Extortion: Fake Police Inspector Arrested

Police detectives at the Delta State Command have arrested a fake police detective in Warri, after a tip off.

Police public relations officer in the state, DSP Celestina Kalu, said that the detectives arrested the fake inspector identified as Freeborn Abednego, 32, based on report around Ogbe-Ijoh town of Warri.

She said after interrogation, the suspect confessed to many crimes, saying that he has swindled many unsuspecting persons of various sums of money by promising to assist them get recruited into the police force.

She said that the said Freeborn claimed that he was recruited into the police force in 2007 and left voluntarilyy in 2009 adding that items recovered from him include 3 pairs of police uniform with different name tags, 2 extra pair of police trouser, one police cardigan, one fake rank and file identity card, identifying him as an inspector of police.

The police said the suspect is currently helping them at the state CID and would soon be charged to court.

Meanwhile, anti crime patrol team in Aladja police division while on patrol along the road opposite DSC company, Ovwian Aladja, intercepted a red Golf car with Reg No. AL968JRT with six occupants (4 males, 2 females).‎

ARMED MEN IN POLICE UNIFORM SNATCH MINISTRY’S VEHICLE

‎Armed men in a police uniform wearing bullet proof vests were said to have recently snatched a black colour Toyota Prado Jeep, belonging to one of the federal ministries in Abuja.
Police source said that on that fateful day, robbers in police uniforms were seen stopping motorists and robbing them of their belongings at Area 2, Garki, Abuja.
The source said most of the armed men had their bullet proof vest on and nobody could have thought they were armed robbers until they started robbing their victims.
A victim said she sighted a lot of traffic congestion on that axis but did not realise what was going on until a gun was pointed on her head.
"I was on traffic, I didn't know that robbers were operating the next thing I saw was a gun pointed at my head by the uniformed men. I told them that my car was not stolen and that I've my particulars. The man told me to bring out everything I had including my phones and jewelries. They snatched my handbag and took N70,000 from me," she said.
The victim, who gave her name as Amaka, said her experience was so traumatizing and that after they finished with her they continued with the other people.
Another source from Garki police division said that the police received information from control room of the FCT command that a Toyota Prado Jeep, belonging to one of the federal ministries was snatched by two armed men in police uniform.
The source said as a result, a team of policemen rushed to the scene at Area 2, Garki, and that "alerts" were sent out to all the policemen on exit points about the snatched vehicle for possible recovery. 
"The driver of the jeep was said to have been shot at the pelvis and was rushed to a hospital at Garki for treatment. The vehicle has  meanwhile, been recovered along Kaduna road by the FCT Special Anti-Robbery Squad," the source said. 
The source added that a live ammunition and one empty shell of AK47 ammunition were recovered at the scene and that effort is being intensified to arrest the fleeing suspects.
Speaking with journalists recently in his office on the indiscriminate use of police uniforms in FCT by suspected hoodlums, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu, said the command has been recording such unfortunate incidents.
He said police officers have been banned from wearing bullet proof jackets on mufti.
"Any police officer wearing bullet proof jacket on mufti is likely to be an armed robber and any police officer seen in such condition must be treated like an armed robber," he said.‎

Asari Dokubo under fire over is comment on the attack of Buhari

Niger Delta ex-militant warlord, Alhaji Mujarhedeen Asari Dokubo, has come under fire over his comment on the terrorist attack that almost claimed the life of former head of state, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.Ikimi called on the president to call his misguided supporters to order for the sake of Nigeria's unity.

I can cure Ebola virus.. pastor Ituah Ighodalo

‎The Founder of Trinity House, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, has claimed that he has found a solution to the deadly Ebola disease, which has killed no fewer than 670 people and infected more than 1,000 in Africa.

BOKO HARAM: Cameroon troops rescue abducted Vice PM’s wife

Security operatives in Cameroon have rescued wife of Vice Prime Minister Amadou Ali who was abdcuted by the Boko Haram sect on Sunday along side a traditional ruler of Kolofata town, according to reports from BBC Hausa Service. 

The Boko Haram members have been carrying out attacks in northern part of Cameroon from Sambisa Forest in Nigeria where they are said to have established their base. At least 16 people lost their lives in the rescue operations, reports say. However, Cameroon information minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary said government was still investigating the matter to ascertain the actual number of people killed. A local religious leader and mayor, Seini Boukar Lamine, was also kidnapped in a separate attack on his home. Three people were killed during the daring raid. Boko Haram fighters clashed with the Cameroonian army in cross-border attacks twice since Friday, killing four soldiers. Cameroon has deployed more than 1,000 soldiers along its border to help combat the Nigerian armed group. 

