any other issue; it is only when you have the country that you can have the politics.”
The meeting was also convened to deliberate with speakers of State Houses of Assembly on the ongoing effort to amend certain sections of the 1999 constitution.
FG Recants, Says $1bn Not For Boko Haram Fight Only
Meanwhile, the $1 billion recently approved by state governors for anti-insurgency war is also for the funding of other security operations, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has explained.
Osinbajo’s clarification came amidst scorching criticisms against the Federal Government’s decision to appropriate so much money for its anti-insurgency campaigns.
The government had claimed that it had degraded Boko Haram.
Some commentators speculated that the fund was actually intended to finance the ruling All Progressives Congress’ (APC) 2019 election campaigns.
However, Vice President Osinbajo said governors approved the money after a national security summit organised by the National Economic Council (NEC).
He explained that the money was not just for the North-East but also for the security architecture of the entire country and was agreed on by governors across party lines.
Osinbajo, who chairs NEC, gave the explanation at the opening of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation/Secretaries to State Governments’ retreat at the State House Conference Centre (Old Banquet Hall), Abuja.
“It was after a national security summit of the National Economic Council that governors at their forum decided to approve some money for national security,” Osinbajo said.
Osinbajo met with governors on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday night at his office before the Nigerian Governors’ Forum that held the same day.
The meeting which began at 7:30pm ended at about 8:45pm.
An official source said the meeting was a caucus meeting of the party convened to discuss how to arrive at a common position before they would proceed to the NGF meeting.
None of those present spoke to journalists on what the meeting was all about, nor did they disclose its outcome.
Ibrahim Dankwambo, Governor of Gombe State, told State House correspondents at the end of last week’s NEC meeting that the NGF had authorised the Federal Government to withdraw $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) to fight insurgency.
The decision attracted criticisms from groups and individuals, including the Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Regardless, Osinbajo pointed out that the decision followed a security summit hosted two months ago by the NEC, which was “crucial in understanding and dimensioning the security problems of the country and the weaknesses of our security architecture.”
According to him, the security summit examined issues of kidnapping, small arms trafficking, terrorist activities of Boko Haram in the North-East, clashes between herdsmen and farmers, and cattle rustling.
He said: “It was on account of the security summit that the governors at the Governors’ Forum subsequently decided that they would vote a certain sum of money, which has become somewhat controversial, the $1 billion, to assist the security architecture of the country.
“It was to assist all of the issues in the states, including policing in the states, community policing, all of the different security challenges that we have.
“It was after the security summit that the Governors’ Forum met across party lines, again I must add, in order to approve and to accept that this is what needed to be done to shore up our security architecture.”
Osinbajo said little would be achieved if relevant state government agencies did not work with the Federal Government to achieve the country’s developmental objectives.
He said the role of the secretaries to the state governments “is clearly central to cascading the action points and conclusions of the MDAs in their states.”
He said all policies of the government of the federation in agriculture are programmes of the states since lands belong to the states.
“So, the agricultural policy of the federation is actually the agricultural policy of all of the states,” he stated, pointing out that the Federal Government controls no land outside of Abuja.
According to him, such agricultural policies of the Federal Government on fertiliser and the Anchor Borrowers Programme would not be successful without the states being part of them.
He said greater engagements between the SGF’s office and the SSGs would lead to better understanding of the management of the Ecological Funds and the National Emergency Management Agency, both of which are hosted by the office of the SGF.
Earlier in his welcome address, the SGF, Boss Mustapha, said the retreat was aimed at providing a forum where balance could be achieved to allow for full, effective, and efficient functioning of the state structure.
He said the office of the SSG was an important part of the executive arm of government in the states, which “plays the role of clearing and forwarding house of all government decisions, policies, and general administration.”
“It is, therefore, imperative that we strive to achieve synergy at this level of governance between the federal, state, and local government structures,” the SGF said.
He called for greater collaboration and interdependence between the federal and state governments irrespective of political party affiliations.

Excess Crude Account: Yari has exposed Amaechi, El-rufai as liars – Reno Omokri

 

Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri has reacted to the $1 billion withdrawal from the Excess crude account stating that Zamfara state governor and chairman of the Nigerian governors forum, Abdulazeez Yari has exposed Rotimi Amaechi, Nasir El-rufai, Adams Oshiomole and the APC as liars.
Below is a statement by Omokri;
In an attempt to justify the dubious process by which $1 Billion was taken from the Excess Crude Account by the Federal Government ostensibly to fund an anti terror war with the same Boko Haram that the Buhari administration said was ‘finished’ and ‘technically defeated’, the Zamfara state Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, who is also the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum made some startling revelations which has exposed him to ridicule and further shown that his party, the All Progressive Congress, and its members, are a patently dishonest bunch with no credibility whatsoever.

