A bomb attack has claimed the lives of at least eight people and wounded several others in Nigeria’s troubled northeast, officials say. The attack was carried out by a suspected female member of the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, local Nigerian officials said on Monday.

The head of the Borno state emergency management agency, Ahmed Satomi, said that the female bomber had detonated her explosives at a mosque in the London Ciki area of Maiduguri at about 5:30 a.m. local time (0430 GMT). “She killed eight people and injured 15 others. The mosque was being guarded by civilian JTF (joint task force) militia during prayers,” media outlets quoted Satomi as saying.

“Unknown to them, the girl was being pursued from another part of town by residents who were suspicious of her movement at the time,” he added, noting, “When she approached the mosque, they demanded that she stop to be searched but she suddenly bolted into the mosque and set off her bombs.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, Satomi pointed out that three other female bombers were located in Maiduguri at about the same time. He went onto say that two were killed in Mammanti area as they tried to cross the ditch around the city perimeter. This is while another set off her explosives in the suburb of Simari.

It is the second time in a week that Boko Haram bombers have sought to cause carnage in Maiduguri. Last Monday, at least 19 people were killed and nearly two dozen others injured when four women set off their bombs in the Molai Kolemari area of the city. In recent weeks, a number of bomb attacks by suspected members of Boko Haram have taken place in the capital of Borno state and its environs. Militants have regularly targeted mosques, markets, camps for those displaced by the conflict and other civilians across the troubled region.

In December 2016, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who came to power in 2015 with a pledge to eradicate Boko Haram, announced that the army had “crushed” the terror group by retaking its last key bastion, deep inside the thick Sambisa Forest in Borno. The group has, however, resorted to sporadic shooting and bombing attacks in the northeast of the African country, spreading panic among local residents.

Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly terror attacks in Nigeria since the beginning of its militancy in 2009, which has so far claimed the lives of at least 20,000 people and made more than 2.7 million displaced.

The United Nations has warned that areas affected by the Boko Haram militancy face a humanitarian crisis. Back in February 2016, four nations of the Lake Chad Basin — Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria –launched a campaign, together with a contingent from Benin, to confront the threat from Boko Haram in the region.

Source: Presstv

The Nigerian police say multiple bomb attacks have claimed the lives of at least 19 people and wounded about two dozen others in the country’s troubled northeast. Police said on Wednesday that the deadly attacks were carried out in the city of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, on Tuesday night.

Borno state police commissioner Damian Chukwu said 12 of the dead were members of a civilian self-defense force and the other seven were killed when they gathered to mourn them. At least 23 others were wounded in the fatal attack, he added. Danbatta Bello, a spokesman for the self-defense force, said at least one of the bombers was female. He said the bombers specifically targeted his colleagues while they were on duty.

“A teenage female suicide bomber actually crept to the sandbag post of our boys at Molai and before they could realize what was happening she detonated herself and killed three of our boys,” the Associated Press quoted Bello said as saying. “That happened simultaneously with the one that occurred at the tea vendor’s, where seven of our members who took their time off to eat their dinner were killed,” he said.

Media reports said mourning residents were preparing the bodies of the victims for burial. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the latest attacks but they have the hallmark of the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group, as it in the past employed radicalized women on multiple occasions to conduct bombings against people or army troops.

In recent weeks, a number of bomb attacks by suspected members of Boko Haram have taken place in the capital of Borno state and its environs. In December 2016, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who came to power in 2015 with a pledge to eradicate Boko Haram, announced that the army had “crushed” the terror group a day earlier by retaking its last key bastion, deep inside the thick Sambisa Forest in Borno.

The group has, however, resorted to sporadic shooting attacks and bombings in the northeast of the African country, spreading panic among local residents. Boko Haram has killed more than 20,000 people and abducted thousands of others.

Northeastern Nigeria is part of what the United Nations has called the world’s largest humanitarian crisis in more than 70 years, with the World Food Program estimating that more than 4.5 million people in the region need emergency food assistance. The United Nations has warned that areas affected by Boko Haram face a humanitarian crisis.

