Why We Withdrew From Boko Haram: FG Talks- Dr. Ibrahim Datti Ahmad

 

Sahara Reporters

18 March 2012

Why We Withdrew From Boko Haram: FG Talks- Dr. Ibrahim Datti Ahmad

By Dr. Ibrahim Datti Ahmad

As a concerned elder and President of the Supreme Council for

Shariah in Nigeria (SCSN), I felt very disturbed with the turn of

events and the increasing cycle of massive violence in our

country, and especially, in the Northern and Muslim part of

Nigeria. We in the SCSN, therefore, made enquiries as to how to

reach the current leadership of the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnati Lidda

Awati wal Jihad, otherwise known as Boko Haram.

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I and the Secretary General of the

SCSN, on behalf of the Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria

contacted the Federal Government at the highest level and

intimated them of this great possibility of reconciliation and

peaceful resolution of the crisis. This was on Monday, 5th March,

2012. My delegation was well received and a high-ranking civilian

officer was appointed immediately to liaise with us towards a

successful resolution of the crisis. To our shock and dismay, no

sooner had we started this dialogue; Nigerian newspapers came

out with a lot of the details of the meeting held.

This development has embarrassed us very much and has

created strong doubts in our minds about the sincerity of the

Government’s side in our discussion as the discussion is supposed

to be very confidential to achieve any success.

Govt in talks with mediators on Boko Haram

Guardian

16 March 2012

Govt in talks with mediators on Boko Haram .

Again, northern leaders meet over insecurity

THE Federal Government may have in the last one week held its first indirect peace talks with the Boko Haram sect, meeting mediators to discuss a possible ceasefire, the international news agency, Reuters, quoted sources as saying yesterday.

Two people close to Boko Haram have been carrying messages back and forth between the sect’s self-proclaimed leader, Abubakar Shekau, and government officials, the sources, who asked not to be named, said.

It was not clear whether any mediators met with President Goodluck Jonathan himself.

“BH (Boko Haram) has mentioned a conditional ceasefire but it wants all its members released from prison. The government sees this as unacceptable but is willing to release foot soldiers,” a traditional leader and civil rights activist involved in the talks also told Reuters.

Northern leaders accuse Jonathan of scheming for another term

Vanguard

16 March 2012

Northern leaders accuse Jonathan of scheming for another term

*Reject subsisting revenue formula

*Say current revenue formula breeds corruption in N-Delta

By Emmanuel Aziken

ABUJA – The coalition of Northern leaders, formed to articulate the region’s interest in the eventuality of a national conference, has  rejected the framework for the present revenue formula and accused the presidency of a  mischievous plot for another term for President Goodluck Jonathan.

The coalition involving some northern  governors, politicians, academics and some of the region’s most erudite personalities in the professions alleged that the subsisting revenue formula was illegal even as it deposed that it was harmful to the oil rich Niger Delta. According to the group, too much money going to the oil rich region was fueling corruption in the Niger Delta.

The position of the northern leaders was articulated at the end of a meeting of the chairmen of its 10 committees recently convened to define the interest of the region.

Nigerian Army trains 2,000 on combating tackling Boko Haram, others

African Examiner

14 March 2012

Nigerian Army trains 2,000 on combating tackling Boko Haram, others

Two thousand Nigerian soldiers are currently undergoing specialized training

on fighting terrorism, Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Azubuike Ihejirika, has said.

According to him the soldiers are being trained in both Jaji and Kachia in a

bid to equip with the techniques to combat the security challenges facing the

country.

Ihejirika, who disclosed this at a two-day Nigerian Army Transformation

Stakeholders Conference, with the theme ‘Enhancing the Implementation

Strategy for Nigerian Army Transformation’ explained there is urgent need by

security agencies to rid the country of terrorist groups by whatever name they

bear.

He also expressed concern over the use of military uniforms by suicide

bombers to perpetrate their evil, lamenting however that the Nigerian Army

has no control over the importation of its uniform into the country.

Boko Haram's Factional Leader, Abu Mohammed is Dead!

Elombah.com

14 March 2012

Boko Haram's Factional Leader, Abu Mohammed is Dead!

