News
Irabor Insists Reuters reports against military spurious
Irabor Insists Reuters reports against military spurious
By: Michael Mike
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor has declared as spurious, the
human rights violations allegations levelled against the Nigerian military by news agency, Reuters,
Reuters in a series of reports had alleged the military in it’s counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast over the decade of human rights violations including forcefully abortion of over 10,000 pregnancies of women believed to be linked with the Boko Haram terrorist group and several killings of children who. were fathered by alleged terrorists.
Irabor, who appeared in Abuja on Friday before the National Human Rights Commission investigative panel on rights violation in counter-insurgency operations by the military in the North-East, said the allegation was “not only shocking but also spurious.”
The CDS, who held various posts in the theatre of war in the North-East, including Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole and Commander, Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), told the panel that having been involved, there was no time he saw any abortion being carried out on women and girls to prevent regeneration of Boko Haram insurgents.
He said: “I have been involved in the operation. I never saw any of sort (abortions). It was a surprise to me for someone to orchestrate such report (Reuters’ report).
“I am glad that this panel was constituted to investigate the allegations. It was a rude shock that such allegations could be attributed to the armed forces of Nigeria.”
He described the Reuters’ allegation as unfounded, insisting that the report that over 10,000 abortions were enforced by the military in the North-East through a deliberate policy as a strange allusion, declaring that if such policy was in place, it was not the responsibility of the armed forces to execute such.
He said: “These are strange allusion. The Armed Force of Nigeria engages in internal security to defend the people and the country and fight criminal elements.
“On what ground so we want to stop regeneration of Boko Haram criminals? If this so-called principle is in place, it is not the responsibility of the armed forces to be involved.”
He assured that he would give the soldiers Reuters claimed it interviewed in it report immunity with a view to enabling them to come before the panel to testify.
Irabor told the panel that throughout the period he spent in the theatre of war, he never heard of any group of women called wives of Boko Haram to the extent that their freedom was restricted.
He however said what he witnessed were “those rescued who have had one association or the other with Boko Haram”, adding that these people, both male and female were Nigerian citizens who found themselves under criminals’ oppression.
The CDS said among those rescued in the theatre of war were over 100 Chibok girls, some of whom were with children and asserted that should the military have had in place a policy of cleansing women of Boko Haram, they were the perfect set to be use to do so, asking, “who else could have been cleanse than the Chibok girls we rescued with their children?”
He informed the panel that there were always teams from the International Red Cross, Borno State government and both local and international non-governmental organisations and as such the military could not have carried out any “systemic, secret and illegal” abortions as claimed by Reuters.
He added that if it was a programme of the military as alleged, it could not have been in isolation as the hierarchy of the military would have been in the know, asserting that such policy never exists within the armed forces.
Irabor while describing the massacre of children claimed in the report as gory, said that children could not have been massacred by members of the armed forces, adding that military code of conduct prohibits members of the forces from engaging in such.
He said engaging in such act could even lead to death sentence on the perpetrators.
The CDS however appealed that this kind of report should not be given credence to as officers and men of the Nigerian Armed Forces had made sacrifices and whoever wanted to disparage their image would only be discouraging the gallant men and women.
Irabor Insists Reuters reports against military spurious
News
Governor Buni commended for selecting Maigari for appointment as Commissioner of the Federal Character Commission
Governor Buni commended for selecting Maigari for appointment as Commissioner of the Federal Character Commission
By: Yahaya Wakili
Yobe state Governor, Hon. Mai Mala Buni CON, and Chiroman Gujba have been commended for doing the best thing for selecting Hon. Jibrin Maigari, Commissioner, Federal Character Commission, representing Yobe state.
The commendation was made by the executive chairman of the Nangere local government council, Hon. Samaila Musa FICN, while receiving the commissioner of the federal character commission, Hon. Jibrin Maigari, who was on a sensitization visit in his office.
He said Hon. Maigari is performing excellently because since this commission was created, we have never gotten the federal commissioner who has brought something tangible to Yobe, because in the past five years we have seen the result when he assumed office.
Musa maintained that, “His Excellency, Governor Mai Mala Buni CON, has done the right thing by appointing the right person in the right place, because I was a director in the federal service. I know how difficult it is to secure employment for the teeming youths.
He advised that His Excellency, Hon. Mai Mala Buni, should continue to put the right people in that place so that the right people will be employed. Adding that, before I came here, I had something in mind that we have youths who have completed their secondary education, and they could not secure admission into tertiary institutions.