Source: Presstv

Nigerian first lady, Aisha Buhari has reportedly traveled to the UK today Monday the 3rd of July 2017 to see her husband, President Muhammadu Buhari for the second. Rumour circulated late yesterday that Buhari had died in a London hospital.

According to a statement made public by Suleiman Haruna, Aisha Buhari’s Director of Information, Madam Buhari the wife of the President left for London, United Kingdom on Sunday, July 2, 2017 to visit her husband.

The statement also stated that Aisha Buhari will convey to the President the best wishes of the Nigerian people and their fervent prayers for his speedy recovery. Buhari’s wife will make a stopover in Addis Ababa to attend a meeting of the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV / AIDS (OAFLA).

The big man himself left Nigeria on May the 7th for medical reasons. No date has so far been announced for the return of Buhari to Nigeria.

By Chi Prudence Asong
Cameroon Concord News

A Nigerian presidential jet that transported President Muhammadu Buhari to the UK for treatment has been stationed in London for more than two months raising questions about its cost to the state. Cameroon Intelligence Report understands the official airplane of President Muhammadu Buhari has been in a small airport nearer the city of London for more than fifty days with the cost of parking estimated at thousands of dollars in daily charges.

President Buhari’s spokesman was quoted as saying that the head of state’s comfort is a top priority. “You are dealing with the president of Nigeria and in all the countries of the world, no one abandons the president. There must be a possibility for a quick return or an evacuation, “he said.

“No one should do that.” Nobody is doing this. The Nigerian Armed Forces represented by the Nigerian Air Force, who runs the President’s plane, have a duty to be with their Commander-in-Chief, wherever he is,” he added.

The biggest doubts hang over the health status of Muhammadu Buhari aged 74. Nothing is being said of his bill of health ever since the retired soldier traveled to London in May for medical reasons. Earlier this year, Mr. Buhari spent nearly two months in the UK for health concerns.

By Chi Prudence Asong

The Nigerian police say multiple bomb attacks have claimed the lives of at least 16 people and wounded more than a dozen others in the country’s troubled northeast. Police said on Monday that seven bomb attacks were carried out by suspected members of the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

The explosions occurred at the University of Maiduguri and in the Jere area of the city on Sunday evening and Monday morning. Borno police sources noted that a male bomber killed a security guard after entering the university late on Sunday.

Around an hour later, four female bombers killed eight people on the outskirts of the city in Zannari community, in the Gwange district of Jere local government authority after detonating devices in residential buildings. Two female bombers were the only people to die in two blasts at the university on Monday morning.

Damian Chukwu, Borno police commissioner, confirmed that at least 16 people had been killed in the latest wave of violence hitting the region. “In all, 16 persons, including the bombers, died in the multiple explosions while 13 persons were injured,” he said. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the latest attacks but they bear the hallmark of the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group, as it in the past employed radicalized females on multiple occasions to conduct bombing attacks against people or army troops.

In recent weeks, a number of bomb attacks by suspected members of the Boko Haram militant group have taken place in the capital of Borno state and its environs. The attacks include blasts that killed 12 people on June 19 and a June 7 raid, which left 14 dead in the Jiddari Polo area of Maiduguri.

Nigeria’s state security agency said on Friday it had foiled plans to detonate explosives in four northern cities – Maiduguri, Kano, Sokoto and Kaduna – during celebrations of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. In December 2016, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who came to power in 2015 with a pledge to eradicate Boko Haram, announced that the army had “crushed” the terror group a day earlier by retaking its last key bastion, deep inside the thick Sambisa Forest in Borno.

The group has, however, resorted to sporadic shooting and bombing attacks in the northeast of the African country, spreading panic among the local residents. Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is forbidden,” has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly terror attacks in Nigeria since the beginning of their militancy in 2009, which has so far claimed the lives of at least 20,000 people and made more than 2.7 million displaced.

