Nigerian soldiers recapture Bama, kill 50 Boko Haram militants

Nigerian troops have recaptured Bama in Borno State from the Boko Haram insurgents and blocked the Islamist militants’ advance towards the state capital, Maiduguri.

The soldiers equally killed no fewer than 50 of the insurgents, according to a senior military official, who spoke on Monday.


According to him, government forces are also fighting a southwards push into neighbouring Adamawa State by the terrorist group, which has recently departed from its usual hit-and-run tactics and started to seize towns and territory.

On Monday, the Defence Headquarters said more than 50 Boko Haram fighters were killed with the Nigerian troops recording three casualties.

“Over 50 terrorists died yesterday (Sunday) afternoon as troops raided their hideout in Kawuri before setting out on a planned attack on Konduga,” it said in a statement released on its website.

It added, “One fabricated artillery gun, two anti-aircraft gun, an armoured vehicle and assorted types of ammunition were captured in the process. Some hardware, weapons, food items and personal belongings were also destroyed in the raid.

“One officer and two soldiers were seriously wounded.”

The government source said insurgents had been driven from Bama, which is southeast of Maiduguri.

Government warplanes have bombed and strafed the militants after they stormed Bama last week.

“Bama has been recaptured by the soldiers and I can confirm to you Maiduguri is safe,” the official in Abuja toldReuters.

A market trader from Bama, Babagana Modu, also confirmed that soldiers were in control of the town, as government planes struck at Boko Haram positions in the surrounding area.

El-Zakzaky rejects Jonathan’s apology for the 'killing of his three sons'

Frontline Islamic cleric Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky has rejected President Goodluck Jonathan’s apology for the killing of his three sons and 31 other members of his movement.

El-Zakzaky is the leader of the Shiite Islamic Movement in Nigeria. Members of the group were on a procession on July 25 in his Zaria, Kaduna State base to mark the annual Quds Day when they clashed with security men at the P2 Roundabout in the University town.

At the end of the clash, 34 members of the sect lay dead; 106 were injured.

Yesterday, the cleric told visiting Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, in Zaria that he expected nothing but justice from the government.

He said President Goodluck Jonathan called him on the telephone to apologise to him on the killings but he rejected it.

“You don’t commit murder and say sorry,” El-Zakzaky said, adding:  “If that is the case, there is no need for legislation. Whenever one commits a crime, all he needs to do is to say sorry. Why do we have the police, courts and prisons? These murderers are known. I am not blaming the entire military, but I know the killers. They are individuals who answer names. I know their commander is a Lieutenant Colonel who personally shot my children. He stamped on their bodies and stabbed them with knives. This is clearly a crime committed.”

Zakzaky said it is only when criminals are punished that the society acknowledges that a crime was truly committed. “My children were identified as my children before they were tortured to death. This is a crime. I can’t imagine how callous and cruel one can be to murder three children simply because he hates their father. They did nothing,” he said.

However, he said, the Islamic Movement had cause to rejoice over what happened to its members, as they were killed on the path of God. “You as a Christian believe that Jesus Christ was killed for no offence, but just because he was good. This has been the fate of all good people, such as the Prophets. This is a certificate on our own little way that these people were good, but the corrupt society feels that we should not exist.”

Zakzaky praised the NHRC boss for the visit and the concern shown, maintaining that the movement would not fold its arms and accept what happened without any effort, but will seek redress through the right channel.

Odinkalu pledged that the Commission would seek all legal avenues and employ all legal mechanisms to ensure that the law takes its course over the killings.

Odinkalu added:  “We are all children of one country and one Nigeria. None of us chose to be here, but we are all planted here by God for a reason. No parent wants to lose three children at a time. These children could be children of any parent. But it got to a point in this country where losing people no longer matters, where young people can die and nobody cares.

“We will ensure justice is done without undue interference from any quarters, as vanguards of citizens in their demand for justice and fair play. We pray God for the repose of the souls of those killed and give to Sheikh the fortitude and strength to bear the irreparable loss.”

Zakzaky said the perpetrators of the act intended to isolate the Islamic Movement as another “Boko Haram” to create hatred between the group and the public.

