whats your own opinion; Surrendering Shekau’s Head and the Army Credits- Noel Onoja

Firstly, the question as to whether bringing Shekau’s head to the stake will end the insurgency problem is a matter of discussion for another day, the first and foremost news on the mind of Nigerians and indeed the world is bringing to justice, dead or alive – however means necessary, the leader of the boko haram terrorist group Abubakar Shekau and his cohorts for their crimes against humanity. 
Secondly, most people think it is a secondary issue as to which troop get credit to claims to have killed Shekau – the Nigerian troops or the Camerounian troops, what is paramount is that the leadership of the sect and all its members are brought to book and on time. The wanton destruction of lives and properties by the dreaded, blood-thirsty islamic extremist group boko haram has come on for too long and Nigerians are waiting and hoping the head of this monstrous group will be turned in any time soonest.
 At first the insurgency was considered a purely Nigerian problem with Cameroun accused of been reluctant to join the fight at its earlier stage but as time went on, the dynamics of the group’s threat began to spread and affect other countries especially Nigeria’s neighbour Cameroun, Chad and Niger with reports of constant kidnapping and raids by the sect prompting the setting up of a Multi-National Joint Task force to counter the insurgency. 
 Although it is not clear as to the level of military cooperation and coordination between Nigeria and Cameroun as regard the fight against the terrorists group but one thing clear is the drive of the military of both countries to prove a point in the anti-terrorism battle. 
 Following the recent resolve by the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan government and Nigerian miliitary to totally crush the group with persistent offensive and attendant victories at various fronts with members of the boko haram sect surrendering self and arms to the might of the Nigerian Army; The Camerounian Army on the other side of the bother have also reported various times of how it has successfully repelled attacks and dislodged the group from its bother area propelled by massive offensive from across the Nigerian border. 
Two days ago the Camerounian Army posted a picture showing the leader of the boko haram sect killed apparently by gunfire, the picture which was posted on its facebook page with profile name ‘Armée camerounaise’ was not elaborated upon but it completely suggested that the boko haram leader had been killed purportedly by Camerounian troops. 
Aside claims some time in July this year by the Nigerian Army to have allegedly killed Shekau in a June 30th battle before he resurfaced again in propaganda videos, fighting in recent days have however purported that prominent Boko Haram Commander suspected to be the sect’s leader, Abubakar Shekau might have been killed.
 However, one factor that appears conflicting in the report is whether the alleged victory was actually won by the Nigerian Army or the Cameroonian soldiers on the otherside of the border.
The conflicting reports stemmed from the claim by troops of both countries of being responsible for the killing of the most wanted terrorist in the region.
While troops from Cameroon on Sunday night claimed responsibility for killing Shekau with photos of the Boko Haram leader’s corpse as one of the proofs, the Nigerian Army has equally claimed that its troops killed the sect leader. The report from the side of the Nigerian troops was however not backed by images.
The conflict reports in the claim became obvious when troops from Cameroon said it killed Shekau at the Gamboru Ngala border town, contrary to claims by the Nigerian Army that said Shekau was killed in Konduga town, few kilometres away from Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.
 Both troops also have different versions to how the terrorist was allegedly killed. While Cameroon military disclosed that Shekau was killed in an aerial bombardment in his hideout inside Nigeria, the Nigerian military claimed that its troops might have killed Shekau on September 17 when the sect members tried to take over Konduga, and consequently launch an attack against Maiduguri.
 The Nigerian Military has further claimed that “It is getting more certain that the terrorists’ commander who has been mimicking Shekau in those videos is the one killed in Konduga on September 17, 2014?.
 The military however cautioned that, “The process of confirming that the dead body we have is the same as that character who has been posing as Shekau is ongoing. He is definitely a prominent terrorist Commander. I don’t want to say anything about this yet please.”
 A military source had further revealed that the semblance between Shekau and the corpse in their custody was too striking and cannot be a coincidence, citing his facial marks, beards and teeth in addition to the recovery by the Nigerian troops of some of the Armoured Vehicles and Hilux jeeps that had featured in previous videos of the prime suspect as possible evidences.
 The Army further assured that the Defence Headquarters will soon address the nation after full investigation is carried out to verify the real identity of the dead leader.
 Although reactions pouring in suggest that people are not yet convinced that the leader of the sect has been killed, a Saudi based Nigerian journalist Ahmed Salkida who has offered to help negotiate with the sect responded on twitter by saying 
 “Mark my words: I have it on authority that Shekau is well & alive, the picture going round is NOT the person who torments us with his group”
 
