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AFRICOM: Things You Need To Know About US Africa Command

April 28, 2021

Buhari, Blinken

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), urged the United States to reconsider relocating the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) from Stuttgart, Germany, to Africa.

Buhari made the plea in a virtual meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, on Tuesday.

Since Buhari made the appeal, many Nigerians have expressed different views over the president’s demand.

Here are some things you should know about AFRICOM

– U.S. Africa Command, with partners, counters transnational threats and malign actors, is created to strengthen security forces and respond to crises in order to advance U.S. national interests and promote regional security, stability, and prosperity.

– U.S. Africa Command, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, is one of 11 U.S. Department of Defense combatant commands, each with a geographic or functional mission that provides command and control of military forces in peace and war.
– AFRICOM employs the broad-reaching diplomacy, development, and defense approach to foster interagency efforts and help negate the drivers of conflict and extremism in Africa.

– A full-spectrum combatant command, AFRICOM is responsible for all U.S. Department of Defense operations, exercises, and security cooperation on the African continent, its island nations, and surrounding waters.

– The area of responsibility consists of 53 African states, more than 800 ethnic groups, over 1,000 languages, vast natural resources, a landmass of 11.2 million square miles (three-and-a-half times the size of the U.S.), and nearly 19,000 miles of coastland.

– AFRICOM began initial operations October 1, 2007, and became fully operational October 1, 2008.

– US Africa Command has approximately 2,000 assigned personnel, including military, U.S. federal civilian employees, and U.S. contractor employees.

– The command also has liaison officers at key African posts, including the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping and Training Centre in Ghana.

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Ohanaeze, Middle Belt Forum, Coalition of Northern Youths, Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, express concern over insecurity

April 28, 2021

Prominent Nigerians and groups including Ohanaeze, Middle Belt Forum, Coalition of Northern Youth Groups and Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, yesterday, decried the deteriorating security situation in the country.
They all called on the government to immediately halt the situation.
While some said the government has totally lost control of the security situation, others attributed it to lack of capacity and political will by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Ohanaeze, the apex socio-cultural organisation of Ndigbo expressed concern about the security situation , particularly the recent development in the South East.
National Publicity Secretary of the organisation, Alex Chidozie Ogbonna regretted that before now, the South East was the safest zone in Nigeria.

He however said: “But I believe that government would soon be able to halt the situation, We have not been used to this level of insecurity and that is why many are surprised.
“However, several efforts are being made to check insecurity in the country. In the East for instance, Ebubeagu, a security outfit has been launched and bills are being sent to the various state assemblies to back it up with a law/ So, I believe all these would stop with time.”

National Publicity secretary, Middle Belt Forum, Dogo Isuwa, said the government has the capacity to protect lives and property of Nigerian but noted that the armed forces are not given the enabling environment and the kind of cooperation that could enable them carry out their duties.
He warned that unless the government takes steps that would ensure the problems are resolved, there would be no solution. “The issue of tribalism and religion cannot and will never solve the problem,” he added.
President of Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, Yerima Shettima also believes that the government can protect the lives and property of citizens but only needs the will power to do that.

He said: “The government as the strongest institution in the world cannot be said to be overwhelmed by this situation. So, they need the will and determination to do it and I know that they can do it. All we need to do is to support them and boost the morale of the men on ground; once they are down, it means the country is completely down; so we must boost their morale and they must be all out to address this issue once and for all,” he said.
Former President of Aka Ikenga, Chief Goddy Uwazuruike said the administration of President Buhari has failed in its responsibilities and might even be complicit in the ugly development.

He said: “I don’t know the people master-minding the insecurity in the land, but I want to remind people that we lived through the Gen Sani Abacha years and it took the Justice Chukwudifu Oputa Panel to expose who was behind all the insecurity then. As far as I’m concerned, something is happening in this country and it is too bad if the government knows what is happening but prefers to look the other way. Some people are creating a sense of insecurity just for the purpose of creating opportunities for themselves.”

Taking a similar position, the former chairman of the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Sam Amadi, said the current administration has zero capacity to manage or contain insecurity. He added that the situation has been worsened by President Buhari’s incapacity and lack of presence.
“Only a fool will still believe that the government is still up to the task. The Buhari administration has worsened the insecurity. Before 2015, we never heard of Boko Haram attacking military formations the way they are doing today. This government has zero capacity to manage or contain insecurity, not to talk of overcoming it and it is bad news for everybody. “

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22 Northern Groups Ask UN, Others To Back Biafra Agitation

April 27, 2021

Biafra Flag


According to the group, Northern Nigeria has never experienced the present level of exposure to criminals and bandits under the régime of Buhari.