“This is why they are referring to us as ‘Shi’ite sect’. We are never a sect, and will never be one. I personally do not recognise a sect; we have never called ourselves a sect. we have never been a sect and will never be. All my life, I never even recognised a sect,” he said.

The Sheikh went on: “They indiscriminately and sporadically shot at everyone and everything, including nearby banks and shops, smashed cars. We also realised that the soldiers used special tiny bullets on the protesters that were not easily detected during first aid treatment on the injured.

“An announcement had already been made that any person injured and discharged from hospital, should go back for cross examination.”

El-Zakzaky said the military created the Boko Haram sect.

“It has become obvious that the military has created a faceless and anonymous sect called Boko Haram.   “We have never seen a Boko Haram member nor their schools, mosques or newspapers. All we hear of them are bomb blast and videos issuing threat of attack, promoted by the government as the only source of information.”

Please pray for my wife - Oyakhilome tells church members

Founder of the Believers’ Love World Incorporated, popularly known as Christ Embassy, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, has urged members of his congregation to pray for his estranged wife, Anita.

Breaking his silence on the allegations of adultery reportedly levelled against him by her, he described them as “frivolous charges.”



Oyakhilome also lamented that the media had been writing all sorts of “stupid things” about him and his marriage.

Noting that Jesus Christ was also accused of different allegations during his lifetime, Oyakhilome asked Nigerians to refrain from unfairly criticising him.

He was quoted online sources while giving a sermon in his church on Sunday.

He said, “You don’t know who a man of God is. I don’t go in that direction. I wasn’t accused of the things you said, nor did I commit those stupid things that you said and I don’t need to go into that level in such discussions. Jesus Christ was accused by many – a lot of frivolous charges. There will always be those who would like for it to be true. But you know, in spite of the accusations against Jesus, it didn’t change who he was. It didn’t change him.

“There are preachers and there are men of God. I am not a preacher; I am a man of God and I go in the way I’m asked to go. It may cause some troubles with individuals but that’s not because I have done something wrong and when it comes to Reverend Anita, what I will say to you is ‘pray for her’.

It was also gathered that Oyakhilome, who appeared visibly disturbed during his first few minutes on stage, acknowledged that divorce was unbiblical but suggested he could consider the option should his wife insist on it.

He recalled that Jesus passed through similar travails and eventually overcame. He said that although so many people were making mockery of him, he would remain steadfast and not lose focus.

“Don’t act like those people. If you are married to a man of God, it doesn’t make you automatically mature. You can make mistakes; you can do something that is wrong. But some people expect the wife of a minister to definitely be at the level of that minister and so they may be looked upon and the expectation may be like that, but it’s a positional thing.

“If a man of God is married, it doesn’t automatically mean that the wife of a man of God is therefore a woman of God. That’s not the way it is in the Bible. That’s why you don’t really find the wives of men of God mentioned in the Bible. How many of them? Who was Peter’s wife, did you ever know her name? You never find that out. Who was John’s wife? Did you ever read the name? What about all the other Apostles? How many of their names are written in the Bible. You never find their names.”

“You have to understand something about a man of God. A man of God is not just someone who worships God or preaches God. A man of God is handpicked by God, set on course by God. If you study the scriptures, you will not find one man of God go against God, sinning against God.

“The only things you might find will be a man of God, maybe in two different kinds of ways. Moses, for example; when he struck the rock twice, [he] was provoked by the anger of the people. [It was] not because he wanted to do something against the Lord.

“No man of God does something against the Lord. “Are you hearing me? A man of God is set on a course; there is a type of life that he is given. Then you have a young man, a young prophet; he wasn’t named; he 

Obasanjo’s son shot by Boko Haram members

Boko Haram militants attacked a platoon led by the son of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, shooting him today. He sustained serious injuries to his legs and was being transported to the hospital at the time of this report.


Adeboye Obasanjo, an army engineer, was a Lieutenant Colonel at the 3rd Division in Jos, Plateau State.

He and his platoon were engaged with Boko Haram militants at Baza, which is the village of the General Officer Commanding of the 3rd division when the incident took place. The Lieutenant Agwu of the 234 battalion, GOC of the 3rd Division, Major Gen JS Zaruwa and Colonel Victor Ebhaleme who serves as the Brigade Commander of the 23rd Army brigade in Yola were all together advancing towards Michika when Boko Haram fighters unleashed the deadly attack on the soldiers. 

