Regional News

Nigerian Military Says Over 14,000 Boko Haram Fighters Have Surrendered So Far – HumAngle Media Source: HUMANGLE

The Nigerian Military has disclosed that only 14,609 fighters make up the 70,593 persons that have fled Boko Haram sanctuaries in the past months and surrendered to authorities in Borno state, Northeast Nigeria.

“14,609 were active male fighters, 20,955 were women, and 35,029 were children,” according to the commander of the counterinsurgency force in the region, Major General Chris Musa.

The Army General stated that the military and the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation had commenced “reviewing of cases of detainees at the Joint Investigation Centre (JIC)”.

HumAngle understands that the centre is responsible for investigating and screening defectors and recommending subsequent actions from authorities.

Mali’s capital Bamako boosts security fearing jihadi attacks | Africanews SOURCE: AFRICANEWS

Bamako, Mali’s bustling capital of more than 2.5 million people on the banks of the Niger River is on heightened alert as jihadi attacks have moved perilously close to the city.

At least 15 extremist attacks hit Mali in June and July, the most daring when jihadi fighters attacked Kati, the country’s largest military base, just 15 kilometres (9 miles) outside the capital.

The growing insecurity in Mali, a sprawling country of 20 million people, has increased instability in West Africa’s volatile Sahel region. Mali has had two coups since 2020, but the military has vowed to do more to stop the jihadi violence.

INSECURITY: Armed persons kill 65 Nigerian police officers, 85 soldiers in first half 2022 (premiumtimesng.com) Source: PREMIUMTIMES

Non-state actors killed at least 65 police officers in the first half of this year (January-June), as the security situation in Nigeria continues to get worse.

Aside from the slain law enforcement officers, at least 92 other security operatives were killed in the same period. These include 81 soldiers, two correctional service officials, two NDLEA officers, five officers of the NSCDC and two FRSC officials.

PREMIUM TIMES compiled the data from media reports. Thus, unreported cases were not included. The police also refused to provide its official figure for the number of slain officers within the period.

The 157 slain security personnel are among the thousands of people killed in the first half of 2022 with about 3,000 people killed in the first three months.

Nigeria: three policemen and five militiamen killed in an ambush | Africanews Source: AFRICANEWS

Gunmen have killed eight Nigerian security personnel, including three policemen and five militiamen, in an ambush in the central state of Kogi.

In Saturday’s attack, gunmen “suspected to be bandits ambushed and killed eight security personnel in Ajaokuta area,” Onogwu Muhammed, spokesman for the Kogi state governor, said in a statement.

Kogi State is experiencing an upsurge in attacks, some claimed by Islamic State jihadists operating outside their usual base in the northeast. The governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, has suspended a local traditional ruler, the statement said.

Islamic State Claims Responsibility For Attack In Nigeria’s Capital – HumAngle Media Source: HUMANGLE

The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on soldiers deployed around the Zuma rock area of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.

The terror group acknowledged this in a statement released on Saturday, July 30.

The attack on Thursday night targeted a checkpoint mounted by soldiers of the Presidential Guards Brigade, an elite Army unit in charge of protecting the capital and the President.

The attack is part of ISWAP’s expansion into new locations outside its stronghold in the Northeast. It comes a few weeks after the jailbreak in the Kuje area of the capital city.

Africa first Roundtable on Climate Initiatives ahead COP 27 begins in Addis Ababa | Africanews Source: AFRICANEWS

Charting a new and sustainable economic model is at the top of discussions as the first African Regional Roundtable on Climate Initiatives kicked off in Adis Ababa Ethiopia on Tuesday.

The UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Vera Songwe alongside African finance and trade ministers are amongst the stakeholders taking part in the forum.

She said ”Africa COP is not just a COP where we go and meet and talk, but that it has to be a club that delivers. We’re looking at this COP being really the clarion call, the wake up post-COVID recovery. We’re all going to be in a different economic setting. Unfortunately, that is not where we are”.

Ministers discussed the African Trade Exchange Platform highlighting the need for fertilizers across Africa, especially since the continent has been heavily impacted by COVID, the Ukraine conflict & rising food prices.

