ISWAP Intercepts Food Meant For IDPs In Borno, Loots 4 Trucks – Newstrends
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ISWAP Intercepts Food Meant For IDPs In Borno, Loots 4 Trucks

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Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Lucky Irabor

Members of the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) have attacked a convoy of 40 trucks of food meant for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and resettled communities in Borno and intercepted four of them, Daily Trust Saturday learnt exclusively. 

The attack, which occurred Thursday night around Layi village in Mobbar Local Government Area of the state, came barely 48 hours after terrorists launched a heavy attack on Kuje Medium Security Prison in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) freeing at least 69 Boko Haram suspects and hundreds of others. The ISWAP on Wednesday claimed responsibility for the attack. 

Top security sources who were briefed about the Borno attack told Daily Trust Saturday that the food and nutritional products consignment was on its way to Damasak. 

It was part of the palliative by the World Food Program (WFP) for IDPs from Abadam and victims of the Boko Haram violence returning to their homes in Mobbar. 

“The attackers were in four gun trucks. After heavy attacks on the convoy, they succeeded in intercepting four of the vehicles and emptied nearly everything from the vehicles,” the source said. 

It was also gathered that the terrorists are now firming up their control of major roads and strategic areas in the southern and northern parts of Borno. 

Intelligence sources in the area have reported that ISWAP members in four trucks have been deployed to Kareto village in Mobbar Local Government Area.  

Terror group plans eid prayer in ‘captured’ communities, enclaves

As part of their expansionist activities, the terror groups are said to have concluded plans to conduct eid prayers in some of the areas under their control, today (Saturday).

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Credible sources said like what obtained in the past years, Boko Haram members loyal to late Abubakar Shekau, and those loyal to ISWAP led by late Abu Musab Albarnawi, the son of late Boko Haram founder Mohammed Yusuf, have, among others,  cleared grounds around the shores of the Lake Chad and Sambisa forest and would observe the Eid-el-Kabir prayer there.

They, therefore, called on security agencies to checkmate the effrontery of the terrorists saying they use such festivities for massive recruitments of innocent people into their fold.

One of the sources said even though, Nigerian security forces have uprooted Boko Haram fighters from many villages and forested areas in Borno and neighbouring Yobe State, they are still lurking around in many communities.

“The terrorists are fully mobilised for celebrations at many Tunbus (islands) on the Lake Chad and their enclaves in Sambisa Forest,” he said.

Another source said the excesses of the terrorists  cast Nigeria in bad light at the international level.

“It is unthinkable the way they release videos of their atrocities. Such videos show that once the terrorists go out for their operations, they would do it with ease because nobody can stop them.

“The videos they released recently after the attack on Kuje prison is one bad example that showed our weak links. And unless something is done, they would also release videos of their eid prayers.

“They would release their propaganda videos slaughtering their sacrificial animals to the chagrin of those in authority…I am calling on our security forces to act by decimating them,” he said.

Another source said with the commencement of the rainy season, Nigerian troops are constrained by environmental factors which is affecting their performance. 

He said they cannot access many communities this time, paving way for the terrorists to replenish their supplies and logistics, as well as recruit vulnerable youths ahead of future fights.

He said the forces had missed a golden opportunity during the dry season when hundreds of terrorists came out of their enclaves and repented. 

“Why didn’t we finish the terrorists’ campaign in the North East this year? We had thousands surrendering, weakening the fighting spirits of the terrorists, but we could not clear the Tunbus, surroundings of Timbuktu Triangle and Sambisa Forest.

“Now we are bound to wait until the end of the raining season to kick start another operation. 

“Why haven’t we done enough to acquire all weather APC and  AFV and constantly revert to seasonal warfare?

“Does this mean, knowing that our North East flanks or neighbours are our most vulnerable porous security concern, yet, no efforts towards acquisition of these all important weapons?

“Must we wait till tomorrow when the Chadian or Cameroonian forces enter Maiduguri before we rush to the markets?

“Is the military waiting for Buhari’s handing over before clearing the terrorists or to use it as an election campaign strategy?”, he asked.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Correctional Service has released the names and pictures of the inmates with terrorism-related cases that escaped from the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre in Abuja.

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The inmates escaped from the correctional centre following an attack on the facility by members of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) on Tuesday.

The ISWAP claimed the responsibility for the attacked in a 30-second video on Wednesday.

In a statement by the spokesperson of the Service, Umar Abubakar, it was revealed that 879 inmates fled but 443 of the escapees were recaptured, bringing the total number of inmates in the facility to 578.

Also, the Minister of Defence, Major-General Bashir Magashi, said all the Boko Haram terrorists in the facility escaped during the attack.

However, the Service released the names and images of 69 inmates being tried for terrorism, including Abdulkareem Musa, Abdulsalam Adamu, Bello Haruna , Ismail Abdullahi , Modu Aji, Yakubu Abdullahi, Abdulmannan Obadiki, Abubakar Umar.

Others are Bassey Kingsley, Diko Iko, Fannami Bukar, Ishaq Farouq, Mohammed Buba and Mohammed Kyari.  

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has received briefing from security chiefs on the latest development on Tuesday’s terrorist attack on the Kuje Custodial Centre.