Twenty four soldiers in the platoon were reportedly killed by the militants. 

Apart from the dead soldiers, the army also lost an armored tank to the militants.

However a highly reliable security source said that Adeboye was injured in the leg by the insurgents during the encounter. He is an army engineer at the 3rd Division in Jos, Plateau State.

The source said that the former President’s son was being treated at a military facility which identity was not revealed for security reasons.

“He was shot by Boko Haram in the battle to reclaim Michika from the insurgents. But there is no cause for alarm as he is responding to treatment,” he added.

A top military source confirmed the shooting of Adeboye.

A family friend of Obasanjo, Mallam Mohammed Kebbi, told BBC Hausa Service that “Col. Adeboye, son of Obasanjo, was shot by the insurgents in Bazza on their (platoon) way to Michika.”

Adeboye married Daisy Nyada in February 2008 at the Hilltop mansion residence of his father in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

During the Nigerian Civil War, Adeboye’s father (Obasanjo) commanded the Army’s 3 Marine Commando Division that took Owerri, effectively bringing an end to the civil war.

As a result of the attack, the army has moved sensitive weapons from Mubi to the Brigade headquarters in Yola leaving Mubi vulnerable to attack. The town of Mubi has practically been deserted following the closure of schools and massive retreat of soldiers from the city. 

The former president is currently traveling in Singapore according to family sources.




Nigerian troops attack Boko Haram with fighter jets and helicopters

Meanwhile, soldiers launched an offensive on Sunday night against Boko Haram insurgents in their bid to recapture Michika in Adamawa State.

Security sources told our correspondents that the battle, which continued on Monday forced more residents of the town to flee to Yola.

The insurgents, who overran Michika and Uba on Sunday, had on Saturday taken over Gulak, Bama and Gwoza in Borno State.

It was learnt that more troops and tanks were deployed from the military formation in Yola to complement the effort of those engaged in the battle to recapture Michika.

One of the sources said that another set of troops deployed from military formations within Adamawa State and other parts of the North-East, successfully took over Gulak from the insurgents.

Investigations revealed that Mararaba and Uba were also recaptured.

The source said that some soldiers from Borno State were involved in the battle for the liberation of Uba, a border town between Adamawa and Borno states.

He said that the insurgents fled Uba because the soldiers attacked from the Adamawa and Borno sides of the border community.

The source added that fighter jets and helicopters featured prominently in the encounters between the military and the insurgents.

The Fighter jets, according to him, bombed the hideouts of the insurgents while foot soldiers attacked their locations near the Michika LGA secretariat.

He said that the troops from Borno and Adamawa states blocked many of the routes used by the insurgents to enter into Cameroon.

The source added, “I can confirm to you that troops are taking on the insurgents. They have not yet retaken Michika, but a serious operation is going on there.

“They have taken Uba and Gulak. Soldiers from Borno and Adamawa states were involved in the operation in Uba. You know that it is a border community between the two states.

“As we are talking now, the soldiers are taking on the insurgents in Mararaba which is between Michika and Mubi. The soldiers have also blocked most of their routes to Cameroon while the Air Force is carrying out aerial bombardment.”

It was also learnt that the rush by residents to leave the affected communities resulted in a sharp increase in transport fares.

For instance, those fleeing Mubi to Yola paid as much as N3, 500 for a journey of N1000.

Investigations also revealed that ground operation for the liberation of Bama had not been launched even though the Air Force had continued aerial attacks on the area.

The Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, could not be reached for comment on the confrontation between the troops and the insurgents in Adamawa State as the calls to his mobile telephone line did not connect.

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Islamic Caliphate: Boko Haram expand territory, seize more towns in Northern Nigeria

The radical Islamist sect, Boko Haram on Sunday continued its expansionist drive by overrunning Michika and Uba in Adamawa State.

The capture of the two communities brings to 13, the number of communities now controlled by the sect in the North East. The others are Gwoza, Buni Yadi, Gamboru Ngala, Damboa, Marte, Bama, Bara, Banki, Gulak, Dikwa and Madagali.



