Nigeria Military jail Lt. Col.,15 others over abduction of Chibok girls

A Lieutenant Colonel, a Captain, a Second lieutenant and 12 other soldiers were sentenced to two years imprisonment by a Nigerian Military Court Martial which sat in Kaduna state yesterday Dec. 23rd over the abduction of over 200 female students of the Government Girls Secondary School Chibok, Borno State, by Boko Haram insurgents on April 14th.

According to a Nigerian tabloid Punch the soldiers, Col. A. O. Ojo who was in charge of Chibok when the abduction took place, Capt. O. O. Ogunrinde, and 2nd Lieutenant V.I. Godknows were all handed two years imprisonment for what the  General Court Martial panel termed failure to perform. Col. Ojo was reportedly found guilty of passing out unverified information about the return of the abducted girls as well as not reinforcing the military personnel the night the abduction happened. In his response, Col. Ojo said he got information about the attack at about 1am at his station in Biu which was already late as the sect members stormed the school at about 11pm.

2nd Lieut. Godknows was charged with cowardly behaviour during the night of the attack. Counsel to Col. Ojo, Mr. Shuaibu Isah has however said his client would be appealing the verdict of the court martial through the office of the confirming authority which is the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah.

BREAKING: Nigerian Military Sentences 54 Soldiers To Death For Mutiny

A military court in Nigeria has sentenced 54 soldiers to death after they were found guilty of mutiny.

The soldiers were convicted Wednesday in Abuja on a two-count charge of criminal conspiracy to commit mutiny. Represented by Femi Falana (SAN), the brunt of the defense’s case boldly argued that the soldiers were not guilty of mutiny as accused.

“My Lords, contrary to the general belief in military circles, protest by soldiers does not constitute mutiny,” Falana argued in his defense, obtained by SaharaReporters. Imploring the court to uphold precedent as established in the case Cpl Segun Oladele & 22 Ors. v Nigerian Army supra, Falana said “Can we safely conclude that the prosecution has proved all the ingredients in this charge of mutiny against the accused soldiers?”

“The answer is in the negative,” he said.

“In the instant case, the Prosecution did not prove that the order given to carry out a military act followed the standard or proper procedure of giving such an order; that the accused soldiers deliberately and by collusion disobeyed the order; that the disobedience and the acts strike at the foundation of discipline in the Army; that the accused persons used violence or threat of violence; and that the acts of the convicts ‘were deliberately designed to put the Nigerian Army in imminent danger’.”

Despite a thorough 48-page defense, the 54 soldiers were sentenced to death today.

Four other soldiers were acquitted.

Source : Sahara reporters

Nigerian military releases detained Acclaimed Russian Cargo plane

The Nigerian military has finally released the detained Russian cargo plane which they seized yesterday morning after France admitted ownership of the aircraft.

It said that the flight was covered by a diplomatic clearance given by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja, noting that the Autonov 124 Russian commercial plane was forced to land at the Kano airport because of dense air traffic at Ndjamena airport, Chad.

A statement from the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Jacques Champagne de Labriolle, on Sunday, stated that the Antonov plane had to divert to an alternate international airport and the closest airport facility being Kano, the Russian crew decided to fly there, to refuel, and to take off again to reach Njamena Airport.

He denied that the plane was carrying arms and ammunition, stressing that it was conveying two light Gazelle helicopters, spare parts and maintenance items belonging to the French Army.
Labriolle further explained that due to the nationality of the aircraft, and the nature of the cargo, airport authorities in Kano, decided to check the flight plan, the clearance and the cargo manifest before authorizing the plane to leave.

Source: Sahara Reporters

Why Nigeria cancelled US military training – Nigerian Federal govt

Why Nigeria cancelled US military training – FG

on December 05, 2014 / in News 12:46 am

By Caleb Ayansina

ABUJA—The Federal Government, yesterday, gave reason for the cancellation of the training of Nigerian soldiers by American security experts, attributing it to logistic problem.

The U.S. Government, through its Embassy in Abuja on Monday said in a statement that “At the request of the Nigerian government, the United States will discontinue its training of a Nigerian Army battalion.”