A Cameroonian court last week, sentenced 14 members of the sect to 20 years imprisonment after they were arrested with weapons in March around Marwa in northern Cameroon, says the BBC Hausa report.

Attack on Buhari’s convoy: PDP, APC clash

The ruling Peoples Democratic Party  (PDP) and opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) clashed, weekend, over the bomb blast which targeted a former head of state, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), in Kaduna.
Buhari, a top member of the APC, escaped by the whiskers, when his convoy was hit by the blast on Wednesday.
Another blast targeted a Muslim cleric, also in Kaduna, moments earlier.

The two explosions left scores dead and several others injured.
The PDP leadership, yesterday, said the APC could not exonerate itself from insurgency incidents in some parts of the country.

An APC senator, Professor Olusola Adeyeye, was blunt in declaring that the PDP should take responsibility for what he called "the assassination attempt"on Buhari.
Ex-Niger-Delta militant leader, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, in a curious twist, pooh-poohed the alleged assassination attempt, saying it was stage-managed by the former head of state.

In the meantime, the Primate of the Anglican Church, Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, said the attack on Buhari was an indication that nobody in the country was free from bombings by the Islamist Boko Haram group.

'APC is culpable'
The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metah, said the APC had been promoting insurgency through the actions of some of its leaders on the grounds that  the insurgents were after President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP, adding: "If the APC leaders had joined other well-meaning Nigerians in condemning acts of terrorism at the early stage, those behind them would not have been bold enough to get to the current alarming level."

The ruling party described as laughable and lame the attempts by the APC to use the  Kaduna bomb attacks  to absolve itself of blame for encouraging insurgency in the country.
According to PDP, the statements by the APC and its governors were failed attempts at image laundering. It claimed that APC's true identity as a party supportive of violence and disunity in the country was already well known.

It said, "Nigerians will recall that when the news of the attack broke out, the PDP took the high moral ground of condemning the development and sympathized with General Muhammadu Buhari while at the same time calling for a thorough investigation to fish out the perpetrators of the dastardly act.

"We are therefore shocked, disappointed and disgusted that the APC leaders chose to use the ugly development to embark on image laundering. However, their hasty attempts to indict the Presidency and our great party while exonerating themselves from the widely held notion that they have been promoting insurgency have raised issues regarding what really happened, especially now that a suspect has been arrested.

"Nigerians now ponder; they ask, was the attack a setup aimed at scoring some political points? If indeed it was an assassination attempt, was it engineered by internal frictions and crisis of ambition within the APC? Has it to do with some other presidential aspirants in the APC seeing General Buhari as a threat and obstacle to their ambitions? Or could it be APC's desperate strategy of trying to disentangle itself from the internationally acknowledged link with terrorists and possibly undermine the planned probe of their involvement by the United Kingdom?

"These questions have become completely pertinent considering the fact that General Buhari poses no threat whatsoever to any candidate that the PDP might project. He lost three times to our great party in Presidential elections and will lose the fourth time if he emerges the candidate of the APC. Our advice to APC is that they might as well consider looking inwards if they believe it was an assassination attempt.

"The PDP reaffirmed its commitment to peace and the welfare of all Nigerians and   its leader, President Goodluck Jonathan remains a peace-loving, godly and humble man who has continued to reiterate that no political ambition is worth shedding of blood."

Responsibility for bomb attack
Asking the PDP to accept responsibility for the attack on Buhari, the APC Senator representing Osun Central, Adeyeye said, yesterday, that no one else could have been responsible for the attack but the ruling party.
Speaking with newsmen in Osogbo, Osun State capital, Adeyeye, the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Education, stated: "Boko Haram has not claimed responsibility for the attack on Buhari.  From all indications, Muslims were not the ones who attacked him, neither were they Christians. I am sure those who attacked Buhari were sponsored by the PDP."

He added: "Anyone who knows Buhari will know that he is a devout Muslim.  So, Muslims could not have launched any attack against him. He was not attacked by Christians too.  The only people that could be suspected are the PDP.."