A coalition of 52 northern groups on Monday called on the global community to intervene in persuading the Nigerian government and United Nations to facilitate the final actualisation of the Biafran dream by the Igbo.

While describing as empty and of no effect “threats and promises” by President Muhammadu Buhari, the CNG said “between December 2020 and April 2021, over 970 students were abducted from their schools in the northern part of Nigeria with a substantial number still in captivity and some violently executed.”

Biafran flag

The spokesperson of CNG, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, raised the views in a communiqué after an emergency meeting in Abuja.

According to him, Northern Nigeria has never experienced the present level of exposure to criminals and bandits under the régime of Buhari.

He said, “The CNG hereby resolves to call on our friends and the international community, the UK especially, to understand that our bilateral friendship is guided by the principles of sovereignty, promotion of peace and the standards that guide legitimate interference.

“Hence, their intervention, exclamations and actions should not be drawn to discountenance the effort of the Nigerian state to protect citizens from violence and terror.

“We finally wish to renew our request for the global community’s intervention in persuading Nigerian authorities and the United Nations to facilitate the final actualisation of the Biafran dream by the Igbo.

“The world should keep in mind that by far, a destabilised Nigeria will certainly threaten the peace and security of the entire sub-Saharan Africa.

“In the South, gangs of armed IPOB militia, violent secessionists and an assortment of militant groups appear to sense a huge vacuum in the capacity and political will by the Federal Government to challenge them, which they exploit with disastrous consequences on the nation’s security assets and specifically on northern communities and individuals living as minorities in the South while the presidency wallows in deflecting the issue.”

The CNG, however, attacked the Indigenous People of Biafra, saying it “is now taking a more ominous and repulsive form and context with an open declaration of violence and anarchy against other parts of Nigeria and the Nigerian State.”

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Boko Haram imposes VAT, income taxes on Residents of Shiroro, other Niger communities

April 27, 2021

Apart from occupying communities in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, Boko Haram insurgents generate income by imposing VAT and income taxes on residents, a police source says.

Niger has for many years battled Boko Haram insurgency, with Shiroro, which houses one of Nigeria’s electric dams witnessing some attacks.

Governor Sani Bello on Monday announced the displacement of many residents by Boko Haram insurgents around Munya and Shiroro local government areas.

According to him, over 3,000 people have been displaced by bandits and Boko Haram elements around the areas.

“There are some other communities that we think are safe but a vast majority of them will have to remain here because their villages and towns have been taken over by the Boko Haram elements,” the governor said.

“I just heard they have already placed their flag in Kauri which means they have taken over the territory,” he said, expressing fears that they could soon march on Abuja, which shares a border with Niger.

Also backing the governor’s confirmation, the police source who fled Shiroro told The Gazette that the community, Awasha, Chiri, and many others were under the control of Boko Haram insurgents, who also control trades.

Although many believe that it funds itself through kidnap for ransom and looting local communities, the police source stated that it generated income through taxation.

According to him, the insurgents now impose taxes on local farmers and fishermen who fish around the Shiroro lake, and residents made to pay VAT when local transactions are carried out.

Apart from paying taxes, residents also go farming for the insurgents.

Army spokesman Mohammed Yerima told The Gazette he was not aware of the development.

However, the state police spokesman, Wasiu Abiodun, told The Gazette on the telephone that he would make findings about the situation.

“Let me verify and get back to you,” he said.

The insurgents have in past years occupied dozens of villages around Lake Chad, thereby generating income from the residents.

Reports said a faction of the group, ISWAP, set up state-like structures in the Abadam, Kukawa, Guzamala, Marte and Monguno local government areas in Borno.

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Government Will Call For Negotiations If Oil Is Stop From Flowing – Uwazuruike

As He Speaks About Ikonso’s Death, IPOB and Ebubeagu

April 27, 2021

Ralph Uwazuruike

By Mentus Ngwoke, Owerri

The Founder and the leader of Biafra Independence Movement and Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (BIM-MASSOB), Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, has condemned the killing of Ikonso the commander of Eastern Security Network (ESN). However, having said that, he pointed out that the strategy used by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in pursuit of their goals is wrong and will only lead to more death. He said that on Monday during an interview with BBC News Igbo.