But Nigerian government explained that it did not cancel the training, but that the condition placed down by US government was not healthy for the security of lives and property of its citizens, particularly those in the north east region.

The conditions, according to it, include withdrawing of some military equipment from the battle field, so that the American could use them to train the soldiers.

The Coordinator of the National Information Centre, Mr. Mike Omeri, who stated this during a routine briefing on security situation in the country, in Abuja, said the government would not expose its citizens at the mercy of insurgents because it wants to train its solders.

However, Omeri maintained that the two countries were not at variance as being insinuated by some people in the country. “Nigeria and America have strong military relation till date. It’s still ongoing and strong,” he said, disclosing that Nigerian soldiers had concluded two phases of the training out of the three.

Omeri explained that the third phase had to do with logistical components which the Americas did not provide but instead relied on Nigerian Military equipments, which was currently in use in the troubled states.

Source: Vanguard

US Stops training of Nigerian military at request of Nigerian govt

The US government has discontinued its training of the Nigerian military, according to a statement released yesterday, December 1st. US govt said it was terminating the third phase of the training which was designed to help build capacity for Nigerian military to counter Boko Haram activities, following a request by the Nigerian government.

The first two phases of the training was conducted in April and August this year. However with the termination of the military training, the US government says it would still continue its extensive bilateral security relationship with Nigeria despite the termination.

The US and other countries became more involved in the security apparatus of Nigeria after the Chibok girls were abducted in April. Find the US press statement above…

WoW ! Hundreds Of Boko Haram Terrorist Killed In Adamawa

Hundreds of Boko Haram terrorists feared killed in Adamawa. A fierce gun duel is taking place between members of the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents and Nigerian troops who have been intensifying efforts to reclaim territories
captured by the insurgents in Adamawa Northern zone.

Reports from the area indicate that about 200 insurgents may have been killed in this latest offensive forcing
them to retreat as Nigerian troops took control of Michika.

According to a source, “the Nigerian troops have gained an upper hand in the ongoing war to rout the insurgents out of
Michika town which has been under the grip of the insurgents for close to a month.

“Nigerian troops are advancing towards Gulak in consolidation of the success they have made but the insurgents
launched an offensive against them leading to the fierce battle between
the two sides which is on as at the time of filling this report.”

Another source from Michika said Nigerian troops entered the town following a phenomenal success they made against the insurgents who suffered severe casualties.

“The Nigerian troops have gained entry into Michika and are now fully in control of the town having killed a lot of them (the insurgents),” the source said.
The sources, however, added that it has not been an easy feat for the Nigerian troops as they are facing stiff resistance
from the insurgents as they advance towards Gulak.

He added that that both sides have been in a prolonged gun duel as many insurgents and ammunitions were
deployed to counter the troops.

“There is heavy fighting between the insurgents and Nigerian troops as the insurgents are doing everything to frustrate the effort of the Nigerian troops and many people who are trapped in the towns are now sneaking out following
intensified fighting,” our source said.

“The gallant Nigerians soldiers were attacked from the back by the militants but the military men engaged them in
a fierce battle for over five hours back.”

Efforts to get the reaction of the Public Relations Officer of the 23rd Army Brigade in Yola failed. His telephone phone line was not reachable.

Source: Premium Times

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WoW ! Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said “I’m not dead” on a 36min video

Well I thought the Nigerian Army claimed to have silenced this man. In a 36 minutes video released exclusively to AFP, Boko Haram leader, Shekau Abubakar dismissed reports of his death. Shekau, pictured above from the video, is quoted by AFP as saying he’s alive and that his members are running their captured towns.

“Here I am, alive. I will only die the day Allah takes my breath. Nothing will kill me until my days are over… I’m still alive. Some people asked you if Shekau has two souls. No, I have one soul, by
Allah. It is propaganda that is prevalent. I have one soul. I’m an Islamic student. I’m the Islamic student whose seminary you burnt… I’m not dead,”

He went further to say “We are running our caliphate, our Islamic caliphate. We follow the Koran… We now practice the injunctions of the Koran in the land of
Allah,” he said. AFP also reports that the insurgency group claimed in the video to have shot down a Nigerian air force
jet that went missing nearly three weeks ago.

