Regional News
Malian army strikes jihadists after civilian massacre. Source: rfi
Mali’s army on Thursday said it had carried out air strikes against al-Qaeda-affiliated Macina Katiba jihadists in the country’s centre following the massacre of at least 132 civilians last weekend. It carried out strikes between Monday and Wednesday around Bankass and Segue, near where the mass killing took place, and also further afield around Djenne and Tenenkou, the army said in a statement. “These actions resulted from efforts to search for and gather information on the perpetrators of the attacks against civilians on 18 June,” the statement said. The army did not provide any assessment of the operations, which no other sources have confirmed.
EXCLUSIVE: Anti-graft Agency, ICPC Uncovers Billions In Cash Meant For Arms, Ammunition To Fight Boko Haram In Abuja Home Of Ex-Chief Of Army Staff, Buratai. Source: Sahara Reporters
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has recovered N1.85 billion from a house and office said to belong to former Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai in Abuja, multiple sources told SaharaReporters. Buratai, a retired Lieutenant General was the COAS between 2015 and 2021. Sources said ICPC officials stormed the house in the Wuse area, beside the National Open University of Nigeria Campus in Abuja last week after it received a tip-off from a whistleblower. SaharaReporters gathered that the huge cash was part of the billions of naira earmarked for the purchase of arms and ammunition by the Muhammadu Buhari-led government.
Military Airstrikes Foil Cattle Rustling , Kill Scores of Bandit-Terrorists in Northwest. Source: PRNigeria
Nigerian military fighter troops have foiled two separate cattle rustling operations in Zamfara and Niger States. The troops, with three Nigerian Air Force, NAF, alpha jets and helicopter gunship, also raided terrorists’ enclaves in Kaduna State, destroying their camps on Wednesday, PRNigeria learnt. A military intelligence officer, that was involved in the operation in Zamfara, said 20 terrorists were eliminated at Kofar Danya area of the State, when they attempted to rustle over 200 cows. The source said that, “Sequel to credible intelligence of a mass movement of terrorists with over 200 rustled cattle at Kofar Danya area of Zamfara, two NAF fighter jets were immediately scrambled.
Nigerian Soldiers To Face Court Martial Over Infractions In Northeast. Source: HumAngle
The Nigerian military counter insurgency command in the Northeast of the country, has inaugurated a special court martial for 29 officers and soldiers, according to the operations commander. The military court was inaugurated on Thursday, June 23, by the Commander of the Operation codenamed Hadin Kai, Major General Chris Musa. The Commander says that the 29 soldiers are to be tried “in line with Section 131 (2) (d) of the Armed Forces Act CAP A20 LFN 2004.” The law provides the legal framework for regulating the different armed services in Nigeria. In 2019, the Defence Ministry received a revised version designed to influence the composition and administration of the military justice system.
Rising Insecurity In The Sahel Needs More Attention — UNHCR. Source: HumAngle
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) says little attention is paid to the violence in Africa’s Sahel region despite its potential to drive more refugees into Europe. Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said crises and conflicts in places like Myanmar, Syria, and Ukraine had driven over 100 million people to leave their homes — both within their own countries and abroad — to seek safety and economic opportunities. The Sahel, the African semi-arid region separating the Sahara Desert to the north and tropical Savannas to the south, is home to many security threats, including overlapping conflicts, climate crises, and food insecurity. Countries in the Sahel include Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Gambia, Guinea, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal –some of which were listed as home to the world’s most neglected crises in 2021.
Owo Church Attack and Allege Involvement of Suspected ISWAP Terrorists Group. Source: PRNigeria
It was predicted that with the incursion of the Islamic State into the West African sub-region recently, the threat level is expected to heighten. The attack on a Catholic Church in Ondo State was therefore not unexpected as it noticeable that the activities of the Boko Haram and its ISWAP affiliates have been on the increase recently. The security forces, particularly those involved in the ongoing counter insurgency operations in the North East, have gallantly confronted the terrorists. Similarly, security forces in neighboring countries have raised alarm on the upsurge of ISWAP activities in their respective countries. It should be noted that the activities of the group in the country is a spillover of what is happening in the neighboring countries, especially Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Owo Church Massacre: Amotekun Speaks On Arrest Of Suspected Perpetrators. Source: HumAngle
The Ondo State Security Network Agency, one of the branches under Operation Amotekun, a regional security outfit, has confirmed the arrest of suspects said to be connected to the attack on St Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Southwest Nigeria. The Director-General of the security outlet, Adetunji Adeleye, confirmed the development to HumAngle in a telephone interview on Thursday, June 23. “We have arrested some suspects in connection to the incidents. We also recovered some weapons and the vehicle they used to run away,” he said. He, however, did not give details, including the number of persons arrested, assuring that a full report would be made available to the press at the appropriate time.