On the killing of Ikonso, Uwazuruike said: “I am saying sorry to IPOB for the loss of one of their members. It is a human that died and we are one as we are all seeking for the freedom of Biafra. We are all seeking for the same thing so it touches us when one of us is killed despite being in different groups”.

Speaking further Uwazuruike said he served the late General Odumegwu-Ojukwu for 10 years before he started MASSOB and he learnt a lot during his time with the former leader of Eastern region. He said Ojukwu told him Biafra can never be achieved through violence and that is where IPOB led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is getting it wrong.

“Nnamdi Kanu lacks that experience which I got while serving Ojukwu. A sovereign state is too much, this is not what you can achieve through force, they know all you are doing,” said Uwazuruike.

He added: “The security agencies know where to find MASSOB members, they know where to locate IPOB members. They know where Nnamdi Kanu is sleeping today, they know who is cooking for him. If they want you dead they will kill you immediately, but they don’t do that.”

He said the security agents arrest and lock up activists from time to time and could easily add what will kill them in the next five or six years to the food they serve them but they don’t do that.

“The State don’t come out to kill an activists maybe because of international protocols. But we come out to say we are hiding, we are protecting ourselves, we have security. If they (The State) want your security to kill you, your security will kill you,” he said.

He said the only way to get the government to come to the negotiation table is by stopping the flow of crude oil from the Niger Delta. “Even if you get Biafra by pointing gun at people the international community will not recognise you,” he added.

Speaking about Ebubeagu, he said the South East governors got it wrong when they said Ebubeagu will work in collaboration with the police. Explaining what he meant, he said members of the security outfit are supposed to be only Igbos whose job will be to go into the bushes and forests to arrest criminals with AK-47 and hand them over to the police because they have no power to prosecute.

According to him, people will not have confidence in Ebubeagu if members of the police who are from different tribes are part of the security outfit. He added that people will think they are killer herdsmen in police uniforms when they see them in the bush and they can’t communicate with Igbo language.

Source: BBC News Igbo

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Deeper Life Pastor, Kumuyi warns against calls for Nigeria’s breakup

April 27, 2021

Pastor Kumuyi

The founder of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi has warned against the call for secession in Nigeria.

Kumuyi warned that secession has a way of hampering God from solving Nigeria’s challenges.

He spoke while addressing journalists after his crusade in Abuja yesterday.

The clergyman pointed out that Nigerians should have hope that the country would fly again.

According to Kumuyi: “The point is these people that received this divine touch they did not give up, did not think is all over, they knew that God can still do something, the country would have to adopt that same mindset, and know that whatever we are going through stop accusing this and accusing that and while we are pointing accusing fingers we are trying to say let this be on their own and let me be on my own; let the East go and let the West go, and this one go.

“If we are thinking like that we will not expect the solution God wants to give us but when we have hope and we know yet we have gone through some deep waters things are going to change, our God has the possibility to make things change. I believe that we will fly again.”

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Boko Haram takes over 50 Niger villages, hoists flag

•Villagers flee to Minna, state capital

April 27, 2021

Niger Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, yesterday, confirmed that Boko Haram terrorists have seized a territory in Kaure village in Shiroro Loca Government Area and have hoisted it flag there.

The governor also said the terrorists have extended their attacks to some communities in Munya Local Government Area.

The governor disclosed this when he visited Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs) camp at Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB) Primary School in Minna.

According to him, no fewer than 50 communities across the two local government areas have fallen under the Boko Haram control with about 3,000 villagers displaced in the last three days.

Three military camps in Allawa, Bassa and Zagzaga in the two local government areas have been sacked by the Insurgents in the last one months of renewed attacks.

The governor said: “I am confirming that there are Boko Haram elements around Kaure in Shiroro local government. They have taken over the territory. They have equally installed their flag. I am confirming to you now that they have taken over the wives of people by force.”

Governor Bello who described the situation in the state as “critical and pathetic” added that over 3,000 villagers escaped to Minna on Sunday night while several others were in other camps in Gwada and other places.

“Majority of the displaced persons will have to remain in this camp in Minna because their villages have been taken over by Boko Haram terrorists/ bandits. Their wives have been seized from them and forcefully attached to Boko Haram elements,” he said.