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WoW ! Checkout the Monstrous Armored Tank Captured By Nigerian Troops From Boko Haram

Ngerian military intelligence officials say they were surprised at the sophisticated weapons being used by Boko Haram insurgents. The reaction came after Nigerian troops captured a T-55 armored
tank and a highly sophisticate Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) from the Islamist insurgents in a battle yesterday at Konduga, Borno State.

Our sources said Boko Haram fighters made another big and desperate push to take Konduga, a town that has been the scene of incessant battles and disastrous outings for Boko Haram fighters in recent weeks.

Boko Haram began their latest push on Thursday, attacking Konduga from several angles. But when they found out they were getting defeated, some
of the Islamist fighters arrived at the scene of battle from the Bama axis with a surprise weapon, a T-55 tank.

Our military sources disclosed that the
insurgents had never previously used such a mammoth weapon in battle.
The tank and APC were eventually seized from the insurgents after a fierce battle in which soldiers killed more than 100 Boko Haram terrorists. some
15 soldiers were also killed during the firefight that lasted several hours.

The Nigerian army said the seizure of the tank was a major blow to the insurgents. “The sheer power of the tank surprised us. And the tank has camouflage painting that made it blend with the area in a way that it could not have easily been detected by Nigerian jets flying over the area,” said a military officer.

SaharaReporters obtained an exclusive photo of the armored tank which was taken to the Maimalari Barracks after its capture. One of our military sources said that Boko Haram’s ownership of the tank shows the extent to which the sect is funded by powerful as well as wealthy supporters and an indication of the
strength of the Islamic group’s foreign links.

WoW ! It’s HerexG

WoW ! Boko Haram Fight Among Themselves In Madagali,30 Killed- V O A

According to VOA Hausa, no fewer than 30 boko haram fighters were killed as a result of internal fighting among the sect members in Madagali LGA Adamawa state. The disagreement started when
majority of the sect members decided that they will abandon the senseless killings and surrender all their weapons to the Army and plead for mercy.

Angered by this development, the other
members accused the first group of betrayal and in the process tempers were flared and guns corked. Serious exchange of gunfire occoured between the group that wants to repent and the
other faction that wants to continue their jihad. In the end up to 30 BH members were killed.

Now the group is split into 2 in Madagali. Reports indicate that there is scarcity of fuel which are needed for their cars as a result of the current blockade of Michika-Madagali axis by the Nigerian Army which is causing a lot of aprehension among Boko Haram boys as they will have no cars to flee if the military enters those areas.

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WoW ! Report Chibok Girl Freed < Identity Doubts

Nigerian’s Islamic extremists have freed one of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, Nigerian police reported Thursday, but a community leader says she’s too traumatized to identify herself properly.

Hundreds of girls, women and boys have been kidnapped by Boko Haram fighters in the past year but the abduction of more than 270 schoolgirls and young women from a school in the remote northeastern town of Chibok in April inspired a worldwide campaign for their freedom.

More than 50 girls escaped by themselves at the scene or soon after and now 219 remain missing. The failure by the Nigerian government and military
to rescue them has brought international
condemnation.

Police spokesman Emmanuel Ojukwu told reporters that on Wednesday “a girl, 20 years of age, among the abducted Chibok girls was dropped off by suspected Boko Haram militants at Mubi,” a town in northeast Adamawa state.

“The information we have is that she is one of the abducted girls,” he said. But Chibok community leader Pogu Bitrus said he spoke to the young woman by phone and that the name she gave is not on the list of missing girls.

“She is mentally traumatized, not coherent at all,” he said.

He has asked security forces to send him a photograph so that parents may look at it and her image can be compared with a database of photographs of the missing students. Bitrus also worried that

“it could be a trick by Boko Haram to release another girl just to create a
diversion.”

The news comes two days after a false report that the military had custody of several of the girls kidnapped from Chibok. That was caused by confusion in reports after soldiers found some of the girls who had escaped early on, on a bus on the way to a school in the north.

Source: ABC News

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