Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari says militants affiliated with the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) are using advanced technology to destroy oil installations, highlighting that the group’s sabotaging activities against the oil-rich country amount to a “national problem.”

“The technology being deployed by the militants to destroy oil installations is high tech, the way they can go on high sea and international waters and target oil installations is a national problem,” Nigeria’s Daily Trust online newspaper Saturday quoted Buhari as saying in a meeting with leaders of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) party at the Presidential Villa in Aso Rock on the outskirts of the capital, Abuja, a day earlier.

The president added that the group was negatively affecting Nigeria’s development. “No insurance company will want to insure installations that will end up being blown up, and no banks will want to finance such installations,” Buhari stated. The militant group, mainly operating in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, publicly announced existence in March and since then has been blowing up gas and crude oil pipelines belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Delta State.

The Nigerian Army has reaffirmed its loyalty to the civil authorities of the country and that an investigation will be conducted to track down all those behind the recent Coup rumor in the country. Cameroon Concord News understands that the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai held an emergency meeting in Abuja on Friday during which he reviewed the issue of security with senior government officials.

Sani Usman, the Nigerian Army spokesman said in a statement that the Nigerian Army as a product of democracy will never endorse any “anti-democratic mishap” let alone the overthrow of a regime. The Army has said it will always remain loyal to the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria while defending the integrity of the constitution and National territory. The Army has also renewed its allegiance and loyalty to the civil authorities and the Nigerian Constitution.

In  a statement read over state radio and television from the office of the Chief of Staff, the army noted that “We want to assure the people to be confident that a Coup will not happen in the ranks of the Army and no longer in the ranks of members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.” Rumors of a coup surfaced last Wednesday from a group called the Joint Task Force for the Liberation of the Niger Delta (JNDLF) and that some army officers were approached by Niger Delta militants to support the overthrow of Buhari.

Chi Prudence Asong (Cameroon Concord News Group)

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari  has extended his four-day medical leave in London in the UK and will return to his country on Sunday, June 19 Buhari to resume service at Aso Rock palace on Monday, June 20. The announcement of the extension of the former coup leader was made on Thursday in Abuja by the Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.

In making the announcement, the current Nigerian Acting President reminded reporters at the presidency that Buhari had a 10-day medical leave which started on the 6^th of June for a “persistent ear infection.” And to reassure his compatriots about the state of Buhari, Professor Osinbajo said that “Mr. President is in good condition, he is doing very well, he is fine. He needs to have one or two days of rest”.

The Aso Rock announcement was prompted by rumors circulating in the country that Buhari was dying in a London hospital. The former military dictator has seen the cancellation of some programs on his agenda.

Chi Prudence Asong (CIR)

The Takfiri Boko Haram militants have shot and killed at least 18 women when they stormed a funeral in a village in Nigeria’s troubled northeastern state of Adamawa.

Witnesses and local government officials said the attack was carried out at about 5:00 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) on Thursday in the village of Kuda near the Sambisa forest, where Boko Haram militants hide in far-flung camps to avoid the Nigerian military.

“They stormed our village on motorbikes and immediately opened fire on the people observing the wake,” a witness, requesting anonymity, said.

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The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has started expansion works on airbase facilities at Yola International Airport as it prepares to receive new aircraft, including Russian-made Mi-35 helicopters as well as JF-17 Thunder fighters and Super Mushshak trainers from Pakistani Aeronautical Company (PAC). Addressing government and military officials who gathered for the commissioning of the projects in the city of Yola earlier this month, NAF Director of Public Relations and Information Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa said works include the expansion of existing airport aprons, pilot and crew rooms as well as the construction of new office and residential accommodation and recreational facilities.

He said the country will soon take delivery of an undisclosed number of JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft and Mi-35 helicopter gunships to provide additional air support to ongoing counter-terrorism operations against the Boko Haram militant group in the north-east. “Due to this expected fleet expansion, it has become necessary to expand existing ground facilities at the military airport. These include the aprons, pilot and crew rooms, office and residential accommodation and new recreation facilities to enhance the welfare of the personnel and reposition the NAF for effective and efficient air operations,” Capt. Famuyiwa said.

Apart from the Jf-17 which Famuyiwa confirmed as due for due delivery shortly, Nigeria is seeking up to 10 Super Mushshak trainer aircraft from Pakistan to beef up its trainer fleet. Capt Famuyiwa said there are strong indications that the US could soon allow Nigeria to acquire Brazilian-made A-29 Super Tucano light attack and trainer turboprops to replace its aged fleet of Alpha Jets. According to a leaked copy of Nigeria’s 2016 budget which President Muhammadu Buhari presented to a joint session of the National Assembly in December 2015, the Nigerian Air Force aims to acquire three JF-17s this year, and has budgeted $25 million towards this. N2.06 billion ($10.2 million) was allocated for 10 PAC Super Mushshak basic trainers, and N11.6 billion ($56 million) for two Mi-35M helicopters as well as N5 billion for the JF-17s.