Commenting on the killing of an APC member in Ilesa, Adeyeye, who is the Director General, Aregbesola Campaign Organization, alleged that some political thugs working for the PDP killed the APC member.

'Buhari masterminded bombing'
Militant leader, Dokubo-Asari, who is also the leader of Niger Delta Peoples Salvation Force, NDPSF, yesterday, exploded, saying Buhari masterminded the attack on himself.

He lashed out at the former head of state, saying he plotted to kill many innocent Nigerians in the explosion.
The former President of Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, of the Niger Delta region, who spoke to journalists  in Abuja, said Buhari and his group would fail in their conspiracy and desperation to take over power from President Goodluck Jonathan.

Claiming he knew the erstwhile Nigerian leader so well, the former militant leader said Buhari was not known to be driven in a bullet-proof car prior to the incident, alleging that the use of an armoured jeep in his motorcade started recently which confirmed his stand.

'Nobody is safe'
Primate of the Anglican Church, Okoh, who also spoke on the bomb attack on Buhari, yesterday, said it  was an indication that nobody was free from Boko Haram attacks.

Addressing the third session of the second Synod of Anglican Church, Diocese of Kubwa, he said the "attempt on the life of General Buhari sends signal of serious insecurity in the country."
He added: "Again, it sends a signal which I think has an aspect of it that is positive.

That is to say, let everybody, whether from the East, the West, the North and South, Christian, Moslem, African traditional religionist, put hands together and stop this terrorism.

"Nobody is spared, nobody is free and nobody is safe."

MH17 black boxes show crash caused by rocket shrapnel- Kiev

Black boxes recovered from downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in rebel-held east Ukraine show shrapnel from a rocket explosion caused the passenger jet to crash, a Ukrainian security official said Monday.

International investigators "indicated that data from flight recorders show that the reason for the destruction and crash of the plane was massive explosive decompression arising from multiple shrapnel perforations from a rocket explosion," Andriy Lysenko, spokesman for Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, said.

Data from the doomed airliner's black boxes was decrypted in Britain after being handed over to Malaysian officials by pro-Russian rebels controlling the crash site of MH17.

Investigators leading the probe in the Netherlands — which lost 193 citizens on the doomed jet — refused to confirm the latest information from Kiev, saying that they were "waiting to get a more complete idea of what happened."

Kiev and its Western allies have accused insurgents of shooting down the plane, killing all 298 people on board.

The Chibok Abductions: The thief in President Jonathan’s life

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is to try to please everyone" – Bill Cosby

You need to be close to President Goodluck Jonathan to understand him. But understanding a man is not the same as understanding his circumstance(s).   For a man who permanently wears a demure demeanour, but occasionally bursts into laughter and manages a smile, Nigeria's Number One Citizen is a bundle of ambivalence.   This piece will show why an earlier report on this page (GOODLUCK JONATHAN: A President in Need of Help – an encounter inside Aso Rock) ought to have been taken seriously by presidential handlers.   And whereas it should be acknowledged upfront that there are those who neither wishes Jonathan nor Nigeria well, the selfsame President and his team would need to re-discover themselves so that Nigeria, under their watch, would not continue this shambolic run.

Ebola: Arik Air suspends flights to Liberia, Sierra Leone

Lagos—Arik Air yesterday said it had suspended flight operations to Liberia and Sierra Leone following the death last week, of a Liberian, Mr. Patrick Sawyer, of the dreaded Ebola disease, even as it advised that all inbound flights into Nigeria from any of the Ebola affected countries be immediately suspended by the Federal Government.

Sawyer flew into Nigeria onboard Asky Airline to attend an ECOWAS conference in Calabar, Cross River State.
This came as First Consultants Medical Centre Ltd, Obalende, Lagos, the hospital where the first Ebola victim in Nigeria died, said it was under serious pressure to release the victim.

Confirming the suspension of the flights yesterday, Arik Air General Manager, Public Relations, Mr Ola Adebanji said "As a result of the first Ebola virus death officially confirmed in Lagos, and involving a Liberian national who flew on a foreign (non-Nigerian) based airline from Monrovia via Lome (Togo) into the city last week, Arik Air will be suspending operations into Monrovia (Liberia) and Freetown (Sierra Leone) effective July 28, 2014."

"The suspension will be in force until further notice. This decision is a pre-cautionary measure aimed at safeguarding the precious lives of Nigerians. Arik Air is taking this important measure as a concerned corporate citizen bearing interest of Nigerians at heart."