He warned that Boko Haram terrorist were trying to make Kaure their home and headquarters like they did to Sambisa forest, stressing that the danger is that while Sambisa forest is several kilometres away from Abuja, Kaure is only two hours drive to Abuja.

This, he warned, makes the federal capital unsafe if nothing urgently is done to curtail the situation

He explained that his administration has been engaging the Federal Government to come to the aid of the state in dealing with insecurity which has brought the state to its kneel in the last six years, adding that such efforts have not yielded desired results thereby making it possible for the terrorists to now occupy area of the state.

“I have been engaging the Federal Government and unfortunately it has got to this stage and if care is not taken even Abuja is not safe. We have been saying this for long and all efforts have been in vain.”

Addressing the governor at the IDPs camp, a youth leader, Bulus Esu said his people in Kuchi, one of the most populated town in Munya local government have been locked down by the terrorists for the past three weeks.

“For three weeks now there is no person living in Kuchi town and there is no food for the fleeing villagers. The bandits have entered very deep into the area and have overran several villages. They have occupied Kuchi where they now sleep as their homes.”

Esu said the bandits two weeks ago demanded five million ransom from the people of Kampana to bail themselves from being kidnapped, adding that “the people did this to avoid kidnap. However, when they came back the next time, they asked the women to cook for them after which they still raped them.”

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Ijaw Youths Give FG One Month ultimatum to set up NDDC board

Threaten protest worse than #EndSARS

By Richard Okoro, Port Harcourt

Youths of the platform Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide have given the federal government a month ultimatum to appoint, screen and inaugurate board members for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

The IYC also frowned at the slow pace of work at the East West road and urged the government to hasten the completion of the project.https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-4454686729706359&output=html&h=327&slotname=6870225295&adk=1527884860&adf=894106916&pi=t.ma~as.6870225295&w=393&lmt=1619463881&rafmt=1&tp=site_kit&psa=1&format=393×327&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sunnewsonline.com%2Fijaw-youths-give-fg-ultimatum-to-set-up-nddc-board%2F&flash=0&fwr=1&fwrattr=true&rpe=1&resp_fmts=3&sfro=1&wgl=1&dt=1619506858539&bpp=12&bdt=538&idt=325&shv=r20210422&cbv=r20190131&ptt=9&saldr=aa&abxe=1&cookie=ID%3D64366a74db45c7d1-22fc40707ba60081%3AT%3D1606493101%3ART%3D1606493101%3AS%3DALNI_MZWxIjblmHc78CAQI9UIyTtMwzESg&prev_fmts=0x0%2Cauto&nras=1&correlator=3244402309225&frm=20&pv=1&ga_vid=1796613957.1606493044&ga_sid=1619506859&ga_hid=1734697103&ga_fc=0&u_tz=60&u_his=1&u_java=0&u_h=873&u_w=393&u_ah=873&u_aw=393&u_cd=24&u_nplug=0&u_nmime=0&adx=0&ady=1176&biw=393&bih=734&scr_x=0&scr_y=0&eid=42530671&oid=3&pvsid=1661979320476451&pem=16&ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.latestnigeriannews.com%2F&eae=0&fc=1920&brdim=0%2C0%2C0%2C0%2C393%2C0%2C393%2C734%2C393%2C734&vis=1&rsz=%7C%7CEebr%7C&abl=CS&pfx=0&fu=128&bc=31&ifi=3&uci=a!3&btvi=1&fsb=1&xpc=b02jwYolh6&p=https%3A//www.sunnewsonline.com&dtd=338

The group’s reaction came following its national expanded executive and stakeholders’ meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Speaking after the meeting, IYC President Peter Igbifa said the stakeholders at the meeting unanimously condemned the deployment of sole administration to manage the affairs of the NDDC, describing it as strange to the law establishing the commission.

‘At the moment, we have looked into the issue of NDDC for which council has resolved that we are giving President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government a one-month ultimatum to inaugurate the board of the NDDC,’ he said.

Igbifa emphasised the importance of the commission to the Niger Delta and warned that if the government failed to inaugurate the board, the youths would shut down and occupy the entire region.

‘We consider the NDDC a critical agency to this region and for this course, we want to make it clear that between now and one month, if the board is not brought in, we may not be able to guarantee the safety of oil workers operating in the region.