EXCLUSIVE: DHQ Orders Immediate ‘Discharge’ of ‘Disgruntled Military Officers, Soldiers. Source: PRNigeria
The Defence Headquarters, DHQ, has ordered the immediate retirement of ‘disgruntled’ officers and men of the Nigerian military who have been for wanting in unethical behaviours and acts of gross misconduct, PRNigeria has learnt. It also directed the leadership of the Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force, to ‘sack’ their personnel who are no longer motivated to discharge their ‘constitutional duties.’ The DHQ gave the marching order in a memo dated 26 May 2022, and titled, “Retirement of Disgruntled and Unmotivated Personnel’. According to the memo, signed by MB Nagenu, a Rear Admiral, on behalf of the Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Gen. Leo Irabor, the disgruntled and unmotivated officers and soldiers no longer exhibit a high level of undivided loyalty, and the presence of mind required of military operations.
‘We Served As Slaves Before Our Forced Marriage To Terrorists’ — Escaped Chibok Girls. Source: HumAngle
On Tuesday, June 21, one of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls who has now regained freedom, Mary Dauda, gave a brief account of the eight years she spent in captivity. Last week, HumAngle reported how the military had spotted and rescued her, then identified by the authorities as Mary Ngoshe. The young woman, now 26 years old, was found with a boy child she had for her Boko Haram ‘husband’. Another Chibok Schoolgirl, Hauwa Joseph, regained her freedom within the same week. The two girls were officially presented to the media on Tuesday, June 21, ahead of their reunion with their family.
Mali in national mourning over civilian massacres in Sahel. Source: rfi
Suspected jihadists massacred more than 130 civilians over the weekend in neighbouring central Mali towns, the latest mass killings in the Sahel region. Mali’s junta leader Colonel Assimi Goita has decreed three days of national mourning. Local officials reported scenes of systematic killings by armed men in Diallassagou and two surrounding towns in the Bankass circle, a longtime hotbed of Sahelian violence. “They have also been burning huts, houses, and stealing cattle — it’s really a free-for-all,” said a local official who for security reasons spoke on condition of anonymity. He and another official, who like him had fled his village, said the death toll was still being counted on Monday.
Nigerian troops intercept vehicle loaded with explosives – Official. Source: Premium Times
The Nigerian Army said its troops on Tuesday intercepted a vehicle loaded with explosive devices, guns and ammunition in Obudu, Cross River State. The army spokesperson, Onyema Nwachukwu, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday. Mr Nwachukwu, a brigadier general, said the troops found the explosive devices in a Toyota Camry car with registration number JAL 492 AA. He did not, however, provide the identity or number of persons involved in the incident. “Troops of 13 Brigade operating under command of 82 Division, Nigerian Army on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 intercepted a Toyota Camry car with registration number JAL 492 AA, ladened with assorted ammunition while en route Utanga village towards Obudu Mountains in Cross River State,” the statement said.
Burkinabè junta head in surprise talks with ex-leader. Source: BBC
Burkina Faso’s military ruler has in a surprise move met the president he overthrew in a coup last January. Former President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré was accompanied by another former president, Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo. Officials said the meeting showed Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba’s desire for reconciliation and that the country’s security situation was discussed. A video of the meeting shows handshakes and even some smiles as Burkina Faso’s military leader invites the man he ousted for a walk along the red carpet at a place he knows well – the presidential palace. A statement said Mr. Kaboré was there to discuss security issues and to try to defuse the political situation.