Again, gunmen block Nigerian highway, abduct scores of passengers (premiumtimesng.com) Source: PREMIUMTIMES

Scores of passengers were, on Saturday, abducted when gunmen, suspected to be herdsmen, who blocked Enugu-Port Harcourt highway between Leru Junction and Ihube Community, a boundary between Imo and Abia states, Nigeria’s South-east.

The gunmen, numbering about 30, were said to have attacked three buses along the road and abducted the entire passengers.

The attackers reportedly razed a military van and wounded two soldiers who attempted to confront them, before forcing all occupants of the three buses into a nearby bush, according a report by Vanguard newspaper.

Nigeria’s Chibok girls: three women found years after their abduction | Africanews Source: AFRICANEWS

Eight years after they were abducted from their school dormitory, three of the Chibok girls have been rescued by the Nigerian army.

They are part of the 276 schoolgirls kidnapped by the jihadist group Boko Haram in the northeastern town of Chibok.

At a press conference held by the Borno regional army, the now adult women could be seen along with their young children. “Three of the Chibok girls are here with you, these girls are Ruth Bitrus, Kauna Luka and Hannatu Musa. All of them were rescued by the troops of the 21 special armoured brigade after operations that created enabling environment for these girls to escape from their captors.”, said Waibi Shaibu, Commander of the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army.

Out of the 276 girls abducted in 2014, 57 have been able to escape and 80 have been freed in exchange for Boko Haram leaders. But according to the authorities, 100 are still gone missing.

Insecurity: APC senator calls for resignation of NSA, service chiefs (premiumtimesng.com) Source: PREMIUMTIMES

An All Progressives Congress (APC) senator has called for the resignation of all security chiefs over the spate of terrorists attacks in the country.

Sani Musa, who represents Niger East Senatorial District of Niger State in the Senate, in an interview with Channels Television on Sunday, described the country’s state of insecurity as a pointer to leadership failure at all levels.

With emphasis on the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mr Musa said many of the terrorists attacks witnessed under the current government would have been prevented if all concerned agencies had acted intelligence as appropriate.

“If you recall, last year or earlier this year, my governor cried loud that there is an infiltration of Boko Haram terrorists creating cells within Niger State,” the lawmaker said.

Nigeria: Wife calls for justice after Italy street killing of vendor | Africanews Source: AFRICANEWS

The wife of a Nigerian street vendor called for justice on Sunday after the killing of her husband in Italy, which was filmed by onlookers and has sparked national condemnation.

Alika Ogorchukwu, 39, was selling goods Friday on the main street of Civitanova Marche, a beach town on the Adriatic Sea, when his attacker grabbed the vendor’s crutch and struck him down, according to police.

“The attacker chased the victim and first hit him with a crutch, then knocked him to the ground and then finished him off, killing him by repeatedly striking him with his bare hands.”

An autopsy later in the week will help determine if Ogorchukwu succumbed to the beating or was strangled as he lay with his back on the ground. Police used street cameras to track the assailant’s movements and detained a man identified as Filippo Claudio Giuseppe Ferlazzo, 32.

Nigeria adds 10.5 million young voters ahead of 2023 election | Elections News | Al Jazeera SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

Nigeria has added more than 10 million new voters to its election register, most of them youths, ahead of a presidential vote next February, the electoral agency has said.

Voters in Nigeria will pick a new president to succeed Muhammadu Buhari, who cannot run after serving the two terms allowed by the constitution. Governors, as well as members of the Senate and House of Representatives, will also be elected.

Terrorists Abduct School Headmaster, Women, Demand 30 Jerricans Of Fuel In Zamfara – HumAngle Media Source: HUMANGLE

In a week-long series of attacks on villages in Ruwan-Jema, Zamfara, Northwest Nigeria, terrorists kidnapped many residents, including 29 women and their children.

The attacks, which affected about 16 communities, lasted between July 25 and July 31.

Some of the abducted women were identified as Shamsiyya, Umma, Belau, ‘Yarbuga, Hafsin Malam, Talatu Garba, and Meri. Some of the men also kidnapped were Danlabbo, Umma Kimalle, Mallam Mukhtar, Surajo Sarkin Dutsi, and Abubakar.