News of the capture of Michika and Uba coincided with lamentation on Sunday by the Secretary to the Borno State Government, Amb. Baba Jidda, that most parts of Borno State had been taken over by Boko Haram.

A security source revealed that the sect which took over Gulak on Friday night, moved from there to Uba.

He added that when the soldiers on guard saw the insurgents arriving in over 50 pick -up vans and hundreds of motorcycles, they retreated because they were outnumbered.

The source also said that the arms and ammunition in possession of the insurgents were superior to those held by the soldiers.

The insurgents, it was learnt, moved from Uba to Michika, which is the hometown of a former Lagos State military administrator and Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship aspirant, Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.)

It was gathered on Sunday that they also headed for Mubi, the host community to the Adamawa State University.

A source, who confided in one of correspondents, said that the military later deployed fighter jets and helicopters in the areas to chase out the insurgents .

He added that eight trucks carrying some troops were sighted going to the troubled areas.

It was further gathered that the Adamawa State Acting Governor, Alhaji Adamu Fintiri, on learning that many of the residents of the troubled communities were fleeing, dispatched six luxury buses to move them to Yola.

Our source said that the insurgents, who were firing into the air, were advising the people not to flee because they had only come to engage the military in gun battle.

He said, “The Boko Haram members are now in Uba and Michika, the headquarters of Michika Local Government Area.

“The insurgents who were moving in over 50 hillux vans and hundreds of motorcycles, were wielding assorted weapons.

“When they started advancing from Madagali to Uba, the soldiers who were in Uba withdrew to Michika and they(insurgents) headed for Michika and Mubi.

“There was no shootout between them and the soldiers even though eight trucks carrying troops were sighted on the road leading to those communities. Air Force fighter jets were also said to have pursued them.

“Several people fled the communities to avoid being killed by insurgents.”

One of the residents of Michika, who is now taking refuge in Hong, Joseph Kwaya, said, “We left the town based on the instruction of the military. As I am talking to you, majority of the people in the area have left out of fear.

“The situation is very bad and we pray God to intervene and bring an end to the activities of Boko Haram.”

It was not only the people of Michika, Mubi and Uba that fled, their neighbours in Bazza and Marraban also took to their heels on learning that the insurgents were advancing.

A source,who did not want his name in print, said many people from Uba and Marraban Mubi were also seen trekking long distances to find vehicles that could take them to Hong and Yola.

A resident of Hong, Ibrahim Danjil, said, “Our town is now full of people who fled from Uba, Michika, Madagali and Bazza.”

Efforts to contact the Chief Press Secretary to the Acting Governor, Solomon Kumangar, for comments proved abortive.

One of our correspondents also made repeated efforts to get the Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen Chris Olukolade, to comment on the increasing activities of insurgents in Adamawa State without success.

Boko Haram: Bodies litter Bama town

Bodies remain littered on the streets of a northern Nigerian town two days after it was seized by militant Islamists, a lawmaker has told the BBC.



Boko Haram fighters were patrolling the streets of Bama, preventing people from burying the dead, Ahmed Zanna said.

On Wednesday, the state government denied the town had fallen.

Officials said about 26,000 people had been displaced by fighting in Bama, a key town in the battle for control of Nigeria’s north-eastern Borno state.

Earlier this week, the Nigeria Security Network (NSN) think-tank said the group had made “lightning territorial gains” in recent months, raising fears that the country could disintegrate like Syria and Iraq, where the Islamic State (IS) rebel group has declared a caliphate.

Boko Haram has also said it has set up a caliphate in the areas it controls – it is not clear if the two groups are allied.

Mr. Zanna, a senator in Borno, said the humanitarian situation in Bama was “terrible” and there had been a “lot of killings” in the town.

“So many bodies litter the streets, and people are not allowed to even go and bury the dead ones. So the situation is getting worse and worse,” Mr Zanna told the BBC’s Newsday programme after speaking to a resident who fled the town.

Boko Haram has captured a string of towns in northern-eastern Nigeria in recent months, fuelling concern that it could advance towards the main city, Maiduguri.

Mr Zanna said it would be “catastrophic” if Boko Haram launched an assault on Maiduguri, which has a population of more than two million.

“I’m begging the government to send more troops and armoury to Maiduguri,” he said.

“Boko Haram do come overwhelmingly because they recruited en masse in the villages [in Borno state],” he added.