According to him, the airline acknowledged steps the Federal Government of Nigeria was currently taking to prevent the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, saying "however, we feel compelled  to take the decision to immediately suspend services into the two Ebola affected countries due to  our interest in the well being of Nigerians."

He explained that at the early stages of the development across West Africa, the Gambian government took the proactive decision to stop airlines, including Arik Air, from bringing inbound passengers from Monrovia, Conakry, Guinea, and Freetown into Banjul.

Adebanji added "Hence, in line with the actions taken by the Gambian Government, we trust, and are confident, that the Federal Government of Nigeria shall take all steps necessary to control and curtail the spread of the virus. We humbly suggest that as a first step, all inbound flights into Nigeria, originating from any of the Ebola-affected countries, be immediately suspended."

Meanwhile, First Consultants Medical Centre Ltd, Obalende, Lagos, the hospital where the first Ebola victim in Nigeria died, has spoken out on the circumstances surrounding the incident.
In a statement by the hospital's Chief Consultant/ Medical Director, Dr B.N. Ohiaeri and the Senior Consultant Physician and Endocrinologist, Dr. A.S. Adadevoh, it said the hospital was under pressure to release the victim.

According to the statement, "He was fully conscious and gave his clinical history and told us he was a senior diplomat from Liberia. We refused to let him out of the hospital in spite of intense pressure as we were told he was a senior ECOWAS official who had an important role to play at the ECOWAS convention in Calabar. The initial test result from the Lagos University Teaching Hospital laboratory indicated a signal of possible Ebola Virus Disease, but required confirmation.

"We then took the further step of reaching out to senior officials in the office of the Secretary of Health of the United States of America, who promptly assisted us with contacts at the Centre for Disease Control and World Health Organisation regional laboratory centre in Senegal. Jointly working with the state, Federal agencies and international agencies, we were able to obtain confirmation of Ebola Virus Disease (Zaire strain). The gentleman subsequently died on Friday at 6.50am (25th July, 2014)."

Following the death of the patient, the duo said there was "orderly temporary shutdown of the hospital with immediate evacuation of in-house patients. This was followed by appropriate professional removal of the body and its incineration under WHO guidelines witnessed by all appropriate agencies," noting that the reopening of the hospital would also be in accordance with WHO guidelines.

The statement added that in keeping with World Health Organisation guideline, the hospital had been shut down briefly for full decontamination.

Meanwhile, a cross section of Lagos residents has urged the state and federal governments to spread their dragnet nationwide to ensure that all the co- passengers aboard the Asky aircraft that brought the victim to Nigeria are quickly located and screened for the virus.

Speaking to Vanguard at the departure wing of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, a middle-aged man, who identified himself as Olukayode, said it was not good enough for the co-passengers to have been allowed to go away without ensuring their health had not been compromised.
Another passenger who pleaded anonymity said screening of people should have been adopted earlier to stop the spread of the disease.‎

Buhari masterminded his own convoy bombing- Dokubo-Asari

Militant leader, Dokubo-Asari, who is also the leader of Niger Delta Peoples Salvation Force, NDPSF, yesterday, exploded, saying Buhari masterminded the attack on himself.

He lashed out at the former head of state, saying he plotted to kill many innocent Nigerians in the explosion.

The former President of Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, of the Niger Delta region, who spoke to journalists  in Abuja, said Buhari and his group would fail in their conspiracy and desperation to take over power from President Goodluck Jonathan.

Claiming he knew the erstwhile Nigerian leader so well, the former militant leader said Buhari was not known to be driven in a bullet-proof car prior to the incident, alleging that the use of an armoured jeep in his motorcade started recently which confirmed his stand.

Female suicide bomber, 2 others die in Kano blast

KANO – Three people were feared dead and ten others injured when a female suicide bomber blew herself up at the NNPC mega station located along Eastern by – pass in Kano,Monday morning.
Details later.

This attack is coming just a day after a bomb explosion killed at least five people in Kano State,

Today's explosion occurred near an NNPC mega station, Hotoro Quarters, along Maiduguri Road.

The casualty is yet to be ascertained. The Nigerian Police confirmed the Monday morning explosion via its twitter page. It advised residents to stay clear of the scene.