Speaking yesterday (Tuesday 19th December, 2017) at Aso Rock Presidential villa, Alhaji Yari said of the $1 Billion withdrawal as follows:
“This thing (ECA withdrawal) has been done in 2014 where $2bn was withdrawn in agreement with the governors at that meeting. Governor Akpabio was the one that moved the motion. This is not the first time a decision like this is being taken. It happened during Jonathan’s era when they took $2bn . WE ALL AGREED at that time collectively in the same chamber to withdraw $2bn to procure equipment for the military and also for logistics for the military. That was what generated discussions at the same chamber and there was NO CONTROVERSY, there was NO OPPOSITION to the decision at that time.”

Notice from this statement that Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, an APC member, is now admitting that he and his colleagues in the APC all agreed to the withdrawal of $2 billion from the Excess Crude Account that was made in 2014. Note further that he said there was no controversy and no opposition to the decision taken in 2014.
However, Nigerians may recall that at the material time when this incident occurred, both the All Progressive Congress and its prominent members like the then Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, the then Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, and their National Leader, Bola Tinubu, denied that there was ever any agreement with the Jonathan administration over the withdrawals and publicly attacked the then President and accused him of looting and other forms of corruption.
In fact, in 2015, when the former Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala said exactly what Governor Yari has been forced to admit to, Governor Nasir El-Rufai (who was not even a governor in 2014 and was not present at the meeting Governor Yari has described) called Dr. Mrs. Iweala a liar and described her as ‘morally flexible’.

Then on the 1st of July, 2015, then Governor Adams Oshiomhole was interviewed on Channels television and described as untrue the statement by Dr. Mrs. Iweala that the governors under the aegis of the National Economic Council agreed to the withdrawal of $2 billion from the Excess Crude Account and called the process by which the money was withdrawn by the Jonathan administration as an “administrative arrangement not known to the constitution”.

Only as recently as last week, the fallacious Rotimi Amaechi repeated the falsehood that neither he nor his colleagues were ever consulted or gave their acquiescence before the Jonathan administration withdrew funds from the Excess Crude Account.
Again, at the material time in 2014, when the Jonathan administration tried to explain why it needed the funds to fight the same Boko Haram insurgents that the Buhari government claimed has been technically defeated, the APC released a statement and ‘described as disingenuous and sheer blackmail the argument that the money is for national security or that it would facilitate the release of the over 200 school girls who were abducted about 100 days ago.’

The APC spokesman, Lai Mohammed, who is now the minister of information further said “putting more money in the hands of an incompetent and massively corrupt administration can only encourage more incompetence and corruption.”
Not done, Mr. Lai Mohammed also claimed that the monies then President Jonathan was seeking was meant to be used to impeach APC Governors and rig the 2015 elections.
His exact words were “With the Jonathan Administration allegedly spending or setting aside an average of 2 billion Naira to impeach each Governor of APC states, and the PDP-led Administration using the common wealth to bribe voters in a desperate bid to win elections at all costs”.
Not to be outdone, the National Leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu, called the request by the Jonathan administration “dubious”.

But in keeping with the principle that no matter how far and fast falsehood has traveled, it must eventually be overtaken by truth, Governor Abdulaziz Yari has now vindicated both former President Jonathan and the former minister of finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, by admitting in 2017 that both he and his colleagues (which included Rotimi Amaechi and Adams Oshiomhole) actually agreed with the Jonathan administration to withdrew $2 billion from the Excess Crude Account in 2014.
I therefore call on the Nigerian public and the international community to note that the APC and its members all lack credibility and are willing to say anything at anytime to justify their political position irrespective of whether it is true or false.

IPOB: THE ECHOING SONG OF THE PAST BETRAYAL, A CANCER THAT MUST DIE

 
The former Eastern region otherwise known as Biafra which is part of Nigeria today, has been a restless region, characterized by several agitations since the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorate in 1914 by the British economic hitman, Lord Lugard.

This agitations perhaps, is owing to the overwhelming injustice, economic emasculation, cancerous tribalism, nepotism, political disenfranchisement, ecological degradation and the continuous annihilation of the Indigenous People within the region by the Nigerian state from time to time. Moreover, the British Nigeria colonialists employed a very dangerous and corrosive tactics known as

divide and rule strategy which effectively has pitted brothers against brothers within the region.

However, there are MEN who had risen above this premordial sentiments in other to question the lawlessness and maximum oppressiveness of the Nigerian state. Ranging from the Biafra revolution led by Gen Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu in 1960s, Adaka Boro of the Niger Delta in 1960s, Kenule Saro Wiwa of the Ogoni people in 1990s, Obi wali of the Ikwere people and many others which are too numerous to mention.

Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that in the process of these agitations, the tactics of divide and rule has played a huge role in discomfiting the carriers of these ideas, hence, self-denial, incoherent and disjointed agitations in the region abound. Consequently, this has led to unnecessary pointing of accusing fingers between the coastal part of Biafra and the hinterland part of Biafra.

