Regional News
Africa live: Russians accused of staging French killings in Mali. Source: BBC World Service
Cameroon signs agreement with Russia in further boost to military ties. Source: rfi
Cameroonian Defence Minister Joseph Beti Assomo has signed a military cooperation agreement in Moscow with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Choigou, as Wagner mercenaries are boosting Russia’s influence in West Africa. The agreement was signed a week ago, on 12 April, but revealed on Thursday this week. In the text, the two countries agree to exchange opinions and information in the field of international defence and security policy, training troops, military education, medicine, and topography. The terms appear vague and makes no mention of either the separatist Anglophone crisis in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon, nor the fight against Boko Haram in the Far North region.
Insecurity: Obasanjo, others insist on state police as Buhari tasks service chiefs. Source: The Guardian
Rising from a four-hour National Security Council meeting yesterday, President Muhammadu Buhari once again issued fresh directives to security agencies to rescue all those in captivity across the country and advance the acquisition of intelligence.
Buhari to Security Chiefs: Free all kidnapped persons immediately. Source: Premium Times
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed security agencies to immediately rescue all the people kidnapped by armed persons across Nigeria. Mr Buhari stated this while addressing security chiefs at a meeting in Abuja Thursday. The president’s position was disclosed by the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, who briefed State House correspondents at the end of the meeting. “The President spoke about his sadness in respect of recent security challenges and developments we have had in the country, in particular the incident in which several Nigerians lost their lives with many more taken into captivity by criminals and bandits,” Mr Monguno said. PREMIUM TIMES reported that about 3,000 people were killed and almost 1,500 kidnapped across Nigeria in the first three months of 2022.
ISWAP/Boko Haram Terrorists Massacre Club Goers in Geidam. Source: PRNIgeria
Terrorists suspected to either be members of ISWAP or Boko Haram have massacred scores of party goers in Gaidam Local Government of Yobe State. PRNigeria gathered that the terrorists sneaked into the town and stormed a local joint where they sell alcohol and dog meat. In a deliberate effort to avoid attracting the attention of the military, the terrorists tied their victims and slaughtered them with sharp knives. One of the sources told PRNigeria that some of the victims had their heads severed and placed on their bodies.
ISWAP Escalates Attacks In Northeast Nigeria As ISIS Calls For Offensive. Source: HumAngle
ISWAP has carried out a series of attacks in recent days including the group’s first attack in Taraba. This is happening at a time when the military is targeting its enclaves. Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) on Wednesday, April 20, killed at least nine persons and burnt a Technical School after breaching the security of Geidam town in Yobe State, Northeast Nigeria. The insurgents were reported to have quietly breached the security before proceeding to target the Government Science and Technical School, and the Kwari District in Geidam, located in northern Yobe and near the border with Niger republic. “They came on foot and began to shoot, and we all thought it was soldiers that were shooting until we began to hear people screaming and running for dear life,” said Babagana Umar, a resident of Geidam. He added that the terror group burnt down the school before storming a local alcohol bar popularly known for serving Dog Meat.
The Rise And Fall Of Boko Haram’s Sambisa Settlements As Seen Through Satellite Images. Source: HumAngle
Publicly available satellite images and open-source information provide a valuable breadth of view into Boko Haram’s expansion and cat-and-mouse game with the military around the Sambisa forest, the vast savannah woodland now synonymous with the twelve-year-old insurgency in Northeast Nigeria. The Sambisa forest and adjoining areas were once known as a sanctuary for wildlife and part of a game reserve situated in the Chad Basin National Park. After analysing images of some of the settlements in the area, HumAngle observed notable changes in the construction of shelters that occurred after 2014 when the insurgency reached its peak and the terror group dominated the area. Photos and videos from military operations alongside Google Earth satellite images give rare insights into the group’s exploitation of the geography and the nature of settlements, which are usually constructed using natural and accessible materials such as earth, straw, and corrugated iron. During the recent military incursion in the area, the advancing troops encountered relics of destroyed buildings as well as shelters used by the insurgents and often situated beneath a canopy of trees to conceal them from surveillance and attack aircraft.
Security: We’ll be tougher going forward – Buhari. Source: BluePrint
President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday in Abuja warned of tougher security measures in restive parts of the country, with review of operations and strategy, reassuring Nigerians that the efforts that resulted in relative peace in South-South, and rescuing of North-East from the hold of terrorists will be ramped up. Speaking at a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the President noted that the major security challenges have remained in the North Central and North West, saying, “We are going to be very tough.’’