According to the chairman, these youths performed; they had gotten the requirements to be admitted, but because of the family background of the family, they could not, and they feel that the local government should bring a package whereby the youth will compile their CVs and go to university, polytechnic, or college of education to secure admission for them.
“We have graduates who are diploma holders, NCE, HND, and degree holders. There is nothing doing; I had to believe that we are going to adopt entrepreneurial activity within Nangere, training them three months after training them. We come up with different varieties of skills for them to engage in different businesses and activities,” he said.
“So by doing that, we are able to train 500 youths, and at the end of the day, every youth will be able to engage four people, so plus him, there are five. So you multiply five times five hundred, and you have 2,500 employed, and we called it a blue-collar job because what a cola job these days is too easy. So we have to develop a plan or strategies whereby the youth must survive.
The chairman said we have a work plan already, and very soon we are going to develop it, because we have adopted that in the 2025 budget, and very soon, by the second quarter, we are going to embark on it. He noted that I have already discussed with the consultancy services of Yobe State University in that regard.
Governor Buni commended for selecting Maigari for appointment as Commissioner of the Federal Character Commission
World Medical Relief donates healthcare equipment to Yobe State
By: Yahaya Wakili
The Yobe State Executive Council has noted the delivery of healthcare equipment to the state donated by World Medical Relief in the United States. These equipment include hospital beds, infusion pumps, patient monitors, surgical instruments, and tools, amongst others.
Governor Mai Mala Buni CON disclosed this yesterday while chairing the first State Executive Council meeting held at the Government House in Damaturu.
The governor spoke about his administration’s human capital development effort, adding that in 2024, many people across the state were reached with various forms of support, particularly the students sent to India for undergraduate studies.
Briefing the newsmen on the outcome of the Exco meeting, The state Commissioner of Home Affairs, Information, and Culture, Alhaji Abdullahi Bego, said the governor reflected on the preceding year, noting it as one in which the state government was able to execute many projects and programs that have positive impacts on the lives of the people of the state.
He said the government has also built four modern sesame seed processing factories in Machina, Nguru, Potiskum, and Damaturu, and all of them have been completed 100% and will be commissioned soon.
In addition, all local government areas cut off by last year’s rains, especially in the northern part of the state, have been repaired and vehicular traffic restored, and the state government is also currently constructing a road from Potiskum to Ngojin and from Fadawa to Daya in the Fika local government area.
World Medical Relief donates healthcare equipment to Yobe State
Military
NAF AIRSTRIKES NEUTRALIZE SCORES OF BANDITS HIBERNATING AT ALAWA FOREST IN SHIRORO LGA OF NIGER STATE
NAF AIRSTRIKES NEUTRALIZE SCORES OF BANDITS HIBERNATING AT ALAWA FOREST IN SHIRORO LGA OF NIGER STATE
By: Olusola F Akinboyewa
The Air Component of Operation FANSAN YAMMA (AC OPFY) has recorded another significant achievement in its counter-terrorism campaign, neutralising scores of bandits and dismantling their logistics base at Alawa Forest in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State. This operation, conducted on 21 January 2025, was based on credible intelligence and follow-up confirmatory aerial surveillance efforts which indicated an influx of armed terrorists into the forest. These criminals were linked to widespread violence, including two Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks on 19 December 2024 in Bassa, Shiroro LGA, which claimed several innocent lives.
In response, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) launched a three-day sustained air operation, code-named KONAN DAJI, to degrade the terrorists’ capabilities and render the forest unhabitable for them. To this end, AC OPFY dispatched a formation of fighter aircraft to execute air interdiction missions in the area. Upon arrival, the jets swiftly engaged the identified targets with precision strikes, neutralising numerous armed fighters and destroying their logistics base, as confirmed by multiple secondary explosions.
The NAF, in close coordination with ground forces, remains resolute in its commitment to maintaining operational dominance across the region. Sustained efforts are underway to eliminate all criminal elements from Alawa Forest and surrounding areas, ensuring lasting peace and security for communities in Niger State and beyond.
NAF AIRSTRIKES NEUTRALIZE SCORES OF BANDITS HIBERNATING AT ALAWA FOREST IN SHIRORO LGA OF NIGER STATE
Governor Buni commended for selecting Maigari for appointment as Commissioner of the Federal Character Commission
World Medical Relief donates healthcare equipment to Yobe State
NAF AIRSTRIKES NEUTRALIZE SCORES OF BANDITS HIBERNATING AT ALAWA FOREST IN SHIRORO LGA OF NIGER STATE
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