Confirming this to State House correspondents after the meeting of the National Security Council, presided over by the president yesterday, the Minister of Police Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi, said heads of security agencies briefed the president on what actually happened in Kuje and the way forward.  

“The service chiefs have been given very clear directives to ensure that adequate measures are taken, not only to investigate what happened, but also to take steps to forestall a occurrence of such incident,” he said.

He said the security personnel deployed to man the custodial centre at Kuje in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) did their best to repel the attack but were subdued by the superior weaponry of the terrorists.

The minister, who said the terrorists succeeded because of their large number and superior firepower, stated that President Buhari had directed the service chiefs to not only ensure that adequate measures were taken after the ongoing probe into the cause of the incident, but also to take steps to forestall the reoccurrence of such incidents.

Dingyadi, who said the president expressed deep concern over the recent developments, stated that some of the assailants were killed.

He said, “Some of them were killed. But I can’t give you the number; and I don’t know the number because like they do, whenever one of them is killed, they take the corpse away, so you cannot know the number of people who have been killed. But definitely, quite a number of them were killed and many of them ran way with bullet wounds.”

He said the meeting convened by President Buhari reviewed the security situation in the country, particularly the Kuje jailbreak, banditry in Katsina, as well as the various attacks on Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.

DAILY TRUST

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200,000 repentant terrorists surrender, drop arms in North East – CDS

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Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa

200,000 repentant terrorists surrender, drop arms in North East – CDS

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has disclosed that about 200,000 repentant terrorists have so far dropped their arms and surrendered to troops in the North East, noting that the twin strategy of kinetic and non-kinetic operations was responsible for this achievement.

The CDS made this known at the Security and Justice Symposium organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in collaboration with the British High Commission, which began at the National Counterterrorism Centre in Abuja on Tuesday.

He disclosed that the theme of the symposium, ”Securing Peace, Ensuring Justice, Protection, Conduct, and Accountability,” speaks volumes about the deluge of security challenges the armed forces and security agencies are facing.

His words, “All the challenges we are facing today have to do with fairness, equity, justice, and accountability.

“There will not be peace without justice, equity, fairness, and accountability. In our operations, we are conducting both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies, which have to a large extent yielded significant successes, and we want to particularly thank the National Security Adviser for his great support in this regard.

“Nigeria is going through so many challenges, and we feel we’re able to address this, and everybody has a sense of belonging. A lot of the security challenges we are having, we are sure, will go down. I want to thank the National Security Advisor for all the support he’s given us, both the kinetic and the non-kinetic.

“We have said it; the kinetic aspect is just less than 30%. The non-kinetic has a lot to play. The non-kinetic, because when you have democracy, people must have the evidence of democracy. As long as it tells people to sleep well and be peaceful, and they are hungry, their children cannot eat, and all this creates more problems.

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“The issue of informants. We have to look at how we tackle this issue of informants. Because these are the people who have created the issue.

200,000 repentant terrorists surrender, drop arms in North East – CDS

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Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police

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Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police

The spokesperson for the police in Delta State, SP Bright Edafe, has confirmed the death of two robbery suspects in the state.

Mr Edafe, who disclosed this to journalists on Tuesday in Warri, said that the deceased were killed from the bullets shot by their gang members.

According to him, the incident occurred on Wednesday at Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of the state.

Mr Edafe explained that the deceased were leading the police surveillance team attached to the Ekpan Division to their hideout when they were caught during a shoot-out.

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“The suspects were arrested at Effurun roundabout with a bag containing 57 live cartridges and other items. They were leading the surveillance team to their hideout at Warri/Sapele road when their gang members, on sighting the vehicle of the police team, engaged them in a shootout.During the gun duel, the arrested suspects that were leading the police team were fatally wounded by the gun shot of their colleagues. The two injured suspects were taken to the hospital and later died while receiving treatment,” he said.

Mr Edafe said that items recovered from the hoodlums hideout included: one English pump action gun, one locally made cut-to-size gun and eight live cartridges.

Others were: six iPhones, Smart phones and a Rolex wrist watch.

He said that the command had intensified manhunt on the fleeing members of the gang.

 

Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police

(NAN)

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Akwa Ibom businessman abducted, driver killed, police orderly injured

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Dr. Samuel Ekerenam
Akwa Ibom businessman abducted, driver killed, police orderly injured
Gunmen kidnapped a prominent businessman, Dr. Samuel Ekerenam and k!lled his driver in Eket town, the headquarter of Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
Ekerena, the owner of Hephzibah Mall, was abducted about 10:00pm on Saturday, 23 November, 2024.
It was gathered that the gunmen trailed the victim to the shopping complex, shooting sporadically to scare the passers-by away before whisking him away to an unknown destination.
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The body of Ekerenam’s driver was discovered in the pool of his blood, while his police orderly was severely wounded in the gun attack.
The spokesperson of the State Police Command, ASP Timfon John, who confirmed the incident on Monday, November 25, said the Commissioner of Police, CP Joseph Eribo has deployed tactical operatives to comb for the abducted businessman.
The PPRO added that the police were on top of the game and very soon the kidnap victim would be rescued and the perpetrators made to face the full weight of the law.

Akwa Ibom businessman abducted, driver killed, police orderly injured

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