 Salkida further tweeted ” Mark my words: There is NO negotiation either by the @ICRC or any negotiator on the release of #chibokgirls with #BH Shura as I write this”
 
 However this sounds, the killing of Shekau obviously sound like a delightful news in the fight against this terrorist that have succeeded in tormenting, killing, maiming and destroying properties for years now, this type of news will also encourage the morals of troops fighting the insurgency making sure that it is finally brought to an end just as the Government of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has shown a renewed effort in defeating this extremists.
 For Nigerians and the world at large, we will urge the military of countries involved to carry out a quick investigation into the purported killing of Shekau with the aim of coming out with a confirmed account into the death of Shekau, we can sit down and give credit later to which ever army could have been responsible, let it remain in the minds of citizens and soldiers of both countries or any other country for that matter that the fight against boko haram Is a collective responsibility that must be devotedly executed to the sustenance of peace and prosperity of the region.

breaking news; Chibok Schoolgirls ‘Free In Nigeria’- Military

Nigeria’s military has told the BBC that some of the schoolgirls abducted from Chibok town in April by Islamist militants are now free.

Army spokesman Brig Gen Chris Olukolade did not say how many girls were now in military custody, saying the exercise was “ongoing”.
More than 200 girls were seized by Boko Haram fighters from a boarding school in the north-eastern Borno state.
It caused worldwide outrage and sparked a social media campaign.
Protests were organised under the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls, calling on the authorities to do more to free the girls, who had gone to the school in Chibok from surrounding areas to take their final year exams

Chibok Girls Not Released Yet, We Are No Longer Sure – Defence HQ Retracts Earlier Statement

Premium Times is reporting that the spokesperson of the Defence Headquarters, Gen. Olukolade has retracted his earlier statement about the release of the Chibok girls. Read news here Girls Not Released Yet – DHQ

Jonathan attacks Obasanjo again over open letter

President Goodluck Jonathan was in his element again yesterday. He lashed out at politicians “who think they own Nigeria, doing what we ought not to do, making statements we ought not to make and writing letters we ought not to write.”

Jonathan mentioned no names, but it was clear he was referring to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who rattled him with an 18-page letter.

He accused the former president of not acting like a statesman, saying Nigeria does not belong to any politician or a group of politicians.

The President spoke at the Anglican Diocese of Abuja, The Cathedral Church of the Advent in Lifecamp, where he attended the Christmas Day service with his family members and some senior government officials.

Obasanjo, in a December 2 letter made available to the media almost two weeks later, hurled some weighty allegations at the President, who was accused of training snipers and putting over 1,000 on a political watch list ahead of the 2015 elections.

Obasanjo said Jonathan would be “fatally flawed”, should he contest in 2015 because, according to the former president, he committed himself to a single term in office when he was seeking his party’s nomination.

But Jonathan, in his reply to Obasanjo’s letter, denied all the allegations.

He has referred the Obasanjo letter to security agents and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), who are to probe the allegations.

The President said yesterday: “For us at this time, especially we the politicians that we think we own this country, begin to think about next election and doing what we ought not to do, making statements we ought not to make, writing letters we are not supposed to write.

“I call on clergymen and statesmen who really own this country because this country belongs to our statesmen, traditional rulers, religious leaders, our men, our women and our youth. Nigeria does not belong to any politician or group of politicians. So we continue to urge you to pray for this country.”

On terrorism, he said: “The primate mentioned a number of issues that deal with a number of nations that deal with crises. For those who know about terrorism, countries that are infested with terror will hardly get out of it.

“If you look at a country like Pakistan – we even go to Pakistan to train our soldiers – in some parts of Pakistan, as we are talking now, there appears to be no government. So this country could have been worse.

“Look at the incidents in Abuja. The Police Headquarters was bombed, the United Nations (UN) building right here in the seat of government (was bombed). May be the next target would have been State House. So we have to thank God that we have been able to bring it to a reasonable level, though we are far from getting over. There are lots of challenges but we have to thank God.”

Speaking further on terrorism, Jonathan said: “Primate said if it were to be like Syria, what would we have done? Look at South Sudan. They were part of Sudan and they felt that they were being dominated. They have resources; there is oil in parts of South Sudan. They carried arms against the state. The entire world through the UN liberated them. This week, we will be going for the Security Council meeting under the African Union. My envoy just came back on Sunday from where he had conversation with them on how we could stop this madness.