The factional leader of the Islamic terror group and organiser of the Europeans CBN Construction site engineers, Abu Mohammed is dead. A release reaching us said that Abu Mohammed who had gun shot wounds, died in prison the following day from Injuries. Abu Mohammed and his group killed Chris MacManus (British) and Franco Lamolinara (Italian) who were kidnapped in May 2011.

Senator: National conference inevitable

The Nation

15 March 2012

Senator: National conference inevitable

Ewherido Senator Pius Akpor Ewherido, who represents Delta Central Senatorial District, is the only Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) Senator. Ewherido, Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Maritime, speaks on the implications of the Boko Haram insurgency, the difference between Boko Haram sect and Niger Delta militants, the need for a unicameral legislature  and the clamour  for a national conference. Assistant Editor ONYEDI OJIABOR captures his thoughts in this interview.

The country is faced with se rious security challenges. The impression of most Nigerians is that Boko Haram fundamentalists have virtually destroyed the economy of Northern Nigeria?

Of course that view is correct because nobody will invest in an atmosphere of insecurity. Recall that during the Niger Delta crisis when the militants took over the entire rivers and oil installations, investors had no option but to move away from the Niger Delta area. Even though, then, the militants targeted only oil installations and not human beings, today the Boko Haram targets human beings.

Two Soldiers, Three Cops Shot Dead in Kano, Mubi

Leadership

14 March 2012

Two Soldiers, Three Cops Shot Dead in Kano, Mubi

Yola/Kano — Gunmen riding two motorbikes opened fire on a security post in Kano yesterday, killing a soldier and two policemen, less than 24 hours after attackers gunned down another soldier and a police inspector in Mubi, Adamawa State.

In the Kano incident, witnesses said the gunmen approached the checkpoint along

Malam Aminu Kano Way

as if they were ordinary passengers. They then drew guns and fired at the security men at about 5.30pm.

There was no official confirmation of the incident, but agency reports quoted security sources as saying two policemen and a soldier lost their lives in the attack at the Gwammaja area.

Witnesses said security men at the checkpoint returned fire, killing one of the attackers.

Tension Mounts in Jos

Leadership

14 March 2012

Tension Mounts in Jos

Two days after a bomb attack on a church and reprisal killings, Jos, the Plateau State capital, was again shut down by rage and violence early Tuesday morning as Hausa Muslims and Igbo traders were locked in a showdown at Old Bukuru Park.

Also, the students of the University of Jos barricaded the Bauchi road and Faringada highway protesting the stabbing of two of their colleagues along Bauchi road on Monday night.

With the ensuing violence, shops, banks, primary and secondary schools in the metropolis were shut down, with parents rushing to pick their wards from schools, thereby crippling commercial and other activities in the state capital.

The streets were immediately deserted as everyone hurried home.

THISDAY gathered that a corpse of an Okada rider believed to be a Hausa boy was recovered and brought to his house at Massalaci Jumat area.

This triggered anger among the Hausa community who mobilised and pounced on the Igbo traders that were in their shops.

Niger Delta groups flay Boko Haram

The Nation

14 March 2012

Niger Delta groups flay Boko Haram

Two groups, United Niger Delta Energy Development and Security Strategy (UNDESS) and Coalition of Niger Delta Ethnic Nationalities have flayed members of Boko Haram sect over its alleged threat to sack Christians from the North, saying that, constitutionally, Nigeria still remains a secular state.

The groups urged responsible leaders and men of goodwill in the North to persuade the sect to desist from the “inglorious mission”, warning that the islamisation of the country is illusory.

UNDEDS General Secretary Tony Uranta, who spoke on behalf of the groups, emphasised that the sect’s sporadic bombings have lent credence to the repeated clamour for a Sovereign National Conference (SNG), which proper goal has been misinterpreted by some leaders.

He said: “Even, the legitimate bid by Boko Haram not to be forced to have western style of life can only be peacefully accomodated in a new Nigeria heralded by a Peoples National Conference and Peoples Constitution. The Boko Haram is the biggest threat to Nigeria’s unity today. But I know they will listen to northern leaders”.