Ruwan-Jema is in the Bukuyum area of Zamfara, which has emerged as one of the hotbeds of terrorist and criminal activities. The terrorists have allegedly established about four camps in the area and operate with little to no checks. The most prominent are the groups led by Shadari and Dogo Gudale.

In Nigeria’s northwest, violent attacks and inflation deepen malnutrition | Africanews Source: AFRICANEWS

Lariya Abdulkareem’s family used to make a living farming beans and sorghum at a village in Nigeria’s northwest Katsina state. But threats of bandit attacks forced them to abandon their land and farm elsewhere.

Today, worsening insecurity has disrupted agriculture and food supplies in the region, and the grandmother says feeding her family has become a challenge.

“We cannot access the places we did before,” Abdulkareem said, clutching her seven-month-old granddaughter in a clinic set up a year ago by health authorities with Ngo Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

Rural northwest Nigeria has been ravaged by gangs of bandit militias who raid villages, loot cattle and kidnap people, holding them for ransom in camps deep in the forests that carpet the region.

Cameroon Army Kills Ten Separatist Fighters  – HumAngle Media Source: HUMANGLE

The Cameroon military high command has announced that its soldiers killed ten separatist fighters on Sunday, July 31, 2022, in multiple clashes with the Anglophone combatants in Batibo and Bambui.

In Bambui, the army announced killing Asenjo Roy Angafor, alias General Rasta, and one of his closest allies, Colonel John. The corpses of the two individuals, terrorising the Bambui neighbourhoods, were later displayed at Four Corners, Bambui, in the Tubah sub-division of the Northwest region.

According to a statement by the Army General Staff, seven suspected separatist combatants were captured, and two motorcycles were seized during the Bambui operation.

Civil Society condemns school closure in Abuja, Nigeria | Africanews Source: AFRICANEWS

The Civil Society Organizations , CSOs on Thursday, expressed pain over closure of both public and private schools in Abuja-Nigeria.

The closure of both public and private schools in Abuja meant terrorists are gaining upper hand with their reign of terror according g to the convener of the organisation.

The Civil group further highlighted that the agenda for the terrorist is to abolish Western education, and so if the terrorists are succeeding even without bombing the schools, government facilities and government is already shutting down the schools, it means a win situation for the insurgent group.

Three more airlines may shut down before 2023, expert warns | Dailytrust SOURCE: DAILYTRUST

Foremost Aviation analyst, Capt. Alex Nwuba, has said three more airlines may go under before the end of the year as a result of the current challenges facing the industry.

Nwuba, who is the National President, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, while featuring on Trust TV, also said the proposed National carrier, Nigeria Air, will not perform any magic in terms of addressing the depleting capacity of the domestic airlines.

Daily Trust reports that the airline industry is currently on the edge of the skyrocketing price of aviation fuel known as Jet A1 and the rise in foreign exchange rates.

Two domestic airlines – Aero Contractors and Dana Air are on temporary exit, thereby creating gaps in the domestic market even as other carriers are struggling to survive.

Peace and Security

Buhari calls for more international collaboration to tackle insecurity (premiumtimesng.com) Source: PREMIUMTIMES

President Muhammadu Buhari has commended the collective efforts of nations towards tackling security challenges across the globe, and within Nigeria, urging more collaboration to check terrorism, banditry and insurgency.

The president gave the commendation when he received Letters of Credence of the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Amb. James Christoff and Ambassador of Mexico to Nigeria, Juan Oritz, on Tuesday in Abuja.

The Nigerian leader told the diplomats that successes in taming insecurity had been recorded through collaboration across borders, and more could be achieved.

Insecurity: Nigerian Army reshuffles top brass, appoints new GOCs, others | The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News — Nigeria — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News: SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya has approved the posting and appointment of some senior officers of the Nigerian Army to command, instructional and staff appointments across formations and units following widespread insecurity.