Two kidnapped Chibok girls freed after eight years. Source: Guardian
Nigerian troops have found two former schoolgirls who were abducted by Boko Haram jihadists eight years ago, the military said Tuesday, freeing some of the last victims of the 2014 Chibok abduction. The two women each carried babies on their laps as they were presented by the military, after captivity with militants who stormed their school in April, 2014 in northeast Nigeria in a mass kidnapping that sparked international outrage. Major-General Christopher Musa, the military commander of troops in the region, told reporters the girls were found on June 12 and 14 in two different locations by troops.
Why Scavengers Are Being Slaughtered In Borno. Source: Daily Trust
Scavengers are known for searching for and collecting discarded items as a means of livelihood. But that is not what they have been in the news for recently – they have been in the news because they have become targets for suspected Boko Haram fighters in some local government areas of Borno state. In this episode of Nigeria Daily, we look in detail at the relationship between the insurgents and the scavengers, or baban bola as they are called.
Gunmen kidnap dozens after attacking churches in Nigeria. Source: news24
Gunmen from a criminal gang kidnapped 36 people after attacking several villages and two churches in Nigeria’s northwest Kaduna state, a local government official said on Monday. Heavily armed gangs known locally as bandits are ravaging parts of northwest Nigeria and Sunday’s attack came two weeks after gunmen killed 40 people in a raid on a church in the usually safer southwest of the country. Local security commissioner Samuel Aruwan told AFP on Monday that three dozen people were snatched by gunmen who ransacked three villages before storming the Maranatha Baptist Church and St Moses Catholic Church in Rubu in the Kajuru area of Kaduna state.
Armed men kill at least 20 civilians in Mali. Source: news24
Raiders in Mali have killed at least 20 civilians in attacks on villages near the northern town of Gao, while a UN peacekeeper died in a mine explosion in the troubled region. “Criminal terrorists” on Saturday killed at least 20 civilians in several hamlets in the commune Anchawadj, a few dozen kilometres north of Gao, said a senior police officer who asked to remain anonymous.
20 missing Chibok girls still in Sambisa Forest — Rescued Girls. Source: Premium Times
Over 100 of the girls were still missing as of April 14, 2021, seven years after the initial kidnapping. Mary Dauda and Hauwa Joseph, the two rescued girls abducted from the GGSS Chibok in Borno in 2014, have revealed that more than 20 missing others are still in Gazuwa camp in Sambisa Forest, eight years after being kidnapped by Boko Haram insurgents. NAN Reports that Gazuwa camp is the acclaimed Headquarters of the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād, Boko Haram faction, formerly known as Gabchari, Mantari and Mallum Masari, located about 9 kilometres to Bama Local Government Area of Borno. They disclosed this while interacting with newsmen on Tuesday in Maiduguri, at a news conference at the Command and Control Centre Maimalari Cantonment.
How We Escaped from Terrorist Camps with our Babies- Rescued Chibok Girls. Source: Premium Times
Mary Dauda and Hauwa Joseph, the two rescued girls abducted from the GGSS Chibok in Borno in 2014, have revealed that more than 20 missing others are still in Gazuwa camp in Sambisa Forest, eight years after being kidnapped by Boko Haram insurgents. Mary Dauda said she was forced into marriage with an insurgent immediately after her abduction eight years ago at the age of 18.
80,900 Refugees From Northwest Nigeria Cross To Niger Republic In 3 Months. Source: HumAngle
Insecurity in Sokoto State, Northwest Nigeria, has displaced 71,289 persons and caused the cross-border movement of 80,900 refugees into the Niger Republic, United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has revealed in a report. The UN agency shows in the report that the massive displacement occurred from Jan. to March 2022. According to the UNHCR, displacement resulted from violent activities of terror groups, organised crime groups (OCGs), non-state armed groups (NSAGs), and conflicts between farmers and herders in the state. The report revealed that activities of the different groups have continued to thrive despite ongoing offensives by the Nigerian military.
‘We Served As Slaves Before Our Forced Marriage To Terrorists’ — Escaped Chibok Girls. Source: HumAngle
On Tuesday, June 21, one of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls who has now regained freedom, Mary Dauda, gave a brief account of the eight years she spent in captivity. Last week, HumAngle reported how the military had spotted and rescued her, then identified by the authorities as Mary Ngoshe. The young woman, now 26 years old, was found with a boy child she had for her Boko Haram ‘husband’. Another Chibok Schoolgirl, Hauwa Joseph, regained her freedom within the same week. The two girls were officially presented to the media on Tuesday, June 21, ahead of their reunion with their family.
