Gist Coven

Nigerian troops in Borno have killed five Boko Haram insurgents and captured a top commander of the group in the ongoing operation in Sambisa Forest and the Lake Chad basin. Col. Onyeama Nwachukwu, Deputy Director, Army Public Relations of Operation Lafiya Dole, in a statement in Maiduguri, said troops also rescued three civilians, recovered vehicles and high calibre ammunition in various operations in the past two days. Nwachukwu said on Thursday, the troops engaged and neutralised a number of fleeing insurgents while attempting to escape the military blocking position in one of the cleared enclaves ‘Sabil-Huda’, deep in Sambisa Forest. He said that the troops also recovered one G-III rifle magazine, one life jacket, a light Machine Gun metal link, four rounds of Anti-Aircraft ammunition, four rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition and three rounds of 7.62mm (Special) ammunition. “Unfortunately, two soldiers were injured in the process; they had been evacuated by the Nigerian A...

The Nigerian Air Force on Sunday in Kaduna took delivery of five new Super Mushshak aircraft purchased by the Federal Government from Pakistan to fight the Boko Haram insurgency. With the new five aircraft, which were delivered to the NAF Base in Kaduna, 10 trainer aircraft have now been supplied by Pakistan to Nigeria to aid the counter-terrorism operations. Punch correspondent learnt that an Ilyushin 76 Strategic Airlifter brought the five aircraft while they were already being assembled by a team of Pakistani and Nigerian technicians for test flying and a formal induction. The air force had on July 14, 2017, taken delivery of the first batch of Super Mushshak Aircraft which were inducted and deployed for primary training of the war pilots. The NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Vice Marshal Olatokunbo Adesanya, said the new aircraft would help to prosecute the counter-insurgency operations in the North-East as well as other forms of criminalities in the...

NIGERIA Labour Congress, NLC, has commiserated with the government and people of Adamawa State over the killing of 50 worshippers in Mubi by a suspected Boko Haram suicide bomber and the slaying of 30 herders by yet to be identified assailants. NLC president, Ayuba Wabba in a statement made available to Nigerian Pilot, described the cold-blooded killings as shocking and reprehensible, thus calling for the investigation and prosecution of those found culpable. While appreciating the difficulties associated with policing an area as vast as the North East, Wabba also decried the recent resurgence of strikes at vulnerable targets by members of the Boko Haram operating from fall back positions. Furthermore, he called on the security and intelligence officers not to relent in tackling the insurgents especially, in strengthening the process of security awareness among the local populace, intelligence gathering by the personnel and de-radicalisation campaign generally...

Femi Fani-Kayode, former Aviation Minister, has reacted to the bombing of a mosque which killed 50 people in Mubi, Adamawa State, on Tuesday. Fani-Kayode said the latest attack is an indication that both President Muhammadu Buhari and Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed were lying that Boko Haram have been defeated. In a tweet, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chieftain claimed that those who created Boko Haram to get former President Goodluck Jonathan out of power can no longer control the sect. He wrote: “Sad to hear that 50 people were blown up in a mosque in Mubi yesterday. “Are Ayatollah @MBuhari and lying Lai Mohammed still claiming that Boko Haram have been defeated? “Those that created and funded Boko Haram just to get @GEJonathan out of power can no longer control it.” Meanwhile, the United States has reacted to the incident.