In Support of America’s Patriot’s Day on 9/11 (I am a victim), The Nigerian Army Say’s It Has Stepped Up Operations To Wipe Out Boko Haram Terrorists As Mop Up’s Continue In The North East
In Support of America’s Patriot’s Day on 9/11 (I am a victim), The Nigerian Army Say’s It Has Stepped Up Operations To Wipe Out Boko Haram Terrorists As Mop Up’s Continue In The North East
Insider Report By Ben Edokpayi ©
Word Count 1763
#ThankTheSoldiers #ThankAJournalist
https://www.thereporter.com/2006/09/10/remembering-sadie/
Latest Video from the Battlefront.
https://twitter.com/Gen_Buhar/status/1566489164492771336?s=20&t=IsKDdnRE4ZtEYsUNr_l_DQ
And this 2015 Video Interview with Soul of The South TV provides an important and historical perspective.
https://vimeo.com/album/2880052/video/95742167
The War On Terrorism In Nigeria Is The Most Underreported War In The World.
These Insights in 2015 from National Association of Black Journalist members Ben Edokpayi in Lagos and Tracie Powell, John Knight Fellow at Stanford are more relevant today than when this article was first published in Tell.
Original Title! Insurgency Problem Does Not Augur Well for the Elections
By Ben Edokpayi
While Nigerians prepare for crucial elections next month (This was first published in 2015) the insurgency scourge in the Northeast, which is now a daily crisis situation ( the intensity has not changed) is certainly a big cause for concern.
According to Amnesty International as many as 5,000 people have been displaced by recent attacks in the area.
Even more alarming is the number of people reportedly killed by the insurgents in attacks between January 2 and 7 this year. An Amnesty International report, based on satellite images, indicating that more than 2,000 people have been killed indiscriminately in recent attacks have been disputed by the Nigerian Army, who put their own figures at 150.
The situation is further compounded with the recent pronouncement by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that voting may not take place in the hard-hit states of Yobe, Adamawa and Borno; and the disenfranchisement of voters in those areas will certainly cast a dark shadow over the elections.
It is encouraging that President Goodluck Jonathan recently paid a whirlwind visit (his first since the abduction of more than 200 girls from Chibok) to the area to boost the morale of Nigerian troops and refugees dislodged by the insurgents.
While thanking and pledging support to the military in their effort to contain the militants, the president also sought to address the concerns of the displaced.
“Terrorism and insurgency have been very traumatic for all of us. I feel particularly disturbed when I hear of our people being displaced within their own country,” said the president, adding that “I assure you and other displaced persons that the Government is working very hard to ensure that you do not remain in these camps for too long. I know that many of your houses have been destroyed. We will assist you financially so that you can rebuild your homes and return to them gradually.”
Well, this sounds encouraging coming from the president. But there is still a general consensus that the government has not paid enough attention to this problem.
And the interesting angle to this is that the outcry for a concerted action and attention to this matter seems to be louder from outside the country, albeit from sections with stronger ties to the motherland.
Because of the apathy by sections of the International media to this story, I received a strident message recently from a Tracie Powell, a colleague in the U.S. based National Association of Black Journalists, seeking clarification to a lot of issues concerning the intractable insurgency in Nigeria’s north east.
“There’s high interest here in a story about the recent killings in Nigeria at the hands of Boko Haram with the election looming,” said Powell in one of several passionate exchanges. She continued “…what the heck is going on and how all of this is being covered by Nigerian media outlets. I really would like to see something soon; something that mentions how much US coverage Charlie Hebdo is getting, yet what’s happening in Nigeria is far worse and there’s hardly any coverage.”
In another exchange in a reaction to my assertion that there is a gray area between fact, fiction and rumors in Nigeria’s northeast, Powell wrote, “May I ask, what is fact and what is fiction? Are the reports true about the massacres? Are journalists on the ground able to report freely and without fear? What are some of the challenges they face? How are journalists getting to the truth of what’s going on? Are the reports exaggerated due to the looming election? Is the election the cause, in part, to some of the violent reports we’re getting in the U.S., in other words, are the attacks, and the publicity they are receiving, part of a concerted effort to push Goodluck Jonathan out of office? Are politicians now being more cooperative with journalists than they are immediately after the Chibok Girls’ Kidnapping? How are journalists getting at the truth? What’s the security and safety situation like for journalists?”