Meanwhile, the German government has pledged to supply the Nigerian armed forces with new navy vessels, mobile health units, ground surveillance equipment and mine detection and disposal equipment as well as specialised training programmes for counter-terrorism special forces. Addressing Nigerian media on the sidelines of the Nigeria-Germany Bi-National Commission Meeting in Abuja earlier this month, the Permanent Secretary of the German Foreign Office Markus Elderer said Germany would also train Nigerian military engineers in the handling and maintenance of equipment set for donation.

“The Nigerian government requested equipment support and military training so we are incorporating all of these in this agreement. We are doing this through training, through equipment supply like the ground surveillance radar systems and mine clearing equipment.  “We will also supply mobile health units for the security forces carrying out the difficult tasks of combating terrorism. We are almost at the finishing line and we are just awaiting the signing of the agreement so that we can begin implementation, I think everything will be done this year,” he added.

The Nigerian army is already receiving counter-terrorism training and equipment from the US, the UK, France, Russia as well as Pakistan as it struggles to defeat Boko Haram militants. Western powers have doubled their assistance to the war-ravaged West African nations since the election of former military dictator Muhammadu Buhari as president over a year ago.

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The Nigerian government says it has agreed to Cameroon’s return of some 80,000 Nigerian citizens who fled the country following the insurgency by the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group. Nigerian emergency agency spokesman Sani Datti said on Sunday that Abuja signed an agreement with the UN Refugee Agency, also known as the UNHCR, and Cameroon for the return of Nigerian refugees “voluntarily and in a dignified manner.”

Nigerian officials have said that the neighboring Cameroon was threatening to force the repatriation of tens of thousands of Nigerians who left their homes in the eastern regions to flee from Boko Haram’s terrorist activities. Last month, Cameroon dumped a large number of Nigerians at the border though people did not have enough water and temperature soared over 42 degrees Celsius.

The UN said that some 600,000 Nigerians are displaced in the region. An estimated 20,000 people have been killed and more than two million others made homeless since the beginning of the bloody Boko Haram militancy in Nigeria in 2009. In 2015, Boko Haram pledged allegiance to Daesh, which is primarily operating in Syria and Iraq.

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Four women have been murdered in an attack by Boko Haram in Nigeria. The attack was carried out on Friday night at Mairari, a remote village located 80 kilometers from Maiduguri, capital of Borno state.

Cameroon Intelligence Report learned that fifteen Boko Haram fighters on motorbikes raided homes and slaughtered the four women at the time of breaking fast during this period of Ramadan. The women were killed because their husbands refused to join the ranks of the Nigerian Islamic sect.

Boko Haram has been greatly weakened by a joint multinational force consisting of 8700 men of the different armies of the region (Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Benin) but continues to carry out attacks in the north east of Nigeria and Cameroon.

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Several senior officers of the Nigerian army have been relieved of their duties for their alleged involvement in numerous dodgy arms deals. The decision was made public by Colonel Sani Usman, spokesman for the Nigerian army.

Cameroon Intelligence Report learned that many more are already under investigation by the National Commission for the fight against corruption. However, the identities of the officers have so far not been revealed. Our source in Abuja also indicated that the number of army generals involved in the scandal was still being kept like a nuclear secret.

President Muhammadu Buhari, in power since May 2015, has made it a priority to fight corruption in the fantastically corrupt West African nation.

CIR

Amnesty International said on Friday that Nigeria’s army last month killed at least 17 unarmed members of a group calling for secession from Africa’s most populous nation, but the military dismissed the allegations as unfounded.An army spokesman said Amnesty’s accusations, the latest in a series of allegations of impropriety levelled against Nigeria’s military in the last year, revealed a bias that undermined its credibility. Amnesty’s report — which it said was based on details from eyewitnesses, morgues and hospitals — says soldiers opened fire on members of the Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB) and their supporters in the southeastern city of Onitsha during the build up to a march in late May.

The human rights group said the killings took place during a security operation in the early hours of the morning shortly before the march when the military raided homes and a church where IPOB members slept. The army issued a statement in which it said troops had to “resort to self defence” after IPOB members attacked security agencies with “firearms” and various weapons including dynamite. It said five members of IPOB were killed, eight wounded while nine were arrested. “These efforts were in order to de-escalate the palpable tension as well as ward off the apparent threats to lives and property in the general area,” it said.

Secessionist feeling has simmered in the southeast since the Biafra separatist rebellion tipped Nigeria into a 1967-70 civil war that killed an estimated 1 million people. It flared up again last year after IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu was arrested and detained on charges of criminal conspiracy and belonging to an illegal society. He remains in detention.
Amnesty said its investigation showed at least 17 people were killed and nearly 50 injured, adding that “the real number is likely to be higher”. “Information gathered by Amnesty International indicates that the deaths of supporters and members of IPOB was the consequence of excessive, and unnecessary use of force,” said Amnesty, which urged the government to investigate.

The contents of the report were rejected by army spokesman Sani Usman. “The allegations are unfounded,” he said.
The report is the latest in a series of accusations levelled at the army by Amnesty. Last year, Amnesty said more than 8,000 people died in detention during a crackdown on Boko Haram and that soldiers killed hundreds of Shi’ite Muslims in the northern city of Zaria in December. “Amnesty is losing credibility,” added Usman, who accused the group of being biased against the army.

Reuters