Tag Archives: Chibok

Boko Haram Invades Three Towns in Northeastern Nigeria

In the past twenty-four hours, Boko Haram militants have invaded three towns in Nigeria’s northeastern states of Adamawa and Borno after being ousted from a key town in the area by civilian vigilantes.

Reports surfaced Friday that Boko Haram militants have seized control of the northeastern town of Chibok, which is home to more than 200 schoolgirls who were kidnapped by the insurgents in April. According to local residents, militants attacked and took control of the town on Thursday evening. Ali Ndume, a senator for Borno state, confirmed that Chibok is now under Boko Haram’s control, adding that security forces posted in the town left the area as the insurgents attacked. The capture of Chibok came hours after the militant group seized control of two other towns in neighbouring Adamawa state.

According to local residents, the Islamist fighters raided the towns of Hong and Gombi, located some 100 kilometres (62.5 miles) from the state capital Yola after they were pushed out of the commercial hub of Mubi, which they seized two weeks ago. Locals in Mubi reported Friday that many of Mubi’s residents have not yet returned to the town over fears that Boko Haram may launch further attacks in a bid to recapture the key town. Mubi, the second largest town in the northeastern Adamawa state, was the biggest town under the militants group’s control and is the first it has lost since August, when Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau declared a caliphate in the seized areas. Unconfirmed reports have suggested that vigilantes reclaimed the town of Maiha on Wednesday after a fierce battle, with scores of insurgents said to have been killed.

Despite apparently losing control of Mubi, which Boko Haram had renamed Madinatul Islam, or “City of Islam in Arabic, the invasion of Hong and Gombi effectively see’s the militant group moving closer to the state capital city, where thousands of residents have taken refuge in recent months. Local residents in Gombi have reported that since taking control of the town, Boko Haram militants have been patrolling the streets and firing heavy weaponry at random, with other locals disclosing that many are either staying indoors or have fled into the bush, adding that militants burnt down the police station, the local government secretariat and the town’s market after they overpowered the local police. In Hong, which is located 20 kilometres away, the police station was also razed, with the militants reportedly raising their black flag outside the home of a retired military general.

Boko Haram is believed to be in control of more than two dozen towns in the northeastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe. As part of its goal of establishing a hardline caliphate in the region, in recent months Boko Haram has opted to attack and hold towns in the region, a move that was not previously seen in the militant group’s five-year insurgency.

New Kidnappings in Northeastern Nigeria

In a new report published Monday, a rights group has indicated that Boko Haram has used kidnapped women and girls on the front lines of its insurgency. The new report comes as news emerged that the militant group is suspected of kidnapping dozens of girls and boys.

Despite Nigerian government claims of a truce with the militant group, on Monday reports emerged that suspected Boko Haram militants have kidnapped about thirty adolescents in the northeastern region of the country. Local sources have reported that the suspected militants kidnapped boys aged 13 and over and several girls aged 11 and over. According to a local official, at least seventeen people were killed when the village of Mafa, in Borno State, came under attack on Thursday. Nigerian authorities however are blaming the attack on local bandits. The attack on Mafa, which is located 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of the state capital Maiduguri, is the latest in a series of assaults carried out by suspected Boko Haram militants. Last week, at least 40 women and girls were seized in neighbouring Adamawa state.

Both kidnappings, along with continued violence in northeastern Nigeria and northern Cameroon, have caused doubts over government claims of a ceasefire agreement and deal for the release of 219 schoolgirls held captive since May. Boko Haram has yet to confirm that a ceasefire agreement has been reached.

According to a new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released Monday, the militant group has kidnapped more than 500 women and girls since its insurgency began in 2009, adding that they use the girls and women on the front lines of combat.

The report came to the conclusion after officials outlined testimony from dozens of former hostages who documented the physical and psychological abuses they went through while being held captive. In total, 30 women and girls were interviewed between April 2013 and April 2014, including 12 of the 57 girls who fled shortly after militants raided a school in Chibok, Borno state. The women and girls, who were held from between two days and three months, were either kidnapped from their homes and villages or while working on the land, fetching water or at school. They all described being held in eight different camps believed to be located in the Sambisa Forest area of Borno state and in the Gwoza hills, which separate Nigeria from Cameroon. They described seeing other women and children in the camps, some of them infants while others as old as 65, however they were unable to indicate whether they had also been kidnapped.

While most of the women were made to cook, clean and perform household chores, with some forced to carry stolen goods seized by the insurgents after attacks, others were forced to fight alongside the militants. In one particular testimony, a 19-year-old woman indicated that she was forced to participate in Boko Haram attacks while being held hostage in militant camps for three months in 2013. According to the woman, she “…was told to hold the bullets and lie in the grass while they fought. They came to me for extra bullets as the fight continued during the day.” While a wave of attacks carried out by female suicide bombers across northeastern Nigeria earlier this year prompted speculation that Boko Haram may be changing tactics and using abducted women to carry out deadly attacks, there has been no evidence to prove whether the attackers were kidnap victims who were coerced or volunteers. The report further disclosed that while Boko Haram appears to pick victims arbitrarily, Christians and students were particularly targeted.