And herein lies one of the greatest ironies in media coverage of a modern catastrophe; reminding one of how the Rwandan genocide played out in the west.
Interestingly, the Charlie Hebdo story has obviously gotten more mileage in the international media than a story which involves the killing of hundreds and displacement of more than 5,000; which tells you how biased the media is when it comes to reporting on this crisis in Nigeria’s northeast, and Africa.
Discussions between this reporter and several Nigerian high-profile journalists revealed that there is certainly a gray area between fact and fiction when it comes to getting the true picture of what is actually happening in that region.
According to the journalists, the area presents a logistical nightmare for reporting because it is a difficult terrain where communication is virtually impossible because of extensive damage done to communication facilities and telecommunication masts by the insurgents. Also because of the absence of a program by the Nigerian Army to allow for embedded journalists it is always difficult for Nigerian journalists to get the real facts of the matter. One journalist even disclosed how they have been asked to come up with as much as 250,000 naira to be escorted into the area to report on the incidents.
I know a major outlet like CNN may not have a problem with such a demand, but tell me in this era of austerity which Nigerian media house has that kind of money to give up every time a story breaks in that area.”
The Nigerian Army in this dispatch say’s it has stepped up operations on terror groups.
JUST IN : Nigerian Airforce in a drone precision strike has killed another notorious bandit kingpin ,Abdulkareem Boss alongside 27 of his foot soldiers in Rugu forest of Katsina State . It appears the Airforce has taken delivery of some powerful combatant drones. Obviously Intel from abroad helped in location of the terrorist group. Leads were provided in our analysis of the war on terror in an interview with Soul of the South Anchor Angela Rae. https://vimeo.com/album/2880052/video/95742167
Washington DC Breakdown! My interview with Angela Rae of “Soul of the South TV” on the Chibok Kidnap, Fulani Herdsmen and Boko Haram scourge, a terrorist group that has links with Al Qaeda and Iran Affiliates In America, Some Say In California! https://twitter.com/OvieNews/status/1557439464498135043?s=20&t=eNPEnYuoqsdT9maVPvpCPw
Official Release! CAS REVIEWS ONGOING AIR OPERATIONS IN KADUNA AS TERRORISTS’ KINGPIN ALHAJI SHANONO, OTHERS ARE NEUTRALIZED IN AIRSTRIKES
The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, was back to Kaduna earlier today 10 August 2022 to review ongoing operations and give further directives. This is even as intensive air operations endured in the entire military theaters of operation as NAF aircraft continue to seek and decimate enemies of the state in their attempts to make life unbearable for innocent Nigerians. From the briefings received by the CAS, it is evident that so far, the directives given to the operational commanders is yielding the requisite outcome. Air Marshal Amao, in addressing the commanders, reminded them of the need to remain steadfast and focused on the task ahead. ‘We can’t afford to let down our guards’, he said.
In the Northwest specifically, the effect of strikes undertaken by NAF aircraft have revealed that several terrorists’ have been eliminated and their enclaves destroyed. One of such strikes which occurred yesterday, 9 August 2022 resulted in the elimination of a well known terrorist leader operating in Kaduna State. Indeed, following receipt of intelligence on 9 August 2022 that a well known terrorists’ kingpin, Alhaji Shanono, had scheduled a meeting with his foot soldiers at Ukambo, a village about 131 km from Kaduna, the Air Component of Operation Whirl Punch dispatched aircraft for interdiction mission at the location. Overhead the location, terrorists were sighted under clusters of trees at the foot of Ukambo high ground and after ensuring the absence of civilian settlements within the location, the crew received the authorization to strike. Feedback from local sources disclosed that over 30 rifles and 20 motorbikes were destroyed while about 18 terrorists, including Alhaji Shanono, were neutralized while others sustained various degree of injuries. Sources also revealed that not less than 26 kidnapped victims earlier held by the terrorists were released as a result of the airstrike.