REVEALED: Boko Haram, Civilian JTF forcefully recruiting children

An international network of human rights and humanitarian organisations, Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, has called on the Federal Government and the United Nations to investigate recruitment and abuse of children in the North-East by both Boko Haram insurgents and self-defence militia known as Civillian Joint Task Force.



According to the report of the group’s investigation into the Boko Haram insurgency released on Thursday, both warring parties in North-East have subjected boys and girls to forced recruitment, detention, attacks at school, abductions, rape, and other forms of sexual violence.

It noted that the gravity and scale of these violations “warrant urgent action from the Nigerian Government, United Nations, and other child protection actors.”

The 64-page report, entitled “Who Will Care for Us? Grave Violations against Children in Northeastern Nigeria,” detailed grave violations by some parties to the conflict since December 2012 and provided recommendations on how to better protect children.

One of Watchlist’s researchers, Janine Morna, said, “While the abduction of over 200 girls in Chibok, Borno State, has shed some light on how children are affected by the conflict in the North-East, most abuses are still poorly documented, understood, and addressed by key actors. Children as young as 13 are being recruited by both sides of the conflict and have nowhere to turn.”

Though the study considered the activities of all the actors in the ongoing conflict in the North-East, it noted that of particular concern is the forced recruitment of children for spying and assistance during armed attacks by Boko Haram, and the Civilian JTF, which was formed in mid-2013 in Borno State

Austrian player banned for 70 matches for headbutting referee

An Austrian footballer has been handed a record 70-match ban for headbutting a referee during a fifth division match, the Tyrolean Football Federation confirmed on Thursday.

“The 70-match suspension is without precedent to our knowledge but it seems proportional given the gravity of the offence,” said federation spokesman Horst Scherl.


The incident occurred last Saturday during a match between SK Rum and SPG Innsbruck West in the Tyrol region of western Austria.

SK Rum midfielder Ismail Gundüz headbutted the referee as he was about to receive a second yellow card after 86 minutes while his team were trailing 3-2.

“The referee had to be hospitalised, his lip exploded, and the match was interrupted,” said Scherl.
“The disciplinary commission decided on a 70-match suspension, all parties, with the exception of the player, who disputes the facts, agreeing the intentional aspect of the gesture,” he continued.

The 26-year-old player was also suspended by his club who were fined 257 euros ($332).

“We researched and the heaviest sanction that we found was 46 matches, in Bavaria. But the sanction could have been heavier: according to our statutes, a player could get up to 108 matches,” added Scherl.

I did not commit adultery - Pastor Chris Oyakhilome

The founder of Christ Embassy, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, has denied the allegation of adultery in the divorce suit between him and his wife, Anita.


His counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), described the allegation as “wicked and malicious”, saying it was intended to bring his person and the church “to public opprobrium and ridicule.”

Pinheiro, in a statement yesterday said the adultery allegation “currently circulating in the media is nothing but a complete distortion of facts in the pending proceedings in the United Kingdom.”

The statement advised media establishments to verify the authenticity of their stories before publication, saying unless they desist from making such further publications, they would take appropriate legal actions against them to protect Oyakhilome’s reputation and that of the church.

The statement titled: “In the matter of malicious falsehood against Rev. Chris Oyakhilome and the Christ Embassy Church” said: “The attention of our client, Rev. Chris Oyakhilome and the church, the Christ Embassy, has been drawn to the wave of false, malicious and fabricated stories being published in the print and electronic media about his person, the church and a matrimonial cause between him and his wife.

“Our client is seriously concerned that under the guise of reporting a divorce proceeding involving him, publishers resorted to an unjustified and malicious attack on his reputation for reasons not unconnected with the respective publishers’ selfish motives of prospect of materials and financial advantage attendant to the wide circulation their distorted and fabricated stories would enjoy.

“The publishers decided to fabricate facts including (but not limited) to allegation of adultery against our client, with the wicked and malicious intention of bringing his person and the church to public opprobrium and ridicule.

“It is our client’s instructions to inform the public and particularly warn the concerned media houses that the news or story circulating in the media is nothing but a complete distortion of the facts in the pending proceedings in the United Kingdom, to the knowledge of the publishers.