The United Nations has warned that areas affected by Boko Haram face a humanitarian crisis. Back in February 2016, four nations of the Lake Chad Basin – Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria -launched a campaign, together with a contingent from Benin, to confront the threat from Boko Haram in the region.

Source: Presstv

At least 16 people have been killed when suspected members of the Takfiri Boko Haram terrorist group detonated their explosive vests near a camp of displaced people in the volatile northeastern state of Borno, the birthplace of the terror outfit.

Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said in a statement that the bomb attacks occurred close to the Dalori camp at Kofa village, located nearly 10 kilometers southeast of the provincial capital Maiduguri, at about 08:45 p.m. local time (1945 GMT) on Sunday.

According to Abdulkadir Ibrahim, the spokesman of the NEMA, two female terrorists first attempted to enter the camp but were thwarted by security personnel of the camp.

However, “two other female bombers detonated their explosives at the adjoining Dalori Kofa village, where they killed 16 people,” he added in the statement.

Borno state police spokesman Victor Isuku gave a more detailed account of the attacks in his initial report of the incident, saying the first assailant detonated her explosives “near a mosque”, claiming the lives of seven people, and the second one blew herself up “in a house”, killing six people. He added that at least 11 people also sustained injuries in the blasts and were taken to hospital.

However, Ibrahim updated Isuku’s report, saying three of the wounded succumbed to their injuries later on. “The 16 does not include the bombers,” he added.

Isuku revised the number of attackers up to five from four, and maintained that other three assailants, not directly involved in the blasts, were also killed.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks but they bear the hallmark of the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group, as it in the past employed radicalized females on multiple occasions to conduct bombing attacks against people or army troops.

Dalori is one of the largest camps allocated to internally displaced people (IDP) in the remote region and Boko Haram terrorists had previously tried to hit the camp. Back in January last year, Takfiri militants killed at least 85 people as they rampaged through the communities near Dalori. They burned down houses and killed people either by gunfire or by detonating explosives.

The Sunday attack is the deadliest one in Nigeria since June 8, when Boko Haram militants killed 14 people in yet another mixture of gunfire and blasts in the Jiddari Polo area of Maiduguri.

In recent months, army troops and civilian fighters in Nigeria have managed to foil many bomb attacks involving terrorists wearing explosive vests before the assailants were able to reach heavily-populated targets and detonate their bombs of their own accord.

Last December, however, two women, with the Boko Haram, killed 57 people and injured 177, including 120 children, after they detonated their explosive vests at a bustling market at Madagali, a town in the neighboring province of Adamawa.

On December 24, 2016, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who came to power in 2015 with a pledge to eradicate Boko Haram, announced that the army had “crushed” the terror group a day earlier by retaking its last key bastion, deep inside the thick Sambisa Forest in Borno.

The group, however, has resorted to sporadic shooting and bombing attacks in the northeast of the African country, spreading panic among the local residents.

Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is forbidden,” has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly terror attacks in Nigeria since the beginning of their militancy in 2009, which has so far claimed the lives of at least 20,000 people and made more than 2.7 million displaced.

The United Nations has warned that areas affected by Boko Haram face a humanitarian crisis.

Back in February 2016, four nations of the Lake Chad Basin – Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria – launched a campaign, together with a contingent from Benin, to confront the threat from Boko Haram terrorists in the region.
Source: Presstv

Nigeria arrested 55 members of a Biafran separatist movement during protests in the oil-rich south-east, police said. Secessionist sentiment simmered in the region since the Biafra separatist rebellion tipped the country into a civil war that killed an estimated 1 million people.

In Enugu, a major city in the south-east, 41 members of a Biafra group were arrested, police spokesman Ebere Amaraizu said. “They were not violent per se but they conducted themselves in a manner that could breach the peace,” he said. “They are still in custody and undergoing interrogation.”