Nigerian Authorities’ Silence After Violent Events, Disregard For Victims Raise Concerns. Source: HumAngle
Insecurity in Nigeria reached a milestone on March 28 when terrorists abducted, injured, and killed people during a deadly attack on a train transporting passengers between Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, and Kaduna in the Northwest. The attack, which triggered public outrage, reveals the nexus between terrorists in Northwest and Northeast Nigeria. While eight persons were confirmed killed in the incident, 168 others were kidnapped and are still missing, with some of their families saying they have been contacted by the abductors. But over three weeks after the incident, the authorities are yet to give updates on efforts in place to secure the victims’ release of the victims. Worried by this silence, the loved ones of the affected people staged a protest on Thursday, April 7, at the Radio House in Abuja. But not much has changed since.
Boko Haram Terrorists Are Either Stupid Or Don’t Know God, Says Buhari. Source: Sahara reporters
Buhari questioned how the terrorists kill innocent people and shout ‘Allah Akbar’ (God is great), saying it might be because of their stupidity.
MNJTF kills 27 terrorists, Buhari insists insurgency not religious. Source: Punch
TROOPS of the Multinational Joint Task Force has said it neutralised 27 Islamic State in West Africa Province terrorists in collaboration with Air Task Force. It also said six traumatised females held hostage by the terrorists were rescued during a clearance operation. The Chief of Military Public Information Headquarters, MNJTF, Colonel Muhammad Dole, in a statement on Wednesday, said one soldier died during the operation. The statement read, “The ATF identified intelligence-driven targets which they engaged using multiple sorties in the vicinity of Tumbun Fulani and Tumbun Rago, where about 20 terrorists were neutralised.
Soldier, 20 terrorists die in MNJTF operations. Source: Guardian
In continuation of Operation Lake Sanity, MNJTF troops, comprising Nigeria and Niger Republic forces, have made major incursions into terrorist’s enclave at Forward Operations Base (FOB), Arege. Conducting clearance operations, in close coordination with the Air Task Force (ATF), they killed 20 terrorists and lost one gallant officer. The ATF identified intelligence-driven targets, which they engaged using multiple sorties in the vicinity of Tumbun Fulani and Tumbun Rago, where about twenty terrorists were neutralised.
Nigeria’s Chibok girls: Why was this former captive treated differently? Source: BBC
In BBC’s series of letters from African journalists, to mark eight years since the Chibok school abductions, Nigerian journalist and novelist Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani speaks to a rescued girl who has been treated very differently to her former classmates who were freed earlier.
ISWAP Claims Deadly Bombing In Northeast Nigeria. Source: HumAngle
The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has claimed responsibility for a deadly explosion that killed several people at a bar in Taraba in Northeast Nigeria on Tuesday, April 19. An explosive device was reported to have set off an explosion in a bar in Iware Community in Ardo Kola Local Government Area (LGA) of the state. At least seven persons were reported dead in the blast, according to a source in an earlier Premium Times report on the incident. The police were also quoted to have said three people were killed and 19 others sustained injuries and were being treated at the Federal Medical Center in Jalingo, the state capital.
MNJTF Rescues Female Hostages after Eliminating ISWAP Terrorists. Source: PRNigeria
In another encounter with Boko Haram Terrorists/ISWAP insurgents in the course of further clearance operations by MNJTF troops of Sector 1 (Cameroon) in the vicinity of Toumbuma, Kerenua, and Chikingudu neutralized 2 Boko haram criminals and maintained dominance in the area. At the end of the earlier battle engagement around Tunbun Fulani and Tunbun Rago, six (6) traumatized female BHTs hostages managed to escape and were found by own troops who then assisted them and brought them to own troop’s location. They were professionally handled and given medical care in the bush. The rescued women have been moved to Maiduguri for further processing and handover to the civil authorities before they rejoin their families. Preliminary investigation revealed that the escapees who hailed from Adamawa, Borno, Gombe and Yobe states were kidnapped at different places and times by the evil and criminally minded BHTs/ISWAP ranging from October 2020 to April 2021.