Boko Haram Attack Mandawari Police Division in Kano

This Day

12 March 2012

Boko Haram Attack Mandawari Police Division in Kano

 

Heavily armed suspected sect members (file photo) (Photo Courtesy Vanguard) Suspected members of the Boko Haram sect on Monday attacked Mandawari Police station and injured two police officers according to eyewitnesses, who pleaded anonymity.

However, the police said gunmen riding on motorcycle attacked the police station and the policemen repelled the attack.

Kano State police command in a press statement made available to reporters on Monday explained that a group of armed men, who were on motorcycles, joined others who dropped from a Toyota Lite Hace bus, advanced on foot and attacked the Mandawari Police Division.

Al Qaeda Wants to Establish 7000 Km Wide African Caliphate - -Freed UN Envoy

Vanguard

12 March 2012

Al Qaeda Wants to Establish 7000 Km Wide African Caliphate - -Freed UN Envoy

By Uduma Kalu With Agency Report, 12 March 2012 Comment (1)

Lagos — A British victim and United Nations Special Envoy who spent 130 days in "the hands of al-Qaeda's African 'monsters'" in December 2008 in Nigeria has warned that the killing of British hostage, Chris McManus and his Italian counterpart in Sokoto last Thursday was a wake-up call to the threat posed by Islamic militants in Africa. He also said one of his captors was a Nigerian.

The former kidnap victim, Robert Fowler, in a report in Telegraph of London, yesterday, narrated how he was kidnapped as the United Nations Special Envoy, attempting to broker peace between the government and rebel Tuareg groups. Fowler said he was nabbed one Sunday, two weeks before Christmas, with his colleague, Louis Guay, on their way back to the capital, Niamey, in a UN vehicle.

"The objective of the group," he said, is to establish a 7,000 km wide caliphate, stretching from Nouakchott in Mauritania to Mogadishu in Somalia, to be ruled by stern Allah-fearing Islamic sages who could be relied upon to understand and execute God's will. AQIM believe that by replicating across the Sahel, the chaos and anarchy caused by their Al Shabaab colleagues in present day Somalia, they will be creating the perfect growth medium in which their vision will flourish.

Ceasefire: Boko Haram Gives Fresh Terms

PM News

12 March 2012

Ceasefire: Boko Haram Gives Fresh Terms 

The northern based Islamist Boko Haram sect terrorising the north has again given two conditions under which to ceasefire from the bombings and killings in different parts of the north.

A source close to the sect told P.M.News in an exclusive chat that members of the group have agreed to a ceasefire but with a condition that all its members in detention be released first .

Secondly, the group wants the safety and security of all members whose names would be given to the Federal Government through Dr. Ahmed Datti, President of Supreme Council of Sharia of Nigeria, guaranteed.

The choice of Dr. Datti, according to the source, was informed by the fact that late slain leader, Mohammed Yusuf, served as a member of the Sharia Council under Datti’s leadership and so he could be trusted.

‘Why We Killed British, Italian Hostages’

The Tide News

12  March 2012

‘Why We Killed British, Italian Hostages’

Suspected kidnappers of the two European engineers- a Briton, Mr. Chris McManus and an Italian, Mr. Franco Lamolinara, last Saturday gave reasons why they killed the duo, explaining that they decided to perpetrate the act following their belief that they would be killed by security agents who invaded their hideout.

The suspects were moved to Abuja last Friday by security agents for interrogation by skilled security personnel.

The suspects, sources said, told their interrogators that they were under instruction of their leaders to shoot the hostages whenever they came under any threat from security agents.

“We had a standing instruction to kill the hostages immediately we sighted security agents around the building. We were to kill the hostages since we were not sure of being alive after an encounter with security men”, one of the suspects was quoted as saying.

Heavily armed soldiers and men of the State Security Service (SSS), backed by British security operatives in a commando-like operation last Thursday stormed a criminal hideout at Mabera area of Sokoto to free the two expatriates, an Italian Franco Lamolinara and Briton Christopher McManus.

IBB, Abdulsalami, Atiku, Others Meet On Insecurity

This Day

11 March 2012

IBB, Abdulsalami, Atiku, Others Meet On Insecurity

Top northern leaders, including former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar met Saturday in Abuja to discuss the state of the nation.

