Boko Haram kills 48 Nigerian fishermen near Chad

MEMBERS of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, have reportedly killed 48 people in an attack on fish sellers near Nigeria’s border with Chad.

A fish traders’ group said some victims had their throats slit, while others were tied up and drowned in Lake Chad.

The attack took place on Thursday, but the news took several days to come to light, because the sect had destroyed mobile phone masts in the area.

It was the second major attack in two days by the terrorists.

In Thursday’s attack, the traders were on their way to Chad to buy fish when militants blocked their path near the village of Doron Baga, some 180km (112 miles) north of Maiduguri in Borno State.

Abubakar Gamandi, the head of the fish sellers’ association, told AFP news agency that the militants used no gun, adding that “the attackers killed their victims silently without the use of the gun, to avoid attracting attention from the multi-national troops.”

Troops from Nigeria, Chad and Niger have been deployed to the area and had a base at Doron Baga.

...It will soon be defeated —Olukolade •Says Nigeria battling with guerilla terrorists

By Chris Agbambu -Abuja

DEFENCE spokesman, Major-General Chris Olukolade, has said insurgency is a passing phase in the history of Nigeria, adding that soon, Boko Haram will be defeated.

He also dismissed certain notion that the fight with terrorists in the country had overwhelmed the military as not only ridiculous but utterly baseless and conspiratorial in nature.

Olukolade urged the international community to be more objective, by showing understanding for the peculiarity of Nigeria’s current security situation.

He particularly criticised the hard stance of some western countries over perceived negative human rights record of Nigerian military, saying “it is ill-informed and based on wrong mindset.”

Olukolade, who spoke while receiving the prestigious Alfred Daniel King Foundation award as a distinguished military information expert, in Atlanta Georgia, United States, noted that the Nigerian Armed Forces had always strived to operate in line with the global professional best practices.

In a statement released on Sunday by PRNigeria, Olukolade urged the world to recall that Nigeria had survived a civil war, social and political unrests and several religious upheavals in the last 100 years of its existence as a nation.

He said Nigerians could only look forward with a sense of pride to the next hundred years with renewed hope, vigour and certainty that the current travails would herald even greater prospect for Nigeria and its people.

According to the defence spokesperson, it was pertinent for critics to realise that the rage against the terrorists was not conventional, but purely a guerilla warfare, where terrorists fight sporadically and melt back into the social system.

He said unfortunately, some international interests were desperate to portray Nigeria as a failed state; show the world that democratic governance was not good for Nigeria; ridicule the Nigerian armed forces and make them seem incapable of safeguarding the sovereignty of the Nigerian state.

“If, with the sophistication of global coalition, money and military resources so far deployed to fighting the Islamic State (IS), western powers are yet to dislodge ISIS from Iraq and Syria, then it is imperative they should show more understanding in respect of Boko Haram war in Nigeria,” he said.

Presenting the award earlier, chairperson of the foundation and widow of A.D. King, Mrs Naomi Ruth Barber King, had expressed her delight in honouring the Nigerian military spokesperson for displaying excellence in defence leadership, information management and commitment to service, which she noted served as a shining example that others could emulate.