Zulum Calls For Sustained Prayers As Insurgents Surrender In Droves. Source: North East Star
Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno has felicitated Christians on their Easter celebration and urged prayers for the success of the ongoing fight against terrorism and the mass surrender of insurgents. The governor, in a statement on Monday by his Senior Adviser on Communications and Strategy, Malam Isa Gusau, urged Christians and other citizens to pray and reflect on the key message of Easter. He said the message aligned with the Borno government’s programme that welcomed the mass surrender of insurgents who are undergoing stringent security profiling, disarmament, demobilisation and safe reintegration. He said the procedure would guarantee the full return of sustainable peace in the state. “To my understanding, some of the main reflections of the Easter festival are the importance of making sacrifices for the greater good of humanity, having the strength to forgive offenders and being able to re-emerge stronger from serious difficulties” “In over 12 years of our battles with insurgents (Boko Haram and later ISWAP) Borno State, for the first time, has a golden window that has the potential of ending the insurgency.”
MNJTF Neutralises 100 Terrorists,10 Key Commanders In Lake Chad
Troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), have eliminated no fewer than 100 Boko Haram/Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists, including 10 key commanders in the Lake Chad region. The Chief of Military Public Information for MNJTF, Col. Muhammad Dole, in a statement on Sunday, said the forces successfully hit the enclaves in a well-coordinated land and air offensives.
Dole said the offensives were conducted under “Operation Lake Sanity”, joint operations involving the MNJTF troops from Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon and troops from Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK- Nigeria).
Mali gets more military equipment from Russia. Source: BBC
Mali has received another batch of military equipment from Russia after the European Union suspended its military training programme with the Sahel nation. Mali’s armed forces chief, Maj Gen Oumar Diarra, received two combat helicopters and surveillance radars, the Malian presidency said in a statement. The presidency shared a video showing the equipment as it was delivered by a Russian cargo flight at the airport in the capital Bamako. Mr Diarra termed Russia’s support to Mali as “a manifestation of the very fruitful partnership”. Last month, Mali received two Russian-made combat helicopters and radars shortly after reports that its defence minister and air force chief “discreetly” visited Moscow. State media widely publicised the reception and hailed Russia’s growing support for Mali in counter-insurgency operations. Mali has defended relations with Russia after international backlash over a decision to deploy mercenaries from the controversial Wagner paramilitary firm in December.
ISWAP kills two soldiers, one policeman in fresh Borno attack. Source: Punch
Two soldiers and a mobile policeman have been killed in a fresh attack on a military formation by Islamic State of West African Province terrorists in Molai, on the outskirts of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. Molai community is located 10 kilometres along Maiduguri-Damboa Road leading to Sambisa Forest. According to a military source, the terrorists launched the attack in several gun trucks. However, troops of the Nigerian military alongside the air component of the operation Hadin Kai repelled the attacks which were launched on Monday evening around 6pm in an attempt to overrun the military formation.
UPDATE: Boko Haram Fighters Kill Soldier, Policeman During Attack On Nigerian Army Base. Source: Sahara Reporters
The gunmen also carted away an ambulance and a military vehicle which was later abandoned near the community after it was razed down. A soldier and one policeman were killed and an unspecified number of security operatives injured when militants of the Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province formerly known as Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād, attacked the Forward Operational Base (FOB) in Molai, Borno State. SaharaReporters learnt that the gunmen also carted away an ambulance and a military vehicle which was later abandoned near the community after it was razed down.
BREAKING: Boko Haram Terrorists Currently Attacking Nigerian Army Base In Borno. Source: Sahara Reporters
Insurgents from the Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province formerly known as Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād, are currently attacking the Forward Operational Base (FOB) in Molai, Borno State.
Molai is located at the outskirt of Maiduguri, about 7km away.
MNJTF Lists 4 ISWAP Commanders Among 100 Terrorists Killed Around Lake Chad. Source: HumAngle
At least four known top commanders of the Islamic State affiliate in West Africa, ISWAP, were counted amongst the over 100 terrorists recently killed by government forces on the Lake Chad islands. Colonel Muhammad Dole, a Chief of Military Public Information who disclosed this from the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) headquarters in N’Djamena, said the troops have in the past weeks been conducting land and air offensives against the terrorists. Dole said the soldiers were charged under a special operation, codenamed Operation Lake Sanity, which engaged troops Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon, as well as the Air Task Forces of the MNJTF, the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), and other security agencies.” The MNJTF said troops were recently able to clear locations known as hellholes of the insurgent group, including Zanari, Arina Woje, “which served as a major fabrication workshop of ISWAP; as well as Asagar, Larki and Garere.”