“So we have to thank God, even though we still have this security challenges in our country, at least we are reasonably better.

“In terms of Nigeria having crisis, the Primate was saying: ‘can Ghana accommodate us? Can Sierra Leone accommodate us?’ I was just laughing because even now, there are so many Nigerians in these countries; the people are not even comfortable. From Cameroon to Senegal, Nigerians are everywhere. If not for political and diplomatic reasons they would have even asked some of them to leave. Then, assuming we have crisis, what would be the state (of things)? Where will you go? Is it the Atlantic Ocean? So, I urge you to continue to pray.

“I also thank the religious leaders in this country. They have been praying and I believe God has been hearing our prayers. We will do our best within the period that God has asked us to occupy the positions we are occupying.”

Delivering the Sermon titled “Peace and joy”, the Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh noted that the first coming of Jesus Christ brought peace and joy, which will only be full at His second coming.

According to him, no part of the world is enjoying total peace. He urged Nigerians to continue to thank God for not making Nigeria’s situation worse like other countries.

Quoting Luke 2: 10, Isaiah 9: n6, Galassian 3: 28, 2nd Corinthians 5: 18, John 14: 27 and Mattew 5: 9, he urged Nigerians to continue to be a source of joy to themselves, their neighbours and the world.

Rev. Okoh said: “But we have challenges; how can you be talking of peace and joy to people in Syria, DRC, Southern Sudan, Middle East, Egypt, Indonesia and Ukraine? Will they understand? How do you explain joy to somebody who is bed-ridden? These are the issues.”

Blaming the western world for these crises, he said: “The western world sells these arms to other parts of the globe and are still talking about peace. The money that people steal, they take it outside and they receive it and turn back to say these people are bad.

“Only God can give us peace and joy because man has so much complicated himself. If you have three good stories that give you joy, you are likely to have six stories that will upset you.”

He also urged Nigerians to pray against agents of darkness who are thirsty for blood.

Nigerians, Rev. Okoh urged, should continue praying for peace as they have no other place to go.

“Nigerians ought to be grateful to God and live responsibly. Do not join anybody to cause trouble. If we follow life diligently, Nigeria will blossom, your lives will blossom. Refugees are not the happiest of people; don’t make yourself a refugee,” he pleaded.

First Lady Dame Patience read the Old Testament lesson from Isaiah 9: 2, 6 and 7.Dr. Jonathan read the Epistle from Hebrew 1: 1 to 12.

Minister of State (FCT) Olajumoke Akinjide, Minister of Information Labaran Maku, Minister of Police Affairs Caleb Olubolade, among others, attended the service.

A Short History Of Boko Haram – Cheta Nwanze

Members of the Boko Haram sect

This morning, members of the Boko Haram movement attacked a DSS detention facility close to the seat of power in Abuja. Who is Boko Haram, and how did they come to be?

Nigeria has a long history of communal conflicts, many of which were only suppressed under military rule. Despite the heavy handed tactics of the dictators, some of these conflicts came to the fore, the best example being the Maitatsine conflict which was eventually wiped out in the early 1990s.

A lot of these conflicts and the groups that aid them found more freedom after the return to civilian rule.

One of these groups is Jama’atu Ahlus-Sunnah Lidda’Awati Wal Jihad, which became the Boko Haram sect. This group started in and around Maiduguri in the early part of the last decade. Starting out as a radical group at the Ndimi Mosque in Maiduguri about 2002, they saw society, particularly the government of Mala Kachalla as irredeemably corrupt. So, in the middle of 2002, the group, under its founder, Mohammed Ali, embarked on a hijra to Kanama in Yobe state.

In Islam, a hijra is a journey from the bad world to go and be closer to God. The Prophet undertook one, from Mecca to Medina. Usman dan Fodio also undertook his own hijra, to Gudu, when Yunfa wanted to kill him. This should give us some context.

Back to topic, and this period at Kanama, is probably where they had their first foreign contact. While there, more members joined, some of these new members, the kids of influential Northerners, such as the son of Yobe’s governor at the time, Bukar Abba Ibrahim. Bukar Abba Ibrahim is now a senator, and his son’s involvement meant that the group was in a typically Nigerian style, more or less immune from punishment.

Towards the end of 2003, the group had a communal clash with the Kanama community over fishing rights which led to police involvement. In the crisis which followed, they defeated the police, which in turn led to the Army getting involved, and the group was defeated, the founder, Mohammed Ali, was killed, and the group “scattered”, a few of the survivors, including a chap called Shekau, went north to training camps in the Sahara desert.