The meeting, which lasted for about two hours and was held behind closed doors, reviewed insecurity in the north occasioned by the unceasing terrorist attacks by Boko Haram and resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta, sources told THISDAY.

The meeting also discussed politics, although it was not clear what the meeting termed 'politics', whether it had to do with 2015 general elections and the position of the north.

Tempers flare as suicide bombers hit Jos again

Guardian

12 March 2012

Tempers flare as suicide bombers hit Jos again .

 .Soldiers tackle youths at scene of mayhem

Jonathan condemns attack, vows victory over terror

ST. Finbarr’s Catholic Church, Rayfield, Jos, Plateau State, has been a place of worship and sanctuary for many Christian faithful over the years. Although the city has been in the throes of violence for some time now, not many who went to the church for yesterday’s service would have thought that it could turn gory. Regrettably, it did. Indeed, a battle scene couldn’t have been gorier!

Barely a fortnight after suicide bombers attacked the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) headquarters in Jos killing at least six people, St. Finbarr’s Catholic Church, Jos, was yesterday hit by another suicide bomb attack, which claimed 11 lives and left several others injured.

Apparently peeved by the latest attack against the backdrop of several assurances from the government and security forces after earlier bomb blasts in the city, irate youths in the Rayfield area were involved in a face-off with the Special Task Force (STF) personnel who raced to the church following yesterday’s blast. The youths also threatened to attack reporters who made to gain access to the scene.

Niger Delta groups flay Boko Haram

The Nation
13 March 2012

Niger Delta groups flay Boko Haram

Two groups, United Niger Delta Energy Development and Security Strategy (UNDESS) and Coalition of Niger Delta Ethnic Nationalities have flayed members of Boko Haram sect over its alleged threat to sack Christians from the North, saying that, constitutionally, Nigeria still remains a secular state.

Nigerian kidnappers 'received ransom downpayment'

The Guardian (UK)

11 March 2012

Nigerian kidnappers 'received ransom downpayment'

Extremists given part of ransom before failed attempt to rescue British and Italian hostages, agency reports

Tom Kington in Rome

Ransom money was paid to the Islamic extremists holding British and Italian hostages in Nigeria before British special forces tried to rescue them from their compound, a news agency has claimed.

Part of a €1.2m ransom was paid to release hostages Chris McManus and Franco Lamolinara, who were killed during the raid on Thursday which sparked a diplomatic row.

The ransom talks, in which both British and Italian officials had participated, began with a request for €5m and the release of prisoners, the Mauritanian agency reported, quoting sources close to the extremists. During the talks, questions were sent to the kidnappers for the hostages to answer about their families to prove they were still alive.

The British took a tougher line in negotiations than the Italians and demands eventually settled on €1.2m and no prisoner release, it is alleged. After a downpayment, British and Nigerian operatives were able to follow the extremists back to their hideout, setting up the raid.

The Italian foreign ministry declined to comment on the report. The Italians protested that London failed to inform them of the raid until it was under way President Giorgio Napolitano called Britain's unilateral action "inexplicable".

British, Italian hostages killed in failed rescue in Nigeria

Vanguard (AFP)

8 March 2012

British, Italian hostages killed in failed rescue in Nigeria

Nigeria (AFP) – A Briton and an Italian held hostage in Birnin Kebbi, capital of Kebbi state, Nigeria since May last year have been killed in a failed operation to rescue them, the British and Italian governments said on Thursday.

The rescue operation had been carried out by Nigerian security forces under British operational control, according to a statement from Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti’s office.

His British counterpart David Cameron’s office confirmed that the deaths had occurred “during an attempted rescue operation”.

“We are still awaiting confirmation of the details, but the early indications are clear that both men were murdered by their captors, before they could be rescued,” David Cameron said in a statement.

Cameron said credible information had been received about the location of Chris McManus and his Italian colleague Franco Lamolinara, who were seized by gunmen in May 2011.

“Preparations were made to mount an operation to attempt to rescue Chris and Franco. Together with the Nigerian government, today I authorised it to go ahead, with UK support,” he said.

“It is with great regret that I have to say that both Chris and Franco have lost their lives.”