Gunmen attack Niger communities, kill police officer, civilian; abduct others – Residents. Source: Premium Times
Armed men Saturday evening attacked Kadna and Naknuwape, suburbs of Gwada in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, killing at least two people including a police officer. Residents said a group of gunmen invaded their communities shooting indiscriminately while residents were breaking their Ramadan fast. The spokesperson of the Coalition of Shiroro Associations (COSA), Salis Sabo, in a statement to PREMIUM TIMES, said the criminals were increasingly waxing stronger, reaching the Tapila Junction of Gwada town, a community thought to be safe from attacks. “At least two persons have been killed. One policeman and one civilian in Tapila,” the group said in the statement. The gunmen reportedly abducted two persons – the son of an official of an electricity company and a young girl whose identity was not disclosed. They looted a business centre and stole mobile phones, Mr Sabo added. He said communities attacked by the gunmen include: Chiri, Kwakwa, Jewi and Kadn. The communities are only a few kilometres from Gwada LGA. “The terrorists continue to expand their tentacles even to the towns that were considered relatively peaceful. We now live at the mercy of terrorists. The government has failed woefully,” the group said. The police spokesperson in Niger State, Wasiu Abiodun, did not respond to our reporter’s enquiry about the incidents on Sunday morning.
Bloody Easter: Many feared killed as gunmen, military clash in Imo. Source: Premium Times
Many people were feared killed on Sunday when gunmen attacked Ihioma Community in Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State, Nigeria’s South-east. There have been two contrasting narratives about the killings. While some say the killings were done by the gunmen, others accuse the Nigerian military of targeting civilians in retaliatory attacks on the gunmen. The second narrative led to the hashtag #OrluIsBleeding which trended on Twitter on Monday and early Tuesday. Two residents PREMIUM TIMES spoke to, however, accused the gunmen of carrying out the attacks. A resident, who asked not to be named for fear of attacks, told PREMIUM TIMES that heavy shootings began when military personnel engaged the gunmen in a battle. “The gunmen became enraged and started shooting sporadically. They were in a gun battle with the soldiers from Sunday morning till evening,” the source told this newspaper Monday night. The gunmen, believed to be members of ESN, the militant wing of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), were said to be on a manhunt for members of Ebubeagu Security Network, who reportedly arrived in the area last Saturday. The gunmen, it was learnt, were infuriated by the presence of the members of the security outfit in the area. Another resident of the area, Kosiso Agu, told PREMIUM TIMES that members of the community remained indoors on Monday, 24 hours after the attack, out of fear of being attacked by the gunmen.
Nigerian Troops Tackle IPOB/ESN Militants in Imo. Source: PRNigeria
Troops of 34 Artillery Brigade Nigerian Army (NA) on Sunday 17 April 2022 neutralized a member of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB) and its armed affiliate Eastern Security Network(ESN) at Ihioma Community in Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State. Troops’ on routine patrol encountered members of the irredentist group who fired sporadically at Banana Junction to enforce the illegal sit at home order on law abiding citizens going about their legitimate businesses.
How MNJTF Penetrated ISWAP Dens, Killed Commanders, Bombed Facilities. Source: PRNigeria
In a clear demonstration of its determined efforts to speedily eliminate the Boko Haram Terrorists /Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) insurgents hibernating along the fringes of the Lake Chad, the forces of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) have in the past weeks been conducting a well-coordinated land and air offensives. The Operation codenamed OPERATION LAKE SANITY is a joint and combined operations involving the MNJTF troops from Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon and troops from Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK- Nigeria) as well as the Air Task Forces of the MNJTF and OPHK, other security agencies and the Civilian Joint Taskforce (CJTF).
MNJTF Rains Multiple Missiles on ISWAP Commanders, Training Camps. Source: PRNigeria
The Air Components of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) have rained multiple missiles at the abodes of ISWAP Commanders and their training camps in the Lake Chad axis. A military intelligence source told PRNigeria that the coordinated attacks spearheaded by the Nigerien air taskforce were conducted on Thursday, April 14, 2022, at Tumbun Rego. “The Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) of the joint air taskforce on April 13, 2022, specifically sighted a large number of terrorists, a logistics and training camp, about 29 motorcycles and 4 vehicles concealed under trees at Tumbun Rego.
