President Muhammadu Buhari Friday said
that with the formation of a stronger
regional military coalition, Nigeria and
neighbouring countries now have an
increased capacity to deal effectively with
Boko Haram and other terrorist groups.
Also Friday, the Boko Haram Victims
Support Fund headed by Lt. Gen.
Theophilus Danjuma disclosed that donors
have now redeemed about N23 billion of
their pledges. Buhari on his part ordered
the immediate release of federal
government’s N5 billion pledge to the fund.
Speaking at an audience with Dr.
Mohammed Ibn Chambas, the United
Nations Secretary-General’s Special
Representative and Head of the United
Nations Office for West Africa, Buhari
reaffirmed his belief that the full activation
and deployment of the Multi National Joint
Task Force established under the auspices
of the Lake Chad Basin Commission will
lead to the speedy defeat and elimination
of Boko Haram.
The President added that with the
Command and Control Centre of the
Nigerian military now in Maiduguri, Borno
State, the morale of troops in the front-
line states had improved significantly.
“You can tell the Secretary-General that we
are doing our best and our best will be
good enough for the nation and the sub-
region,’’ Buhari told Ibn Chambas.
Against the background of upcoming
elections in Cote D’Ivoire, Guinea and
Burkina Faso, the President also called on
the United Nations to assist African
countries in the acquisition and use of
innovative technologies to ensure more
credible elections.
“When citizens recognise that their votes
count, it will boost their confidence in
democracy and their countries’ electoral
systems,” he said.
Recalling that in the last general elections
in Nigeria, the Independent National
Electoral Commission used smart card
readers to authenticate prospective
voters, Buhari observed that while Nigeria
could afford the use of such technology in
its elections, other African countries may
require support and assistance from the
international community.
Ibn Chambas commended Buhari for his
strong and positive actions against
terrorism.
The United Nations envoy also welcomed
President Buhari’s successful visit to
Cameroon this week and his reaffirmation
of Nigeria’s commitment to the peaceful
resolution of all border issues with
Cameroon.
Donors redeem N23bn pledge to Boko
Haram support fund…
The Presidential Committee of the Boko
Haram Victims Support Fund headed by Lt.
Gen. Theophilus Danjuma disclosed that
donors have now redeemed about N23
billion of their pledges.
President Buhari subsequently directed the
Head of Service of the Federation, Mr.
Danladi Kifasi, to facilitate the immediate
release of the N5 billion pledged by the
Federal Government since August 2014 for
the Fund.
A statement by the Special Adviser on
Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina said
the president gave the directive after
receiving a briefing from the VSF
Presidential Committee at the Presidential
Villa.
Danjuma had told the President that out of
the N55.92 billion pledged at the fund-
raising dinner for the Fund in August last
year, N33.54 billion was still outstanding,
including N5 billion from the Federal
Government.
He said that the VSF currently has
N23.33 billion in four bank accounts and
that the committee received approval from
the immediate past administration to
incorporate the fund into a Trust Fund, to
“insulate it from political interference”.
Danjuma had urged the President to use
his office to persuade all organisations
and individuals to honour their pledges to
the committee.
Buhari also urged the committee to ensure
proper coordination with other government
agencies providing support and assistance
to victims of terrorism.
The President assured Danjuma and
members of the VSF Committee that his
administration was taking proactive steps
to defeat terrorism in the country.
He said that despite the challenge of
acquiring much needed strategic equipment
and weapons to confront the terrorists,
the Nigerian military has recently gained
much ground in its effort to defeat and
degrade Boko Haram.
He added that the full deployment of the
Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF),
under the auspices of member-states of
Lake Chad Basin Commission, would
further boost ongoing military operations
against the terrorists.
Boko Haram Kills 6 in Maiduguri market…..
On the same day that Abbah pledged to
wipe out Boko Haram, the terrorists
struck again in Maiduguri, killing 6
persons, with several others injured in a
suicide bomb attack at a crowded market.
The attack which temporarily halted sales
at the market and sent jitters to the entire
town happened at 6:30 am when some
people were still in bed.
A member of the youth vigilance group
who spoke anonymously to our
correspondent on phone, said the bomb
was detonated by a woman who arrived
the market pretending as if she was one
of those that come early to buy
vegetables.
He said the woman arrived in a tricycle at
about 6:30 am at Gamboru market where
wholesale trading of fresh vegetables is
done.
He said that the woman on sensing that
she might perhaps be caught by the
security at the entrance to the market,
quickly detonated the bomb strapped on
her at the tricycles park where
passengers are dropped and picked.
The National Emergency Management
Agency (NEMA) has confirmed that six
persons were killed in the suicide bomb
attack.
The Northeast zonal coordinator of the
agency, Mohammed Kanar who spoke to
our correspondent on phone said: "I cannot
give you the exact time of the blast but
our men were called to offer assistance at
7am. We found six persons were killed,
two of the corpses were mangled and
beyond recognition.
“11 persons were injured, four were taken
to the University of Maiduguri Teaching
Hospital (UMTH), the seven others were
taken to the State Specialists Hospital to
be treated."
117 jihadist fighters killed in Chad…
It was also confirmed yesterday that
about 117 Boko Haram terrorists have been
killed by Chadian forces in an operation
which began two weeks ago.
"For two weeks, Boko Haram terrorists
have been trying to infiltrate our islands
on Lake Chad to carry out attacks on
peaceful citizens," army spokesman, Colonel
Azem Bermendoa Agouna said, adding that
military operations were ongoing.
Lake Chad is a strategic region where the
borders of Chad and northeast Nigeria
converge with those of Cameroon and
Niger, further north.
Boko Haram has carried out raids and
suicide bombings in all four countries,
which have formed a military alliance along
with Benin to tackle the movement.
Sourced from ThisDay
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