Additionally the newly released report discloses that there have been serious failings in the manner in which Nigerian authorities conducted their investigations in the wake of the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls from Chibok six months ago. The report includes detailed testimonies of several girls who managed to escape captivity, with HRW adding that the police have shown minimal interest in documenting their evidence, and have treated the case as a “low level crime.” According to the HRW’s Africa Director, Daniel Bekele, little is available to help those girls and women who have survived long periods of captivity, adding that survivors have not received adequate support, including mental health and medical after-care upon their release. He further disclosed that while funds have been set up for the Chibok escapees, little support has been provided to other victims.

Sixty Women Believed to Have Escaped Boko Haram Militants

Security sources indicated Monday that more than sixty women and girls are reported to have escaped from captivity.

Reports have indicated that more than sixty women and girls have escaped from the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram. They are believed to be from a group of sixty-eight women who were kidnapped last month near the town of Damboa in north-eastern Borno state. Boko Haram is still holding more than 200 schoolgirls who were abducted in April of this year.

Security sources have indicated that the women escaped when the militants went to attack a military base near Damboa on Friday. The Nigerian military has also reported that its troops killed more than fifty rebels during clashes that occurred that night. Due to on going insecurities in the region, coupled with poor access to the area, the number of women who managed to escape from Boko Haram remains unclear. However a local vigilante has reported receiving an alert from his colleagues indicating that about sixty-three abducted women and girls had made it back home late on Friday.

Meanwhile frustration continues to grow as more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in Chibok, Borno state, on April 14 are still being held captive. Activists of the Bring Back Our Girls movement attempted to march towards the presidential palace in Abuja on Sunday however they were turned back by security forces. According to one activist, Aisha Yesufu, “it’s 83 days today that the girls have been abducted…We have been coming out for 68 days and nobody has really listened to us.”

Nigeria’s overstretched and under-resourced military has been incapable of fighting Boko Haram’s insurgency, which has already killed thousands over the past five years.

Attacks Continue as Nigeria Announces Arrest of Suspect with Links to Chibok Abductions

At least eighteen people were killed Tuesday, and fifty-five others were injured, after an explosion at a market in Maiduguri in northeastern Nigeria.

According to on the ground sources, the attack occurred near Maiduguri’s busiest roundabout, which is located near the popular Monday Market, during morning rush hour. Nigeria’s defense headquarters has confirmed the attack, stating “a van loaded with charcoal and IED exploded at Monday Market in Maiduguri this morning. The location has been cordoned off.” Multiple eyewitnesses have reported that crowds at the scene attempted to attack firefighters deployed to the area, accusing them of arriving too slowly and hindering their efforts to put out the blaze. Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility, officials are blaming Boko Haram militants. Despite attacks in Maiduguri once being a daily occurrence, a military offensive launched last year, and backed by local vigilante groups, has had some success in flushing the insurgents out of the city and into the remote areas of Borno state, where Maiduguri is the capital. However those gains appear to have now been lost, as a series of attacks in the city this year have targeted civilians and the security services. In January, a bomb attack targeted one of the city’s crowded markets while in March, hundreds of militants stormed the military’s Giwa Barracks, setting free a number of militants who were in prison.

Meanwhile on Monday, Nigeria’s military announced that it has broken up a Boko Haram intelligence cell, arresting its leader who is alleged to have taken part in the April 2014 abduction of over 200 schoolgirls. A statement issued by the defense headquarters indicated that troops have found a militants’ “intelligence cell” headed by a businessman “who participated actively in the abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok,” in northeastern Borno state on April 14. The statement further added that the businessman has been identified as Babuji Ya’ari, who also is a member of a civilian youth group, known as the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF), which has worked along with the military to fight Boko Haram. The suspect is alleged to have used his position within the youth group as a cover to work for the militants. Officials from the Nigerian military also indicated Monday “the arrest of the businessman who is known to deal in tricycles has also yielded some vital information and facilitated the arrest of other members of the terrorists’ intelligence cell who are women.” The military has accused the suspect of spying for the Islamist militant group as well as spearheading the murder of Emir of Gwoza in Borno state one month ago, adding that since 2011, the suspect has been coordinating several deadly attacks in Maiduguri, including the attacks on customs and military locations in the town. It remains unclear whether this arrest will help in the rescue of the 219 schoolgirls who are still missing.

Week of Attacks in Nigeria Demonstrate Boko Haram’s Increasing Capabilities

Over the past week, Nigeria has seen nearly daily attacks throughout the entire country, including the third attack in Abuja in ten weeks. With Boko Haram militants suspected to be behind the latest deadly violence, many are warning that these latest attacks now demonstrate that the militant group is capable of carrying out attacks across the country at any time.