Similar strikes were also undertaken in the Northeast as well. There, the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai had their tasks well cut out for them as they have been fully engaged in conducting air interdiction missions on terrorists’ targets in Borno State. One of such operations was conducted on 6 August 2022 at Gazuwa, about 1.2 kilometers to Gargash, after intelligences revealed that infighting for relevance and supremacy was underway between terrorists of the Shekau faction and terrorists aligned to Islamic State of West Africa (ISWAP). The state of confusion and disorder among the 2 terrorists’ factions thus presented an opportunity for a surprise strike by NAF pilots which was carried out using 2 aircraft types. It should be noted that though the map coordinates led the pilots to the exact site of the infighting, the location also had an ISWAP flag hoisted on the structure and 3 solar panels on the rooftop.
Intelligence received and corroborated by local sources revealed the strike was a success as the terrorists did not anticipate it with several eliminated and others injured.
The impact of the strikes is said to have reverberated through the remaining terrorists’ camps who are beginning to realize that they are fighting an unjust and lost cause that will no doubt lead to their death. Most are said to be contemplating surrendering just like others before them.
Edward Gabkwet
Air Commodore
Director of Public Relations and Information
Nigerian Air Force
10 August 2022
Additional Leads on Terrorists and Lone Wolves.
#CamAChO #environmentaljustice #SomeRealSickPlayers #TupacTheJealousCopyCatsAreWayOff! #ARoyalDutchShell #CorporateAccountabilityProject
Several Norfolk State students among injured in Virginia mass shooting early Sunday as experts advice Joe Biden to launch investigation on cascading affect of toxic falsehoods from Solano that is haunting the whole nation
This is terrible. We were at that campus for the AAU Nationals track and field national championship. B Sharp Track Club won a Gold Medal in the Boys 4x400 Relays anchored by Son in a great dash toward the tape. On that team was Coach Lewis’s daughter Daje who won a medal as well. Daje a Fairfield High Graduate was Jasmine Camacho-Quinn’s team mates at Kentucky U
https://ukathletics.com/sports/track/roster/player/jasmine-camacho-quinn/
https://ukathletics.com/sports/wtrack/roster/season/2015-16/player/daje-pugh/
#AAU #AnInexplicableCovertScheme #NoRhymeNoValidReasonforthisXenophobia #84 #IamStillUnblemishedSince1990
Virginia you know for sure these maps of Jamestown and Williamsburg, VA and the Presidential Park are exhibits because you bugged us for no reason in Williamsburg and Jamestown (Pocahontas, the native American twist). Tell the world what you found. And Ben Van Beurden, they have found absolutely nothing. Take that to the Supreme Court. And remember this is an exercise in corporate social responsibility and not just for parochial interests. We travelled for the AAU at Norfolk State in a Van as a family. So was this the concept for a van stage on camera in the Niger Delta? http://royaldutchshellplc.com/2017/11/02/ben-van-beurden-statement-about-shells-three-businesses/
Concerned Mom and Friend Janet Jackson Says There is Hope In Her Hands :) https://twitter.com/JanetJackson/status/1566537877361770496?s=20&t=VGv5FeOol1BajkM6jfSnpA
https://twitter.com/BenjaminEdokpa1/status/1563789713160355840?s=20&t=nPbj5-V-Oae64Q0NJAGzwA
At a 2014 Interview With Royal Dutch Shell I spent A Whole In In Between Interviews, Role Play for Their Africa Spokesman Position at the Eko Holiday Inn, 24 years after I interviewed George Foreman at the same location on a State Department tour of Africa. https://twitter.com/BenjaminEdokpa1/status/1565697492238249984?s=20&t=nPbj5-V-Oae64Q0NJAGzwA Who has not purchased Gas at a Shell Station? https://www.barrons.com/articles/insider-trading-cases-are-on-the-rise-credit-the-secs-computers-51658920639