The other survivors of the Battle of Kanama returned to Maiduguri and reintegrated into the Ndimi Mosque, where they were now led by Mohammed Yusuf, who started the process of starting a new mosque without molestation. The land on which the new mosque was built was donated by Baba Fugu Mohammed, Mohammed Yusuf’s father-in-law. Baba Fugu Mohammed, was an influential, but moderate figure, who while never a full member, was to be murdered by the group. His crime, was attempting to negotiate with former President Obasanjo after things got out of hand.

Between this time (early 2004, and 2009), Boko Haram was largely left alone, and grew as a movement. In that time, they started a farm, provided employment for their members, provided welfare for those members who could not work, gave training to those who could, in short, they provided an alternative to the government of the day, and this very viability attracted more members, and a lot of zakat donations from prominent members of the Northern elite.

The only incident which brought them to prominence was in 2007, when Sheikh Ja’afar Mahmoud Adam was murdered. Ja’afar had started criticising them, and predicted that someday, because of their extremist ideologies, they would clash with the government. It is generally believed that Mohammed Yusuf ordered his murder

For another two years after the Ja’afar assassination, they were left largely alone, growing, and attracting more followers. Then, in February 2009, the government of Ali Modu Sheriff banned riding bikes without the use of helmets. This seemingly innocuous event, is what led to the meltdown.

Five months later in July, a prominent member of Boko Haram died, and a large number of them were on the way to bury him. They were stopped by the police who quizzed them about their lack of helmets as the new law dictated. An argument began, and in the process, shots got fired. People on both sides got injured and things went out of hand. Boko Haram attacked in Bauchi, Borno and Yobe states, killing several policemen. In Maiduguri, they took over town, and controlled it for three days, doing what they pleased, until the army was called in to help. Eventually, the army regained control, and arrested a lot of Boko Haram members, including Mohammed Yusuf.

However, when Mohammed Yusuf was handed over to the police, he died. According to the police, “while trying to escape”. Boko Haram on their part, say that he was murdered extra-judicially, in cold blood. To be frank, there is evidence that Mohammed Yusuf’s arrest and an eventual trial would have exposed some prominent people. One of the Boko Haram members killed in that time was a former Borno state commissioner, Buji Foi, who was shot in the back by policemen. The video is available online till this day. Asides Yusuf and Foi, a large number of people were also killed in cold blood by the police.

After this, Abubakar Shekau, who had returned to Nigeria in the time being and had become Mohammed Yusuf’s right hand man relocated to Northern Cameroon. Shekau decided that there could be no negotiations with such a government, and set about reorganising the group. He adapted the Al-Qaeda model, and broke the group into cells which are largely independent of each other.

This is currently Boko Haram’s structure; a cellular structure, and no centralised command, and seemingly no unity of purpose. This “lack of unity” makes them particularly difficult to negotiate with, as you cannot tell who exactly represents the group. When someone attempts to negotiate on behalf of the group, think Baba Fugu Mohammed, he is quickly hunted down and killed. So, as things stand, the extremist elements within Boko Haram are the ones fully in control of the narrative.

Rep Members Storm Out Over South Africa ‘Cash Arms Deal’

About 50 House Of Rep Members  have stormed out of Nigeria’s lower house of parliament after a motion to discuss an alleged South African arms deal was blocked.

Last week it was reported that government agents took $9.3m (£5.7m) in cash to South Africa to buy weapons.
The deputy speaker of the House of Representative said that, as it was an issue of national security, it could not be broached.
The upper chamber has also summoned security chiefs over the issue.
Correspondents say the revelations have shocked many Nigerians and there have been calls for an inquiry.
South African police said last week customs officials seized the money in $100 bills in three suitcases that arrived on a private jet from Nigeria at Johannesburg’s Lanseria airport earlier in September.
The two Nigerians and an Israeli allegedly did not declare the money and it was impounded.
However, they were not charged.

Nigeria & Cameroon Tussle over “Killing Shekau”

this is the worst conspiracy ever. the two pictures above dont even look alike

Nigeria and Cameroon are locked in an argument over who killed Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau and where he was killed.

A Cameroon military source, according to Cameroon Concord, said on Sunday night that Shekau was killed following an aerial bombardment of his hideout inside Nigeria.
Releasing photos of Shekau, the Cameroonian army claim the terrorist was killed  during a cross-border raid within the Nigeria territory by its military