Third Attack in Abuja

On Wednesday 25 June, Nigeria’s national rescue agency reported that a loud explosion hit a crowded shopping center in the Wuse district of Nigeria’s capital Abuja, killing twenty-four people and wounding at least seventeen. A statement released by Manzo Ezekie, spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) indicated “we received the information at about 4:00 PM (1500 GMT) about a blast” at the Emab Plaza, which is located not far from the seat of government. The statement further indicated that a “rescue operation has already commenced.” Nigerian authorities have arrested one suspect and that a second suspect was shot dead by troops as he attempted to escape on a motorbike. Although Boko Haram has not made any official confirmations pertaining to this attack, the militant group is suspected of carrying it out.

Although Boko Haram’s attacks have mostly targeted the northeastern regions of the country, over the past ten weeks, the militant group has attacked the capital twice. On 14 April more than seventy people were killed in a bomb blast at a bus stop on the outskirts of the capital city while the following month, a car bomb near a bus station in the suburbs killed at least nineteen people and injured sixty others.

Days after the bomb attack, Nigeria’s intelligence agency reported that over the past two weeks, it had been warning shopping complexes in Abuja that Islamic extremists may target them.

According to Marily Ogar, spokeswoman for the Department of State Security, Nigerian intelligence officials had received information that Boko Haram extremists were planning such an attack, adding “about two weeks ago we heard information that they were planning an attack at a busy shopping mall or market…and so we had to go from one shopping complex to another trying to tell people to be more aware.” Although the state department did not publish the intelligence reports on the threat to shopping malls, in an apparent attempt to avoid wide panic, last week the government warned that it had received information that Boko Haram was planning to hijack petrol tankers in the capital and to plant explosives inside.

Emab Plaza, where the attack occurred Wednesday, is the biggest and busiest shopping center in Abuja. The explosion occurred around rush hour as many residents were hurrying to view Nigeria’s football team play against Argentina at the World Cup in Brazil. While it remains unclear if the bomb was timed to coincide with that, Boko Haram has in the past bombed several football viewing venues, prompting two northeastern states to ban public events to watch the football tournament.

On the ground sources have reported that the increased security throughout the city may have prevented the attack from killing even more as witnesses reported that a security guard had stopped a car bomber from entering the mall just moments before the massive explosion on Wednesday.

Continued Attacks in Northern Nigeria

Days after an attack targeted a shopping center in Abuja, an explosion in the northern city of Bauchi has killed at least ten people and injured fourteen others.

Bauchi state police spokesman Mohammed Haruna confirmed Saturday that the targeted building in the Bayan Gari neighborhood, which is located on the outskirts of the city, was widely known as a brothel. He further indicated “ten people were confirmed dead, while 14 others sustained various degrees of injury,” adding that the explosion went off at roughly 10:00 PM (2100 GMT). Police officers have cordoned off the entire area and an investigation into the attack is ongoing.

Bomb attacks on targets, which Boko Haram has branded sinful, including churches, bars and schools teaching a Western curriculum, have formed a major part of the militant group’s insurgency. Nigerian officials estimate that more than 10,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in 2009. In recent months, the violence has escalated with more than 3,000 deaths recorded since the start of this year.

Suspected Boko Haram militants, armed with explosives, attacked a number of churches on Sunday near Chibok, the northeastern town where more than 200 teenage girls were kidnapped nearly three months ago.

Residents have indicated that gunmen riding on motorcycles opened fire on worshippers and pursued them as they tried to flee into the bush. The attackers also threw explosives into churches as services were on going and torched several buildings. Dozens of people are reported to have been killed in the raids on villages located roughly 10 kilometers (6 miles) outside Chibok, however no one has been able to provide an official death toll. The targeted villages have been identified as Kwada, Ngurojina, Karagau and Kautikari. All are located in Borno state, which is the stronghold of the Militant group. Another resident reported “the attackers went to churches with bombs and guns,” adding “from what I gathered, dozens of worshippers, including men, women and children were killed.” Several residents in the area also reported that the Nigerian military had not responded to distress calls, which were sent out shortly after the attack began. While these reports have not been verified, if confirmed, it will likely raise further questions about the military’s efforts in the northeastern region of Nigeria, which is the epicenter of the insurgency.

Last week’s incidents throughout the country have effectively cemented the fact that Boko Haram militants are now capable of carrying out attacks anywhere in Nigeria, sparking fears that the militant group is now seeking to expand its insurgency, moving further south towards Abuja. The attacks have also demonstrated the Nigerian government and military’s inability to coordinate received intelligence and thwart attacks.

Tagged as: Abuja, Boko Haram, Borno, Chibok, National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Nigeria