Formidable distrust, characterized by exponential suspicion which have continually fueled the echoing song of past betrayal among the Biafran people, thereby hindering the process of reconciliation and complete unification of the region.   Unfortunately, there are Biafrans who have allowed this cancer to eat them up. Hence, they derive joy in re-echoing these songs of the past betrayal especially when others mourn their fallen heroes. This they do in the guise of 'the truth must be spoken'. But this is not anyway benevolent to the present day struggle for the emancipation of the region because while you claim to be expressing these imagined truths, you create an impression of judgment day in Biafra.







Furthermore, the canal comparison of our leader, Nnamdi Kanu and those who have gone while trying to challenge the status quo in the Islamic caliphate called Nigeria is a misplacement of priority and a disservice to the dead. The mockery of those killed by Nigeria in these numerous agitations is absolutely uncalled for. We simply understand the fact that mistakes were made by our past leaders but we need not to continually dwell and magnify it, lest there maybe more disaffection among our people. Whether we believe it or not, these men are heroes of their own people.



I therefore plead with IPOB leadership and Biafrans all over the world, whether from the coastal or hinterland of Biafra to jettison these canal comparisons and kill this cancerous echoing song of the past betrayal so that the progressive coalition, unification of our dear United States of Biafra may have a free cause.

It is time to stop the blame game and unit for freedom.

And what I say to the East, I also say to the South, REPENT.

All hail Biafra.

The former Eastern region otherwise known as Biafra which is part of Nigeria today, has been a restless region, characterized by several agitations since the amalgamation of the Northern and

The former Eastern region otherwise known as Biafra which is part of Nigeria today, has been a restless region, characterized by several agitations since the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorate in 1914 by the British economic hitman, Lord Lugard.










This agitations perhaps, is owing to the overwhelming injustice, economic emasculation, cancerous tribalism, nepotism, political disenfranchisement, ecological degradation and the continuous annihilation of the Indigenous People within the region by the Nigerian state from time to time. Moreover, the British Nigeria colonialists employed a very dangerous and corrosive tactics known as divide and rule strategy which effectively has pitted brothers against brothers within the region

Six Soldiers Killed in Boko Haram Ambushes

Buhari instructs military to develop new strategies to fight sect
Ademola Babalola in Ibadan

At least six soldiers died in two separate Boko Haram ambushes in Borno State, military and civilian militia sources said on Tuesday.

Four troops were killed and 12 injured on Sunday when their convoy was attacked near Damboa, 90 kilometres (56 miles) from Maiduguri, the capital of the state.
Two soldiers were killed in the same area last Saturday, the sources told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not allowed to talk to the media.

A military officer in Maiduguri said the Sunday’s ambush happened when troops were on patrol between the villages of Nyeneri and Falawani.
“The terrorists came in huge numbers and attacked the convoy using IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and gun trucks,” he added.

A member of the civilian self-defence force Civilian JTF gave a similar account, and said the jihadists made off with weapons before reinforcements arrived.
He added: “Two soldiers died last Saturday when the six vehicles they were travelling in came under heavy attack from Boko Haram near Bulaburin (village).”

The attacks came days after the military replaced the officer leading troops fighting Boko Haram following a surge in attacks, including against military outposts.
The army maintains the redeployment of Major-General Ibrahim Attahiru was routine, and the officer himself said suggestions he was sacked are “far from the truth.”

He said in his farewell speech to troops yesterday that his move was “a normal exercise” and his redeployment to army headquarters in Abuja was a “call to higher responsibility.”
Meanwhile, hundreds of people displaced by the violence deserted a makeshift camp in Birimari village in the Nganzai district of Borno State, some 80 kilometre North of Maiduguri.

Troops had been sent to the village, which is the birthplace of Borno State governor Kashim Shettima, two years ago but soldiers were withdrawn last week, locals said.
One of the displaced, Idrissa Karim, fled with others to Gajiram, the district headquarters, as fears spread of a possible attack.

A bus driver who plies the route from the garrison town of Monguno to Maiduguri, which passes through Birimari and Gajiram, confirmed the displaced people had moved on.
“The IDPs (internally displaced persons) were packing their tents and few belongings from the camp at Birimari and heading to Gajiram for fear of Boko Haram attack after soldiers left the village,” the driver said.

As well as leaving at least 20,000 dead, the eight-year conflict has forced millions from their homes. IDPs remain vulnerable because of a lack of security in camps and elsewhere.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday tasked the Nigerian Army to intensify its current efforts on the fight against Boko Haram and work closely with other security agencies to develop new strategies that will address the current security challenges facing the country and ensure total eradication of the insurgents and other criminal elements in our country.