Inside criminal enterprise of Dogo Gide, Ali Kachalla suspected masterminds of Kaduna train attack. Source: Premium Times
Dogo Gide, one of the suspected masterminds of the March 28 attack on a Kaduna-bound train, perhaps, runs the biggest kidnap-for-ransom franchise in Nigeria. His operation, which is primarily based in the country’s troubled northwest region, primarily targets government institutions, officials, schools and travellers. Unlike other armed groups in the region, he forbids his gang members from attacking villages around the Kwiambana Game Reserve, Zamfara State, where he is believed to be hiding. So much is his influence across the northwest that he reportedly warned other gangs to stop attacking villages in the area or risk incurring his wrath. Local sources credit the relative reduction in gunmen attacks on rural communities in Zamfara to Mr Gide’s order – his fight is with the government. He has vowed to make the government pay and bleed. Since 2011, various armed gangs have been operating in the country’s northwest. But their activities snowballed after the 2019 general election when they began attacking travellers on major highways in the region, especially on the Abuja- Kaduna Expressway. The activities of these gunmen, dubbed bandits by the Nigerian media, became so increasingly heartless that last November the Nigerian government secured the order of a federal high court in Abuja declaring the activities of the gang acts of terrorism.
Keeping Up With The Chibok Girls: Chasing Dreams, Battling Discrimination, Dropping Out. Source: HumAngle
On the night of April 14, 2014, 276 students of the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, southern Borno State, were seized from their dormitories and taken prisoner by terrorists. It was not a planned abduction. Mustapha Chad, the Boko Haram commander who orchestrated it, had unsuccessfully tried to lead an attack on the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) base in Yola and had taken the girls on the way back merely as an afterthought. The news soon went viral. It broke the internet and broke the heart of the international community. It also launched the terror group into the limelight, the late leader Abubakar Shekau milking the opportunity as much as he could. “Just because we kidnapped these young girls, you are making noise?” Shekau had asked in one of several statements, where he’d also threatened to sell them as slaves. Those who refused to marry his followers were truly used as slaves to break stones, fell trees, build thatch houses, do laundry, and engaged in other hard labour. Anyone who tried to run was whipped, tied up, and denied food.
Widowed By ‘Bandits’ (3): The Agony Of Losing One’s Wife To Terrorists. Source: HumAngle
Men, who lost their wives to the activities of terror groups in Northwest Nigeria, share horrible accounts of the difficulties they face in the absence of their loved ones. “You are welcome to our village. I hope you will return home safely and not be prey to the bandits,” Zakariyah Adam, the village’s Chief Imam, told HumAngle after a journey that lasted over two hours from Gusau, the state capital. “I was praying in the mosque to have you here safely because bandits have turned the routes leading here to their point of operation.” Explaining the village’s experience with the terror groups, Zakariyah said they stole their herds, looted and burned homes, and assaulted their women in multiple attacks witnessed in the last seven months.
How Locally Fabricated EIDs Power ISWAP’s Desperate Battle For Survival. Source: North East Star
Recent events around Lake Chad in Nigeria’s volatile northeast region indicate that the ISWAP terrorists have been resorting to desperate but extreme measures to fight back against the crushing intrusion of their enclaves by the Nigerian Military. To push back the troops and halt their unbridled burying of improvised explosive devices all over and around paths and highways leading to their cells. But the unbridled planting of the bombs especially on the highway is causing more threats to the lives of civilians. These landmines had in the past days and weeks claimed the lives of innocent civilians – mostly women children in Borno state, Northeast Nigeria. On March 3, this year, an IED buried along the Maiduguri-Damboa highway, Nigeria’s North-East state of Borno, killed at least six civilians and injured many, including women and children.
Peace and Security
Managing Vigilantism in Nigeria: A Near-term Necessity. Source: Crisis Group
Vigilantes have become so important to protecting the Nigerian public that for now the country has little choice but to rely on them. Yet there are dangers. Authorities should better regulate these groups, while working to restore citizens’ trust in the police.
Boko Haram perversion of Islamic ideology, Buhari tells ICC prosecutor. Source: Guardian
President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, declared that the Boko Haram insurgency has neither religious nor ethnic underpinning, adding that majority of Nigerians now know the truth. While receiving Karin Ahmad Khan, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), at State House, Abuja, Buhari said that with concerted public enlightenment, it has become clear to people that Boko Haram is a perversion of religion, rather than an Islamic ideology. He said: “God is justice. You can’t kill innocent people and shout, Allahu Akbar (God is great). It’s either you don’t know that God at all or you are simply being stupid. “To say Western education is unacceptable (Haram) is very fraudulent. That is why we are fighting them, and educating the people.