In Bayelsa state, part of the Niger Delta, 14 Biafra movement members who had been trying join a protest were arrested, said a police source. Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra campaign group, was released on bail on Friday after being detained for nearly two years. He has been charged with criminal conspiracy and belonging to an illegal society. Amnesty International last year accused Nigerian security forces of killing at least 150 Biafra separatists at peaceful rallies, which the military and police deny.

Defenseweb

Two people have been killed and six others have been injured in an attack on a village in Nigeria’s volatile northeast. A police spokesman said on Tuesday that three female attackers had targeted villagers late on Monday in Mandarari Ward, located some 36 kilometers (22 miles) from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

Borno is the heartland of an eight-year-long insurgency by Boko Haram, a Takfiri terrorist group responsible for the death of more than 20,000 civilians and security forces in Nigeria and neighboring countries. More than two million people have also been displaced in Nigeria as a result of the ruthless campaign of killing, abduction and extortion by Boko Haram.

A massive operation by the Nigerian military, which intensified two years ago, has forced militants out of the areas they used to control in the country’s north. However, Boko Haram still continues to use locals gripped by poverty to launch attacks.

The Nigerian army says an increase in Boko Haram’s attacks came following the rainy season last year, adding that weather conditions have facilitated the activity and movement of militants in the woods and bushes. The army says the ease of activity would end in a few weeks’ time as the rainy season starts again.

Boko Haram is an ally of Daesh, a Takfiri terror group based mainly in Iraq and Syria. The group claims, as its name goes, that it wants to put an end to the Western-style education in Nigeria. The group has yet to claim the attack in Borno on Monday.

Source: Presstv

The Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) has taken delivery of the first of 20 new Diamond trainer aircraft ordered from Austrian aircraft manufacturer Diamond Aircraft in 2013 to replace an obsolete fleet. The deal, estimated at $20 million in 2013, was secured through local company Interjet Nigerian Limited, the official West African business representative for Diamond Aircraft.

The first DA-42NG was handed over to Nigerian Minister of State for Aviation Senator Hadi Serika by Interjet Nigeria Limited manager Seun Peters on 24 April. Serika said the government decided to replace the ageing 29 trainer aircraft operated by the NCAT Zaria campus because the majority were obsolete, while the airworthy few were too expensive to maintain.

NACT Rector Abdulsalam Mohammed said the new trainer aircraft would reduce operating costs. “Today, we are taking delivery of the first DA-42 twin-engine aircraft. NCAT is acquiring a total of 20 of these aircraft, specifically five twin-engine DA-42 and 15 single-engine DA-40 trainers. The new aircraft will significantly improve our cost efficiency.

“Besides, they are also equipped with a glass cockpit and Garmin 1000 system, which will make it easier for our graduate pilots to transition to various types of new-generation commercial aircraft,” Mohammed said. The DA 42 is powered by two Austro Engine AE300 diesel engines, which produce 168 hp each to propel the aircraft to a maximum cruise speed of 328 km/h.  Delivery has been delayed by more than a year due to bureaucratic delays in releasing the funds. According to the procurement contract signed between Interjet and the Nigerian government in 2013, five aircraft were supposed to be delivered every five months.

Due to the Nigerian government’s failure to pay, Diamond Aircraft has been forced to sell at least seven aircraft that were initially manufactured for the Nigerian contract to other buyers to offset maintenance and storage costs. NCAT operates 29 trainer aircraft including ageing Socata Trinidad TB-20GT and Beech Baron 58s which were purchased as second hand equipment more than 15 years ago. Meanwhile, Peters said Diamond Aircraft and Interjet Nigeria have agreed to set up the first DA-series Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) centre in Abuja.

“In partnership with Diamond Aircraft of Austria, we are working towards building a state-of-the-art maintenance facility in Abuja to service Nigeria and aircraft operators in other West African countries.” The MRO will service the growing number of West African operators of Diamond aircraft. These include the air forces of Ghana, Niger and Nigeria, which together operate between 7 and 12 DA-42 MPP (Multi-Purpose Platform)’Guardian’ maritime surveillance aircraft.

Culled from Defenseweb