UPDATED: Three killed, many kidnapped as gunmen attack churches, villages in Kaduna. Source: Premium Times
Gunmen on motorcycles killed three people after attacking two churches and a number of villages in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, on Sunday, the state government has said. The state’s Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, announced this in a statement to reporters. “On a sad note, security agencies have reported to the Kaduna State Government that bandits attacked worshippers and locals at Ungwan Fada, Ungwan Turawa and Ungwan Makama in Rubu general area of Kajuru local government area. “According to the report, the bandits stormed the villages on motorcycles, beginning from Ungwan Fada, and moving into Ungwan Turawa, before Ungwan Makama and then Rubu” Mr Aruwan said. He said in Rubu village, the bandits attacked worshippers in the Maranatha Baptist Church and St. Moses Catholic Church.
Lives Have Been Torn Apart By The Boko Haram Insurgency. So Have Marriages. Source: HumAngle
Boko Haram’s activities primarily affected Adamawa’s northern senatorial zone, comprising Madagali, Michika, Mubi North, and Mubi South. Hong and Gombi Local Government Areas (LGAs) also experienced, although to a lesser extent, these terror attacks, which killed and displaced thousands of people. From the end of 2015 to early 2016, most communities that were invaded and under the control of Boko Haram were recaptured by the Nigerian military. However, in Madagali and Michika, insurgents still hold sway. As a result, many people, including women and children, have fled the territory to Yola, the state’s capital city, and other towns bordering Cameroon, Chad, and the Niger Republic. In Malkohi IDP camp, also located in Yola, about 70 per cent of the 1,240 internally displaced persons (IDPs) are indigenes of Madagali and Michika, according to the camp chairman. Rahmatu is one of them.
Two More Chibok Girls Escape Boko Haram Captivity After 8 Years. Source: HumAngle
Two Chibok School girls, Hauwa Joseph and Mary Ngoshe, have escaped after spending over eight years in Boko Haram captivity. Soldiers found the girls and their kids in Borno state, Northeast Nigeria. The girls’ escape marks the fourth known incident of the Chibok school girls regaining freedom as part of the waves of civilians and Boko Haram combatants that have fled their sanctuary after the fall of Sambisa and the death of its leader Abubakar Shekau, last year. According to the military, an estimated 57,004 persons associated with Boko Haram, comprising of 12,547 males, 17,027 females, and 27,430 children, have surrendered to authorities. In August, one of the missing school girls, Hassana Adamu, and her kids were handed over to the government after she fled captivity. She was found a few weeks after another girl, Ruth Pogu with kids, regained freedom after surrendering to soldiers near Bama town.
Terrorists Attack Kaduna Twice In 2 Days, Kill 3 Worshippers, Abduct Many. Source: HumAngle
Terrorists killed at least three persons and abducted a yet-to-be-ascertained number of others when they attacked St. Moses Catholic Church in Robuh, Unguwan Aku, Kajuru Local Government Area (LGA) of Kaduna State, Northwest Nigeria, on Sunday, June 19. The attack comes a day after terrorists attacked Maraban Kajuru, where they killed one person, injured another and kidnapped 12 persons. The church attack took place around 11 a.m. WAT, Aminu, a resident, told HumAngle. “Terrorist attacks have become a normal occurrence in Kajuru and happen frequently,” he said. “Sometimes you’re just grateful it does not affect your immediate locality.”
Terrorists’ Corpses Seen At Kebbi River. Source: HumAngle
Residents found no fewer than 23 corpses dressed in Nigerian military uniform on Thursday, June 16, at Yarkuka River bank that links he northwestern Nigerian states of Kebbi and Zamfara at about 2:30 p.m. WAT. The bodies had multiple gunshot wounds on their heads, faces, chests, pelvis and throats. A local barber and a Yarkuka community resident, Samuel, who relocated from the village to the Maga metropolis due to continuous terrorist attacks, said the bodies were floating on the river. Daniel, 37, told HumAngle that “we are very sure that those dead bodies were the terrorist group members who had a stiff physical combat with the Nigerian Army and Mobile Police in collaboration with the local vigilante who were on a successful rescue mission to repel the terrorist attacks against the communities on Tuesday [June 13] at Yarkuka village.”