What Nigeria Can Learn From Rwanda’s DDR, Transitional Justice Processes. Source: HumAngle
An expert on countering violent extremism explains that the concepts of disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration (DDR) and transitional justice is an approach not isolated to Nigeria, adding that Rwanda, with committed leadership, has created comprehensive processes that led to accountability at all levels. Dr Fatima Akilu, a psychologist and expert on countering violent extremism, says Nigeria’s transitional justice programmes, including those focusing on disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) for former insurgents, should be implemented in a controlled manner with a central agency. The agency will have complete responsibility and exercise oversight that will allow for all members of the society to be engaged. Dr Akilu made this suggestion while discussing ‘Growing Insecurity and Mental Health in Nigeria’ on a Twitter space organised by HumAngle on Saturday, April 9. She stated that a framework of disengagement that is based on justice and fairness, which includes transitional justice mechanisms, and ‘truth and reconciliation’ is absent in Nigeria.
ANALYSIS: Why insecurity persists in Kaduna despite heavy military, security presence. Source: Premium Times
Terrorists have turned Kaduna State into a war zone and made travelling between the state and Abuja a nightmare with impudent attacks on road, rail and air facilities. The growing infamy of Kaduna as the most terrorized state in Nigeria in recent times despite the heavy presence of the military and police in the state is raising concerns in the security community. Experts say the security situation does not reflect the fact that Kaduna has some of the most critical military and police establishments in the country. While most states have one military base, a police command and a few other security outfits each, Kaduna has at least 15 military establishments. These include the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Nigerian Army School of Artillery (NASA), Nigerian Air Force Institute of Technology, the Nigerian Army School of Military Police, a depot of the Nigerian Army and a training centre for soldiers. The existence of these establishments has earned the historical capital of Northern Nigeria the nickname – The Garrison City. Yet, terrorists’ activities have wrapped the state in fear and anxiety.
Humanitarian
Water Scarcity Hits Borno’s Gubio IDP Camp. Source: HumAngle
The hunger facing the displaced in yet-to-be closed camps in Borno State, Northeast Nigeria may be putting the lives of many on edge, but the recent water scarcity, especially in Gubio camp poses more threat to their collective well-being. Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Gubio camp, near Maiduguri, Borno State, Northeast Nigeria have lamented the shortage of water supply. They either have to trek long distances under extreme conditions to fetch some or buy at exorbitant prices. “We buy water from a supplier who drives with a water tanker at N60 per 20-litre jerrycan,” Baba Zakari, an IDP in the camp, said. Gubio camp used to depend on solar-powered boreholes which usually attracted long queues as members, mostly women and children, spent hours waiting for the slow running tap to fill up their vessels.
Stabilization and economic development
Food Insecurity Looms In Northeast Nigeria Ahead Of Lean Season- Report. Source: HumAngle
Projections from Cadre Harmonise (CH), an organisation that shares information on the risks of worsening food security in vulnerable areas, has estimated that over 1.4 million people are at risk of acute food insecurity in Northeast Nigeria in June and August 2022. In its latest report, the Cadre Harmonise revealed that Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states are going to witness high prevalence in poor feeding practices. It indicated that during the June and August lean season (the period between planting and harvesting when food stocks are abated and poor families regularly skip meals), there could be food insecurity. Despite witnessing some cuts in food assistance due to funding shortages, the analysis report estimated 587,955 people are expected to be in IPC Phase 4 (emergency phase).
Fish Traders Get Boost To Resume Business In Lake Chad. Source: HumAngle
After about five years of official ban, and risky illegal fish trade, stranded fishermen and traders in Monguno in northern Borno at the shores of Lake Chad got a government nod to resume business. Monguno, one of the major hubs for fish trade after Baga in the Kukawa Local Government Area, was completely deserted after repeated attacks by Boko Haram terrorists. The town fell to Boko Haram in Jan. 2015, leading to the mass displacement of civilians who fled to Maiduguri, the state capital. Though the military had made a face-saving rebound to reclaim the town in February of the same year, Monguno later became a mega camp that hosts fleeing residents from its hinterland communities and other neighbouring local government areas like Nganzai, Guzamala and Kukawa.