Those affected in the shake-up released on Thursday, July 28, 2022, included some Principal Staff Officers of the Army Headquarters, General Officers Commanding, Corps Commanders, Commandants of training institutions, Brigade Commanders, Commanding Officers, amongst others.

Ivorian defence minister meets families of soldiers held in Mali | Africanews; SOURCE: AFRICANEWS

Talks on bringing home 49 Ivorian soldiers detained in Mali are ongoing but any result “could take time”, a spokesman for Ivory Coast’s government said Wednesday.

“Ivory Coast has favoured dialogue. Discussions are under way… Everything is being done so our soldiers can return to their families,” government spokesman Amadou Coulibaly said.

But “it could take time,” he said.

Ivory Coast says the soldiers were unfairly detained at Bamako’s airport on July 10, after being sent to provide backup for the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA. They say their role within the mission was “well-known to the Malian authorities”.

Mali’s military-led government however says they were detained after landing on a special flight without supporting documents and has described them as “mercenaries”.

Condemnations as NBC fines Trust TV N5m over banditry documentary | Dailytrust: SOURCE; DAILYTRUST.

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Wednesday slammed a N5 million fine on Trust Television Network (Trust TV), owned by Media Trust Group, over the broadcast of a documentary titled “Nigeria’s Banditry: The Inside Story”, which was aired by the station on March 5, 2022.

The documentary was produced after months of investigations intended to trace the roots of the raging banditry and provide policymakers insight into possible means of ending the carnage.

The decision by the broadcasting regulator sparked widespread condemnation with many industry stakeholders and other Nigerians condemning the federal government agency over what some of them described as “gagging of the press” and denying Nigerians the right to know.

The NBC communicated the sanction through a letter dated August 3, 2022, which was signed by its Director General, Balarabe Shehu Illela.

Review: Why Armed, Terror Groups In Africa Are Joining Forces With ISIS – HumAngle Media Source: HUMANGLE

In his book, Jason Warner traces the emergence and evolution of nine Islamic State (IS) affiliates in Africa, from the first time the group officially declared presence in Libya to its recent intense operations in Mozambique.

The Islamic State in Africa: The Emergence, Evolution, and Future of the Next Jihadist Battlefront was published last year and was authored by Warner, assistant professor in the Department of Social Sciences at the United States Military Academy, alongside Ryan Cummings, Héni Nsaibia, and Ryan O’Farrell.

They examine IS affiliates with capacities to wage violence and sustain a durable relationship with IS Central through three stages: pre-bay’ah (before the declaration of the caliphate by first IS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi in 2014), during bay’ah (allegiance processes), and post-bay’ah (after the death of Al-Baghdadi in Oct. 2019).

NIGERIA DAILY: How Insecurity might Disenfranchise some Northern Nigeria voters | Dailytrust SOURCE: DAILYTRUST

Many local government areas in Northern Nigeria are inaccessible due to insecurity.

With the INEC registration ending on Sunday, how many Nigerians in these local government areas have their voters’ cards?

In this episode of Nigeria Daily, we look at how insecurity will affect the 2023 general elections.

U.S. Played Secret Role In Nigeria Attack That Killed More Than 160 Civilians – HumAngle Media Source: HUMANGLE

The United States played an unacknowledged role in the 2017 bombing of an internally displaced persons’ camp in Nigeria that killed more than 160 civilians, many of them children.

A surveillance plane circled above the Rann IDP camp, which housed 43,000 people and was controlled by the Nigerian military, before a jet arrived and bombed the area where people draw water from a borehole, survivors of the attack said. The jet then circled and dropped another bomb on the tents of displaced civilians sheltering there.

The Nigerian air force expressed regret for carrying out the airstrike, which also killed nine aid workers and seriously wounded more than 120 people. But the attack was referred to as an instance of “U.S.-Nigerian operations” in a formerly secret U.S. military document obtained exclusively by The Intercept.

Nigeria Security Arrests Informants Behind Kuje Prison Invasion By Terrorists (thenigerianvoice.com): SOURCE: THE NIGERIAN VOICE

Suspected informants who leaked and guided the terrorists on critical information relating to troops’ locations and movements around the outskirts of Abuja have been arrested. It was reliably gathered that four suspects have been taken into custody and are being grilled.