Cameron said the two men had been held by “terrorists”, who had made “very clear threats to take their lives”.

In a video received by a Mauritanian news agency and seen by AFP in December, masked gunmen threatened to execute the British hostage if their demands were not met.

The Mauritanian agency claimed that the captors belong to a Nigerian group inspired by Al-Qaeda.

Cameron did not specify the identify of the kidnappers.

The Italian government also confirmed that the two hostages were dead.

British, Italian hostages killed in Nigeria before rescue operation could free them

Washington Post (AP)

8 March 2012

British, Italian hostages killed in Nigeria before rescue operation could free them

LONDON — Two Europeans held hostage in Nigeria by kidnappers claiming ties to al-Qaida were killed before rescuers could free them, authorities said Thursday.

The men — a Briton and an Italian — were killed by their captors. A Nigerian official said the two died in the crossfire during the rescue attempt, Prime Minister David Cameron said.

One British and one Italian hostage held in Nigeria have been killed during a rescue attempt by Nigerian and U.K. forces, British Prime Minister David Cameron said Thursday, March 8, 2012. Chris McManus and Franco Lamolinara were captured in northern Nigeria in May 2011.

Chris McManus and Franco Lamolinara were taken captive in May. The pair had been working on a bank construction project in Nigeria, a country that has seen a rise in violence linked to the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram.

Britain’s Foreign Office confirmed two men were held by terrorists associated with Boko Haram, and a senior British government official said the kidnappers appeared to be from an al-Qaida-linked cell within Boko Haram, but not within the group’s main faction.

The British prime minister said that after months of not knowing where the men were, U.K. authorities had “received credible information about their location.” Believing the men’s lives were in “imminent and growing danger,” a rescue operation was mounted, Cameron said.

Panel Recommends Amnesty for Boko Haram Members

 

Daily Champion

8 March 2012

Panel Recommends Amnesty for Boko Haram Members

 

Federal Government yesterday approved the White Paper of the Presidential Committee on Security Challenges in the North East Zone.

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Maku said the White Paper covered most of the areas the committee had touched in the report and most of its recommendations have been accepted by government.

The committee had recommended the renunciation of all forms of violence by the Islamic sect to enable the Federal government to commence negotiation with it.

The report had recommended that "the federal Government should fundamentally, consider the option of dialogue and negotiation which should be contingent upon the renunciation of all forms of violence and surrender of arms to be followed by a rehabilitation programme on the side of government.

"The federal government should create an informal forum at the highest level, where Mr. President will discuss national security issues with governors and other stakeholders from time to time. Again, there is an urgent need for arranging an informal forum where Mr. President will grant audience to each state governor on one-to-one basis where issues on security, could be addressed.

"The federal government should diversify and strengthen its means of creating avenues for international intelligence sharing and inter-agency cooperation through diplomatic channels/pacts.

"The committee had also recommended that government at all levels should, as a matter of priority initiate and design appropriate programmes to address the issue of unemployment in the zone, saying that it was of the view that the ongoing trial of police officers linked to the murder of Mohammed Yusuf, the sect leader and some of his followers should be expedited and publicized to convince the public of government's sincerity on the matter.

"The federal government and Borno State government should ensure that human and organizational victims, most especially, churches and mosques including schools, which were destroyed during the religious crisis in the past and even in the recent past, should be compensated monetarily and by way of resuscitating and reconstructing their properties. Survivors of the deceased victims should be compensated appropriately."

The committee also urged government to consider the scope of the present assignment to cover all security challenges facing the nation, saying that this view was informed by comments, suggestions and counsel made by many concerned individuals to the committee in the course of interactions with stakeholders including the governors of Borno, Bauchi, Kano, Niger and Sokoto States.

"Therefore government may consider constituting another committee with wider power and with an increased membership to handle the assignment within a reasonable timeframe but not weeks as was given to this committee. The committee's power should include dialogue and negotiation with the Ja'amatus Ahlus Sunnah Lid Daawatis Wal Jihad (Boko Haram) who have to our understanding, indicated their desire to have the sultan of Sokoto or his representatives as well as the Emir of Bauchi and Sheik Abubakar Gero Argungu as part of any such new committee," the committee posited.