‘Council will definitely shut down the entire region if Mr President fails to deliver within one month from today. This message must be taken very seriously.’

Igbifa said the activities that would follow the shutting down of the region would be tense, adding that the development might give way for the people to take over their resources.

‘I said it that #EndSARS will be child’s play compared to shutting down the region. When we say we are shutting down, there will be no activity and that is the major reason in our meeting. We have advised our people to begin to stockpile food,’ he said.

‘We are going to lock down activities in the region. There will be no movement and that is the reason we said we can’t guarantee the safety of oil workers at that point.

‘That is why we gave one month time, an ample time for the government to set the board screen and inaugurate them. When we shut down the region, our people will take over the economy.’

Igbifa explained that the board was mandatory because the Act establishing the NDDC provides that each state must have a representation in the running of the Commission.

‘It means that these people, who man the board will do justice to the development of these various states. The NDDC can only operate in the eyes of the law if a board represented by the states in the region is put in place.’

He regretted the delays in the completion of the forensic audit of the Commission and asked for an immediate end to the audit process.

‘They have made the forensic audit of the NDDC look bigger than that of the NNPC. The board alone has a lot to do with the youths. Before now, the youths were surviving with different capacity programmes rolled out by the NDDC boards.

‘But the youths have been suffering since this current administration of NDDC that is not known to law was put in place. NDDC is an act of the law, and the law provides for it to have a board, so that they will be answerable to the region.

‘The council in different presentations has made it clear to the Nigerian Government that the new board that we are expecting will not be hijacked by politicians. We will monitor all its activities including project execution.’

On the East West road, Igbifa said: ‘We must commend the president for having a listening ear. Immediately after the council called for the completion of the East West road, the President released N20 billion.

‘There is no need for political involvement in issues that affects the region. But we want the President to know that the work that Setraco is doing on the East West road is looking like a local government contract.

The East West road has been under construction for decades that we can’t even count anymore and it has taken so many lives. We want massive construction so that this road will be completed within three months.’

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Scores Injured, Property Destroyed as Okada riders, NURTW clash in Lagos

April 27, 2021

Hell was let loose, yesterday, at Iyana Iba/Alaba Rago and Ojo areas of Lagos state when commercial motorcycle riders and members of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) (Okada) clashed.

The fight was said to have followed an alleged 100 per cent increase in the daily toll charged motorcycle operators by the NURTW in the area, as the okada riders were said to have rejected the increase in the tariff. The motorbike operators claimed that they were being exploited by the union.

Another version of the story claimed that the fight was between another ethnic group that wanted to take over the control of the area from the group of Yoruba extraction who claimed they own the land.

An eyewitness, Mukaila, told Daily Sun that dangerous weapons such as daggers, cutlasses, broken bottles and charms were freely used during the fracas.

Mukaila, a commercial bus driver, said: “I was coming from Ajamgbadi to Mile 2 when I ran into the crisis. Over 200 Okada riders were involved in the fight. I had to abandon my vehicle and took to my heels.”

As at press time, the police had taken over the scene, while normalcy was being restored.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement, explained that normalcy had returned. He dismissed claims that the fight had ethnic coloration and said it was purely a fight between Okada riders and their union.

He said: “The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Hakeem Odumosu, has ordered for immediate deployment of additional police personnel to the area to maintain law and order, as he also directed the Area Commander, Area E Festac, to personally be on ground, to monitor the situation and invite the leaders of the affected Okada riders unit for an urgent meeting.

“The Command, therefore, enjoins members of the public, especially those around the areas, including the students of the Lagos State University (LASU) Ojo, to go about their lawful businesses and studies, respectively, as adequate deployment has been done to fortify security in the axis and, by extension, in Lagos State in general.”

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Five Police Officers killed in Imo as gunmen attack police headquarters


April 27, 2021

The Okigwe South Police Area Command headquarters in Orieagu, Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State has been attacked.

At least five policemen who put up a fight were gunned down.

The attackers stormed the police facility at about 7p.m. and opened fire. They released suspects in custody in the police facility.

It was gathered that the armory was looted in the process.

The residents ran helter-skelter for safety while those caught up in their homes remained indoors.

Police Public Relations Officer, Orlando Ikeokwu, confirmed the attack.

The spokesman said five officers have been killed, while one is yet to be found. Ikeokwu added that the building was not sef on fire.

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