An intelligence operative told PRNigeria that the suspects were arrested with sophisticated equipment including Walkie-Talkies, revolver, knives, amulets, and old Chinese made phones, that do not use data.

The source, who was part of the raid that led to the arrest of the informants, said discreet investigations are ongoing to confirm their leaders and financiers.

Activities of the terrorist-collaborators were responsible for the recent attacks around the vicinity of the Federal Capital Territory , FCT, the source added.

How A Series Of Blunders Paved The Way For Boko Haram Insurgency – HumAngle Media Source: HUMANGLE

Thirteen years ago, Nigeria was on a collision course with a little-known extremist group with a home base in the northeastern city of Maiduguri. The group would later survive the government’s attempt to crush it in July 2009 and outlive its first generation, including the demise of its charismatic leader Mohammed Yusuf.

Were there alternative paths to extinguish the fire and prevent the subsequent humanitarian crisis?

HumAngle rewinds to some of the defining moments and reexamines steps that have now turned out to be costly, worsening a crisis that has caused about 350,000 deaths, displaced well over two million people, and left millions needing humanitarian assistance.

“Tura Takai Bango” was synonymous with Nigeria’s military offensive in the region last year. Incidentally, the Hausa phrase, which means a state where one is pushed to the wall, was also used by Mamman Nur, a ranking Boko Haram member, during a sermon in the days leading up to the July 2009 uprising. Nur’s words could be considered a reflection of the heightening tension in the build-up to the group’s resistance and mutation.

Burkina Faso army admits to killing civilians in air raid | Armed Groups News | Al Jazeera SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

Burkina Faso’s army has said it accidentally killed civilians during a military operation in the country’s southeast earlier this week.

The West African country has been battling an armed uprising by rebel groups, some linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS), which control large swaths of territory within and wage frequent attacks across the Sahel.

“During operations which made it possible to neutralize several dozen terrorists, the strikes unfortunately caused collateral victims within the civilian population,” the army said in a statement on Wednesday.

Interview with Chad’s Prime Minister, Albert Pahimi Padacké | Africanews Source: AFRICANEWS

In this interview, the Prime Minister of Chad, Albert Pahimi Padacké, answers our questions on the security, economic and political challenges facing his country.

He discusses the national reconciliation dialogue scheduled for August, the end of the political transition, inflation and the withdrawal of Mali from the G5 Sahel.

MNJTF Honours Cameroon Officers Over Boko Haram Warfare In Lake Chad Basin – HumAngle Media Source: HUMANGLE

Senior military officers from Cameroon, Brigadier General Bouba Dobekreo and three of his elements who served in the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) engaged in the fight against Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin on July 29, 2022, received honours in the Staff Headquarters of the MJTF in Camp Farcha in N’Djamena the Chadian capital.

The Cameroonian recipients of the military medals were honoured for their participation in “Operation Integrite du Lac”, a big success against the Boko Haram terrorist group.

“Brigadier General Bouba Dobekreo was one of the brains behind this punitive expedition against the terrorists. It was thus due to the talent and the strategy of this general officer that the high command of MJTF has recognised by awarding him a medal,” a senior officer of the MNJTF declared during the ceremony.

The Multinational Joint Task Force also recognised the exceptional combat qualities of three other Cameroonian military officers in Sector Number 3 of the MNJTF, with Navy Captain Rachel Mbah receiving a special mention.

Humanitarian

Worst Flood In Decades, Devastates Communities In Northeast Nigeria – HumAngle Media Source: HUMANGLE

Heavy flooding led to the death of about 11 people and widespread destruction in Gujba and Gulani Local Government Areas of eastern Yobe state in Northeast Nigeria. The overflow of a local river caused the disaster.

For families in Buni-Gari, Ligdir, Garin Doya, Kukuwa -Tasha and Bumsa, Bara, Gurui, Dokshi, Bularafa, Garin-Tuwo, Teteba, Njubulwa Sabai communities, July would be remembered due to the impact of the flood that swept through their communities and led to the loss of relatives and friends.