All Africa Challenge: 3 lady golfers represent Nigeria in Kenya

Nigeria is being represented by three lady golfers at the ongoing 2014 All Africa Challenge taking place in Kenya.

The three golfers include Rachel Danjuma from the IBB Golf and Country Club, Abuja, Alaba Adetunji of the Ikeja Golf Club and Faith Gaya of Ibori Golf and Country Club, Asaba.

The team is led by the President of the Lady Golfers Association of Nigeria, Margaret Actoh.

Speaking from Cairo, Actoh said that Nigeria's chances are bright as the golfers were doing well on the course.

"We have a very bright chance of winning the tournament. We are well placed to win the overall title as we are represented by the best from our land."

She lamented the lack of sponsorship for women golf as efforts to solicit corporate support for her association from companies in Nigeria have been abortive.

"Most companies have not shown interest in what we are doing. But we are here representing the country," she said.

Body of Ebola victim cremated in Lagos

The body of the first victim of Ebola Virus Disease in Nigeria,   who died in Lagos on Friday, has been cremated.

Details of the cremation were not available at press time but Sunday Vanguard gathered that the event was witnessed by officials of the Lagos State Ministry of Health and the  Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, led by its Project Director, Professor Abdulsalam Nasidi, among others.

The decision to cremate the body of the victim, it was further gathered,   may not be unconnected with the deadly nature of the Ebola Virus which is known to be easily transmissible from human to human during handling of corpses of victims.

The World Health Organisation recommends that in communities where there is an outbreak of Ebola, appropriate containment measures including burial of the dead should be properly handled.

While stating that people who die from Ebola should be promptly and safely buried, WHO notes that cremation,  which is the application of high temperature to reduce bodies to basic chemical components (ashes), is ideal for safe disposal of bodies of persons who die during outbreaks of highly infectious diseases such as Ebola Virus in order to minimise further transmission.

In 2013 the Lagos State Government introduced its Voluntary Cremation Law under which  a person may signify interest to be cremated at death or a deceased’s family members who must attain the age of 18 years, can decide to have the corpse cremated.

Under the law  the state government can also cremate unclaimed corpses in its mortuaries after a period of time and the ashes disposed  after a 14-day notice with  approval of the Commissioner for Health.

Sallah: Tight security in Abuja

Ahead Eid-El-Fitri celebrations and amid terror alert, security was, at the weekend, tightened in Abuja, the FCT.
Sunday Vanguard investigations revealed that the water-tight security was provided by the anti-bomb squad from  the army, the police, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Vehicle Inspection Officers, VIO, the State Security Services, SSS, and the  Join Task Force, JTF. 

The officers were deployed on Monday and are to remain in strategic places during and after the Sallah. The move was  an indication of how badly security has deteriorated in the northern and central Nigeria, where Boko Haram has been blamed for more than 12,000 deaths since 2010. Already, the Federal Government has declared tomorrow and
Tuesday as public holidays to mark the Sallah. Movements within the city are also being strictly monitored by security forces  whilst the army has directed some hot spots markets, recreation centres and worship places and hotels in Abuja to comply with counter-improvised explosive devices, IEDs, measures or be shut down. In the aftermath of the Banex Plaza bombing, which claimed scores of lives and damaged property, security agencies in the FCT had directed business concerns, plazas, markets and shopping centres to put in place counter terror measures. Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier-General Olajide Laleye, said: “The Nigerian Army conducted a vulnerability survey of the Federal Capital Territory and asked certain high risk spots to emplace a series of counter-IED measures.

“They are to comply and if they refused, they will be shut until they comply. You will notice that Banex and Emab Plazas have complied and are opened”. Security agencies, penultimate week,  uncovered plans by insurgents to attack busy spots in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). According to security sources, the terror targets were Utako Market, Area 1 Shopping Centre, DeiDei Market, Garki Market, Wuse Market, Farmers Market, Maitama, Area 3 Motor and Kubwa Market, among others. Intelligence also revealed that some insurgents planned to infiltrate major markets in Abuja disguising as petty traders, wheel barrow pushers, butchers, and cab drivers. Sunday Vanguard went to some of those major markets and indeed there was red-alert and apprehension as the main gates were shut while only the gates to the car parks were left open and those going in scanned. The chairman of Igbo traders at Utako Market, Nelson Ewemodu, said the usual festivity mood associated with Sallah was absent as people were afraid of trooping to markets for shopping.

