Lagos, Nigeria - The State of Emergency declared on three north eastern States and the following war against insurgency there as well as the burial of literary giant Chinua Achebe were the major stories in Nigeria this week.
The Nigerian government had deployed thousands of troops to Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States after President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in their territories on 14 May, 2013.
'State of Emergency: We‘ve taken over all Boko Haram camps – Defence Hqtrs' was the headline in the VANGUARD on Saturday with the story saying that as the military continued its quest to dislodge the Boko Haram terrorists from the north eastern part of the country, the Defence Headquarters Friday said that soldiers had taken over all the camps where the insurgents operated from in Northern and Central parts of Borno State.
Director of Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, said that troops on the special operations, stormed the notorious Sambisa forest area and rescued six children and three women kidnapped by the terrorists about three weeks ago.
According to Brig.-Gen. Olukolade who was part of a seven-man Assessment Team, led by Maj.-Gen. Lawrence Ngubane, that visited the operation areas in the last three days, the troops were currently combing the vast Sambisa forest which is about 16 square kilometres in size.
Olukolade said that the team discovered during the assessment visit, that most of the Boko Haram camps contained dormitories where the terrorists slept, hospitals, fuel dumps, vehicles, materials for manufacturing Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDS, and vehicles either stolen or snatched.
Explaining that the operation to rid Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states of terrorists was being carried out in phases, he further noted that the exercise was being carried out in accordance with the rules of engagement, as there had been no civilian casualty since the terrorists camps were located either at the outskirts of town, or the Sambisa forest and bushes.
Olukolade said that civilians running across the borders or elsewhere were free to do so provided they were not terrorists, armed or carrying IEDS or ammunition.
VANGUARD's second story on the war was headlined 'Insurgents fight with Libyan weapons – Army'. According to the paper, troops deployed to flush out Boko Haram insurgents from Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, Tuesday encountered intense resistance from sect members who were armed with sophisticated weapons from Libya.
A senior military official said “they (Islamist militants) have been putting up fierce resistance and they are very, very well-armed with weapons from Libya.” He said most of the militants who have waged a bloody four-year battle to create an Islamist state had scattered across the semi-desert borders.
Quoting military sources, the VANGUARD also reported that a renewed military campaign, including aerial bombardments of Boko Haram training camps in the three states declared under emergency rule this month, has led to the capture of almost 200 militants and the death of dozens in a week.
In one raid, a helicopter gunship was hit by anti-aircraft and anti-tank fire, the military sources said.
The TRIBUNE, with the headline 'State of emergency’ll worsen economy — CBN gov', on Wednesday quoted the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Lamido Sanusi, as saying that the state of emergency, declared by President Goodluck Jonathan in the North-East, has the potential to adversely affect economic activities.
The CBN governor, while briefing the media in Abuja, on Tuesday, after the 89th edition of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, noted that the accompanied military operations in that axis would also adversely affect agricultural production and food prices, as well as consumer demand.
The apex bank chief said it had retained lending rate at 12 per cent, noting that the high level of spending for the military operations may increase the rate of inflation, though inflation was said remain at single digit in the next six months.
In its second story on the fight against insurgency, the TRIBUNE, with the headline 'Boko Haram strikes in Borno again, Kills father, son, student', reported that despite emergency rule in the three Northern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, suspected members of the Islamic sect, believed to have escaped from one of the detention camps, have again launched an attack in Maiduguri, killing four people, including a medical student.
Quoting an eyewitness who did not want his name in print, the paper said the incident happened around Pompomari area of the state capital. A trader, Mallam Bitrus Koji; his son, and an almajiri boy working for him were killed in their shop.
It said “The gunmen, who came in a Volkswagen Golf car, called the almajiri boy to bring water for them. When the boy went in, one of the Malam Bitrus’s sons came out and the gunmen asked after his father. When the boy told them that his father was not around, they pushed him into the shop where they met his father seated. They opened fire on him, and then turned to his son and the almajiri boy and killed them too. They killed the three in the shop.'
Other headlines on the war are THISDAY - 'Sanusi: Military Action in North May Fuel Inflation', and PUNCH 'Don’t overspend on military operations, Sanusi warns FG'.
Also reporting under the headline 'US drones spy on Boko Haram', the PUNCH said Nigerian troops fighting Boko Haram insurgents in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states may have been bolstered by United States drones stationed in Niamey, Niger Republic.
A top intelligence official, who declined to be named due to the sensitive nature of the issue, told Saturday PUNCH that US drones had been spying on Boko Haram bases in the forests and plains around Nigeria’s borders with Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
The source said this was part of assistance provided by the US Government, in its bid to destroy terror bases in West and North Africa.
The security official did not, however, give further details of the spying mission as well as other aspects of US military assistance to the campaign against Boko Haram.
Also reported during the week was the burial of Nigeria's literary giant Chinua Achebe, who died at the age of 82 on 21 March, 2013.
Professor Achebe was buried with pomp and pageantry in his hometown of Ogidi in Nigeria's South-eastern Anambra state on Thursday, the culmination of a five-day funeral rites that started on Sunday.
The VANGUARD headline on that story was 'Eulogies, cultural shows, tributes mark Achebe’s exit'. It said that Awka, the capital of the South Eastern Anambra State stood still Wednesday as the body of the literary icon, Professor Chinua Achebe, arrived the state for its final journey to Ogidi, his home town, in Idemili North Local Government Area. His remains were interred later Thursday.
Dignitaries who attended the church service that preceded the burial included President Jonathan, President Mahama, former Nigerian Vice President Alex Ekwueme, Governors of states in the South-east and South-South, including host Gov. Peter Obi of Anambra, ministers and other government officials.
Also in attendance was former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Emeka Anyaoku, as well as a representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Until his death, Prof. Achebe was the David and Marianna Fisher University Professor and Professor of Africana Studies at Brown University in Boston, US.
His most popular book was 'Things Fall Apart', though he wrote many other books.
Pana 25/05/2013
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