The disaster also led to the hospitalisation of 95 persons of the communities after sustaining various degrees of injuries and the destruction of properties worth millions of naira.

“The flood collapsed many houses and damaged stored food items. People are in critical condition as they are trying to cope with the situation; women are bringing out their room materials to be dried,” said Ahmed Ishak from Buni-Yadi.

Train Attack: “How we were starved, beaten, shot,” released hostages narrate ordeal in captivity (premiumtimesng.com) Source: PREMIUMTIMES

After 127 days in captivity, some of the hostages who were released by the gunmen who attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train in March have narrated their ordeals in captivity.

The hostages told journalist that their ordeal was so horrendous they will not wish for the hostages still in captivity to spend one more day with their abductors.

They also pleaded with the Nigerian government to hasten efforts to secure their release.

The released hostages are Mustapha Imam, an associate professor from Usman Danfodio University Sokoto; Akibu Lawal; Abubakar Rufai; Mukthar Shu’aibu; and Sidi Sharif.

Someone Is Stealing Babies From Displaced Mothers In Northeastern Nigeria – HumAngle Media Source: HUMANGLE

When she first went to the hospital after enduring the first phase of contractions, her back aching so much she could barely walk, stand, or even breathe, Amina Bukar was told she was not yet in labour.

“Go back home,” the doctor said, handing her some painkillers. “Come back when you go into full labour.”

That evening, the pain intensified. As she tried to shuffle her way out of her tarpaulin tent in the IDP camp in Bama, northeastern Nigeria, to ask her neighbour to help take her back to the hospital, she felt the head of the baby already weighing down heavily on her cervix. At the time, she was by the entrance of the tent, where I am now standing. From there, I can see hundreds of tarpaulin tents spread over the camp like a vast forest of whiteness. On any other day but today, I might have been able to appreciate the scene.

First, she stood there, she says, unsure how to proceed. Then, she shuffled back into the tent and, there, gave birth to Falmata.

Tragedies As Flood Renders Many Borno IDPs Helpless – HumAngle Media Source: HUMANGLE

Many Nigerians have been rendered helpless at the Banki Internally Displaced Camp (IDP) in Borno State, Northeast Nigeria, as a result of heavy rainfall and release of water from a dam in Cameroon, Central Africa.

The development, according to Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) assessment carried out by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in late July and published on Aug. 1 further displaced no fewer than  7,389 persons from 2,332 households.

HumAngle understands that the IDPs have been moved to other communities not affected by floods in the Banki area.

“In total, 348 shelters were either damaged or flooded by water. These included 130 block shelters, 180 mud shelters and 38 e-shelters, leaving a total of 2,332 households in immediate need of shelter. The team reported 48 injuries as a result of the flood,” the report partly read.

Stabilization and economic development

FCMB records profit growth of N15.4bn | Dailytrust SOURCE: DAILYTRUST

FCMB Group Plc has reported better-than-impressive earnings, revenue, deposits, loans and Assets Under Management, recording a profit before tax of N15.4 billion, for the six months ended June 30, 2022.

The result is a 73.2% year-on-year growth compared to N8.9 billion in 2021, with double-digit growth across its business segments: 84.2% in the banking group, 42.7% in consumer finance, 41.9% in investment management, and 253.8% in investment banking.

How to build resilient organisations for sustainable success (premiumtimesng.com) Source: PREMIUMTIMES

Instability and disruption create and spread uncertainty. Uncertainty about what can be done and uncertainty about what’s going to be possible in the months and years to come. To thrive in these increasingly fast-paced and disruptive times, leaders need to optimise their capability to successfully manage change. Of course, this is difficult, given that over 70% of change initiatives fail.

Trust and credibility are critical to successfully implementing transformation but are particularly essential for success in turbulent times. So the best way to maintain trust and credibility both with your own team and with your customers and the wider public? Be unfailingly honest about current difficulties and how you plan to tackle them. Nothing is more annoying for customers than a business partner who makes false promises or runs into unforeseeable delays but pretends that everything will be delivered on time when he or she knows that that can’t happen.