He said, “We don’t know that there is Sallah. The only thing now is that God should intervene on the issue of Boko Haram.. “Our prayers is for customers to come because everybody is running away from the markets due to fear of Boko Haram. As things are now, rather for prices of goods to go up, they are coming down because we need to sell our goods. “There are threats of Boko Haram everywhere in the markets and
everyone is vigilant”. Also, a woman fish seller in the same market, Hajia Salamotu, said traders do not have rest of mind because of the fear of Bomo Haram. “We are scared of bomb. You can see security people everywhere in this market, yet traders and customers are afraid” In Garki International Market, the story is not different. Suleiman, a legal officer in the market, said the market is tightly secured with security officers all and around the market. “The fear of bombing markets caused so much anxiety amongst Abuja residents and since no one knows when and where the
terrorists would strike next, the best option is to tread with caution”, she said. “As you can see, if you are entering the market, we have converted the joint entrance and exit gates into separate entrance and exits.  It is one of the security measures taken by the management. “We have rules on ground.  The market opens by 7 am and closes
by 6 pm; so the issue on ground that once it is the market closing time, no one is allowed in.  If you are in the market, you can leave, but no one is allowed to go in after 6pm”. In the old Garki Market, Baba Aminu, an IT consultant, said  security
equipment was in place for the checking of  traders and customers.

Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Mohammed Abubakar, has directed all Zonal Assistant Inspectors-General of Police and Command Commissioners of Police to ensure increased security surveillance, patrols and tactical police presence on major
highways, places of worship, recreation parks and other sensitive, strategic and vulnerable places within their areas of responsibility during Sallah.
He directed commissioners of Police in the state to adequately deploy their personnel to guarantee free-flow of traffic and safe passage for travelers and other road users. Highway patrol teams,
working in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies, were directed to take adequate measures in preventing road accidents and rendering assistance to travelers particularly those in distress.

38 killed as Libya army, Islamists clash in Benghazi

At least 38 people, mostly soldiers, were killed in 24 hours of fierce fighting between the Libyan army and Islamists in the eastern city of Benghazi, officials said Sunday.

A military source said the clashes broke out on Saturday when Islamist groups launched an assault on the headquarters of a special unit near the city centre, causing casualties among forces
defending their barracks.

FG procures 40 attack helicopters with night vision

Aftermathof the determination by the Jonathan administration to eliminate terrorism in the North East and smoke out insurgents from the hideouts, the federal government has ordered the procurement of 40 modern attack helicopters with capabilities for night operations and sound proof technology.

CAS, his entourage and one of the survivors (Flight Lieutenant NM Halilu) commiserating with Warrant Officer Augustine Nwanonen

Saturday Vanguard gathered that the attack helicopters which are being procured from the United states and Russia, would not only shore up the inventory of the Nigerian Airforce as a result of depletion following crashes and grounding of some of the existing helicopters due to maintenance challenges, but would also enhance the distance and reach capability of the NAF in the fight against insurgency.

It was further gathered that some of the aircraft will arrive in the country as early as next month while the remaining will be received certainly before the end of the year to boost the Nigerian Airforce.

Saturday Vanguard had reported early in the year that pilots of the Nigerian Airforce prosecuting air attacks on Boko Haram terrorists, expressed the belief that if such attack aircraft, with sound proof capabilities were made available to the NAF, the issue of smoking out Boko Haram terrorists will be a thing of the past saying that when the present ones in the fleet were approaching their targets, the noise usually gave them out.

Also, military and other security forces have expressed frustration that their inability to storm the notorious Sambisa Forest where Boko Haram militants are keeping the abducted Chibok secondary school girls and also serving as operational headquarters of the group was because noisy attack helicopters would enable the terrorists use their surface to air weaponry in the possession.

Government’s action in procuring the equipment according to sources is that security operatives are not only aware of the locations of the girls but are also closely monitoring the way the girls are being moved around but are afraid of the backlash should any harm befall the girls in the course of a forced rescue.

The result of past incidences during attempts to rescue British and Italian nationals in Sokoto and SETRACO workers which boomerang were some of the reasons cited by security forces as to why they have been reluctant in storming the forest and rescuing the girls.

Said a security source, “Oh I wish we could have a consensus of opinion from Nigerians that we should storm the forest and rescue the girls. The day Nigerians decides that enough is enough in one voice, to clear the forest will take less than one week”.