Represented by the Chief of Defence Staff, Abayomi Olonisakin, President Buhari who lauded the military and other paramilitary organisations for the success over Boko Haram, enjoined them to quash the remnants of the insurgents with a view of returning peace to the troubled areas of the country.
He spoke in Ibadan at the opening ceremony of the Chief of Army Staff Annual Conference 2017, which had the theme, ‘Re-appraising the Nigerian Army’s operational efficiency in containing contemporary national security challenges’.

At the event, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maj. Gen. Ike Nwachukwu (rtd), delivered a lecture titled: ‘Safeguarding Nigeria’s unity and sovereignty: A patriotic and constitutional imperative for the Nigerian Army’, while Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State played the host.
The president also decorated 10 new pilots of the Nigeria Army Aviation with wings at the event, charging them to contribute to the nation’s fight against insecurity.

In his address, Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, said the 10 young pilots were the first set to complete their pilot training from the NAA, while the coordinator of the establishment, Maj. Gen. Johnson Olawumi, commended them for their focus during training.

While commending the Nigerian Army for the success recorded against the insurgents Boko Haram so far, Buhari said: “The spectacular achievements of the Nigerian Armed Forces against terrorism, insurgency and militancy underscores my earlier position that these existential threats can be faced and defeated with the necessary measures within the ambit of the law.

“The Nigerian Army must therefore intensify its current efforts and work closely with other security agencies to develop new strategies that will address the current security challenges facing the country and ensure total eradication of the insurgents and other criminal elements in our country.”
Buhari added that he was pleased with the involvement of local manufacturers of specialised military equipment in Ode-Remo, Ogun State and Nnewi, Anambra State. According to him, the two companies involved in the production of the equipment would enhance capacity building needed for self-sufficiency in the security sector.

“I urge you to continue to patronise our local manufacturers to enable them perfect their products and compete with their peers globally,” said Buhari.
The Chief of Army Staff, Buratai, said that in addition to various special training for the army personnel to combat insurgency and other insecurity, the Nigeria Institute of Technology and Environmental Studies, Biu, Borno State, would be upgraded to the Nigeria Army University, which would be different from other conventional universities in Nigeria.

He added that the army personnel were being encouraged to study French language at the Nigerian Army Language Institute and the Nigerian Army School of Education. He said that the NA was waiting for a report of the presidential committee that was looking into alleged human rights issues involving the army, saying that various operations against militancy and other social devices would continue in 2018.
“The three major Nigeria Army exercises (like exercises Eguoke 3 and Crocodile Smile 3) will be sustained in the coming year. They will be geared towards creating a peaceful and stable environment in 2019,” said Buratai.

Two soldiers, four civilians killed in separate Boko Haram explosions

 

At least four persons were killed in a suicide attack in Pulka, Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State on Monday.
Two soldiers were also killed when their vehicle stepped on a roadside bomb in a separate incident.
The first attack was carried out by two teenage girls wearing suicide vests.

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The spokesperson of the Military Command and Control Centre in Maiduguri, Onyema Nwachukwu, confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES.
He said the attack occurred on Monday evening when two strange girls were spotted trying to

infiltrate a crowded location of the rocky community.
“Our vigilant troops were able to gun down one of them before she could make her way into the crowd. And in the process the explosive on her body went off killing only her.

Mr. Nwachukwu said the second girl managed to infiltrate the crowded residential area and detonated the bomb.

“Two civilians were killed alongside the girl that wore the suicide vest,” said Mr. Nwachukwu, a colonel and deputy director, army public relations.
He said the four bodies have been evacuated from the scene of the blasts by rescue workers; while the injured have been taken to a nearby medical facility for treatment.

Similarly, the military command in Maiduguri also confirmed the death of two soldiers who were killed in an explosion on Monday after their vehicles stepped on a roadside bomb planted by suspected Boko Haram insurgents along Maiduguri-Damboa highway.
Mr. Nwachukwu said the incident was not an ambush as reported by another media.

“It was an IED explosion that occurred after the vehicle of our troops on patrol stepped on the buried landmine”, he said. “Two of our soldiers paid the supreme sacrifice in the blast.”
The colonel called on members of the public to improve information sharing with the military,

stressing that no insurgency can be won without a working civil-military cooperation.
“Having condoled all the families of those who lost their lives, we want to seize this opportunity to further call on members of the public to please be very vigilant. We are all involved in this,” the spokesman said.


“Security is not the business of only the military and the police. We need the public to assist by providing useful information that could help us to nip this problem in the bud. Our troops have been intercepting so many of the insurgents but we want to achieve much more than that.

“That is why we need the public to be more involved by ensuring that they have an eye on movements within and around their communities and quickly alert the security operatives should they spot or identify anything suspicious.”
About 100,000 people have been killed since the Boko Haram insurgency started in 2009. Majority of the attacks have been carried out in three states: Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.