Renewed Inter-Communal Clashes Displace Thousands In Nigeria’s Adamawa State. Source: HumAngle
Over 10,000 residents of Guyuk and Lamurde Local Government Areas (LGA) of Adamawa State, Northeast Nigeria, have been displaced by recent clashes between the agricultural communities. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has revealed. The OCHA report revealed that the displaced are currently hosted in five school facilities converted into temporary shelter sites. According to OCHA, between June 6 and 9, 2022, the violent attacks claimed the lives of at least 30 locals while 500 homes were destroyed. The onset of the rainy season, a peak period for wet season farming, often trigger disputes over land ownership.
Many Injured As Terrorists Enforcing ‘Sit-At-Home’ Attack Market In Imo, Nigeria. Source: HumAngle
Terrorists suspected to be members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Monday, June 20, attacked the prominent Izombe Market in the Oguta area of Imo State, Southeast Nigeria. The terrorists were enforcing an unlawful curfew to protest the continued detention of IPOB founder Nnamdi Kanu. Kanu is currently standing trial for treasonable felony, unlawful possession of arms, and illegal importation of broadcast equipment at a Federal High Court in Abuja, the country’s capital. HumAngle learnt that the separatists had warned the market traders not to violate the sit-at-home order by opening for business, but the traders defied the warning.
Peace and Security
Rising Insecurity In The Sahel Needs More Attention — UNHCR. Source: HumAngle
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) says little attention is paid to the violence in Africa’s Sahel region despite its potential to drive more refugees into Europe. Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said crises and conflicts in places like Myanmar, Syria, and Ukraine had driven over 100 million people to leave their homes — both within their own countries and abroad — to seek safety and economic opportunities. The Sahel, the African semi-arid region separating the Sahara Desert to the north and tropical Savannas to the south, is home to many security threats, including overlapping conflicts, climate crises, and food insecurity. Countries in the Sahel include Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Gambia, Guinea, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal –some of which were listed as home to the world’s most neglected crises in 2021.
Humanitarian
Gubio IDP Camp In Northeast Nigeria Gets First Food Aid In 6 Months. Source: HumAngle
After months of hunger and starvation, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Gubio camp in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State in Northeast Nigeria, got a degree of respite on Thursday, June 16, with the disbursement of food supplies by the state government. To the IDPs, the food items and cooking ingredients brought to them on Thursday through the state emergency management agency (SEMA) were coming in that manner for the first time in nearly a year. But the officials say it’s been six months since humanitarian services like food distribution were provided. HumAngle had previously reported the lack of food support in the Gubio camp, which caused the deaths of many of the displaced persons and exposed vulnerable women and girls to inhumane abuse, particularly sex for food. In June last year, the state government issued a directive that banned humanitarian organisations from working in camps for displaced persons as authorities embarked on closing camps within Maiduguri.
Nigeria Is Home To 23.6 Million Child Brides – Report. Source: HumAngle
Nigeria remains the country with the highest number of child brides in West and Central Africa, with numbers of girls and women who were first married before the legal age reaching 23.6 million, a report published by UNICEF has revealed. About 10.3 million of them were married before the age of 15, while 23.6 million women and girls were married before 18. Child marriages are more prevalent in Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi, and Sokoto states in northwest Nigeria, including Bauchi State in the northeast. Marie-Pierre Poirier, the UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, noted that child marriages impact both girls and boys.
Rising Insecurity In The Sahel Needs More Attention — UNHCR. Source: HumAngle
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) says little attention is paid to the violence in Africa’s Sahel region despite its potential to drive more refugees into Europe. Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said crises and conflicts in places like Myanmar, Syria, and Ukraine had driven over 100 million people to leave their homes — both within their own countries and abroad — to seek safety and economic opportunities. The Sahel, the African semi-arid region separating the Sahara Desert to the north and tropical Savannas to the south, is home to many security threats, including overlapping conflicts, climate crises, and food insecurity. Countries in the Sahel include Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Gambia, Guinea, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal –some of which were listed as home to the world’s most neglected crises in 2021.
