There, another vegetation lol, clear these things, bulldoze them all , we don see videos of boko guys, they sabi sneak
I have very little knowledge of military affairs and tactics, but c'mon, you want a clear line of site all around you, not surround yourself with vegetation and trees.

jakeporeshenko:
NA troops from MNJTF Baga, seems like there’s a helipad there

SamuelAnyawu:

Nice. What's the meaning of Tk and Tn?

Tank Battalion

DEFENCE HEADQUARTERS has half a billion budgeted for AFSF





I

Odunayaw:
I hope the RF jammers are from Tdayof's company. That boy has worked his ass off


Modified
* I see "160 & 170 Special Ops Bns". I hope its name change for existing ones and not new ones
* Since when did NA start providing for AFSF. I thought they were DHQ property

gabng:
DEFENCE HEADQUARTERS has half a billion budgeted for AFSF





I

That’s not a whole lot of money, 500 million Naira can barely get you a single decent MRAP

I want to believe it's for stuffs that are not MRAP.

It could be down payment for certain items.

jakeporeshenko:


That’s not a whole lot of money, 500 million Naira can barely get you a single decent MRAP

gabng:
I want to believe it's for stuffs that are not MRAP.

It could be down payment for certain items.

True, hopefully it means AFSF Bn is about to get some Gucci kit or new light arms like rifles, grenade launchers and mortars.

I just went through the proposed budget, DICON was very underwhelming as usual.
And if that 4Bn for type A vehicles (MRAPs) is going straight to Proforce then I’m fully in suppor

ugo4u:

Tavor Series.. And the guy is quite serious about it.

Nope he can't such weapon for himself in Naija.

How I was indoctrinated to wage war against Nigeria — Boko Haram Commander

By Ifeanyi Okolie

A top commander of the Boko Haram Sect, Umar Abdulmalik, who was arrested penultimate Thursday by operatives of the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team, IRT Led By DCP Abba Kyari, in Lagos State, for carrying out several bombings, bank robberies and killings within the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, Owo, Ondo State and Lokoja Kogi State, has revealed how he joined the sect and led members to carry out these attacks.

The 30-year-old suspect, who is a native of Okene in Kogi State and was alleged to have killed over 200 persons before his arrest told Vanguard that a radical Islamic cleric, who he identified as Mallam Mustapha indoctrinated him into the deadly sect. He explained that Mallam Mustapha came into Okene with his teachings, built a mosque in 2009 and urged residents to shun western education as it was a sin against Allah, and urged them to accept Islamic education which he said was the only education accepted by Allah. He added that he attended several of Mallam Mustapha’s teachings, who he said also urged his followers to disregard the Nigeria State and wage war against her as her system of government was not in line with the dictates of Allah, which he said, ought to be in an Islamic fashion. Abudulmalik, further explained that he joined some of Mallam Mustapha’s followers in destroying their school certificates and he accepted to wage war against the Nigeria State. We robbed banks to sustain the jihad “I joined one of the Boko Haram cells in Okene headed by one Zeeidi and we carried out several bombings within Kaduna, Kano and Abuja. Zeeidi was the person providing the bombs and my job then was to take them to our target locations. After a while, the Department of State Security infiltrated our cell and they started arresting members of our group. Mallam Mustapha was arrested and his mosque was demolished. Zeedi brought the idea of bank robbery so that those of us who have not been arrested could have resources to continue with the jihad. He brought some guns and he suggested we should attack the Kotonkarfe Prison in Kogi State, so we could free our members who were detained there. The attack on the prison was successful and we freed a lot of our members, after which we attacked some banks in Okene and took all the money we could find there. “We then moved to Owo where we robbed some of the banks with dynamites and carted away large sums of money. We used some of the money we made from those robberies to buy high explosives including materials we could use in producing non-metallic bombs that could beat metal detectors. A lot of our members including Zeedi were arrested after those bank robberies and the attack on prison. I moved to Abuja with the bombs we produced and I formed a new cell in 2014. We carried out several bombings in the Fedeal Capital territory including those at Banex Plaza, Nyanya and Kuje areas of Abuja. Unfortunately our gang was busted and five of our gang members were arrested while our bombs, including the non-metallic and the materials we were using in making them were recovered in Gaulaka area of Niger State by the Police IRT Team. I escaped, fled to Kano and I went underground for two years before I returned to Abuja and formed a new gang and we went into full blown armed robbery.” Meanwhile, Police source disclosed that five months after the operatives of the IRT, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, launched investigations into the gruesome killing of seven policemen and a civilian, in July 2018 at a police post on the Galadima Roundabout, Abuja, they made a breakthrough when they arrested a member of the gang identified as Lukman Abdulmalik alias Lampard, through a tip off in Ondo State and he confessed taking part in the killing of the seven policemen. He went on to identify Umar Abudlmalik, as the leader of his gang, who he said instructed them to always kill policemen whenever they had opportunity and take their rifles. The police source disclosed further that the suspect took the IRT operatives to their hideout in Abuja and four of his gang members identified as Abubakar Bello Sidi, Yusuf Abdulazeez alias, Fine Boy, Suleman Zakariya and Haruna Lamid, were arrested but, Umar Abdulmalik, escaped with a bullet wound. Four AK-47 rifles belonging to the deceased policemen, six magazines, 270 rounds of AK-47 ammunition and two police walkie talkie radios belonging to the deceased policemen were recovered from the suspects. It was gathered that Abdulmalik ran to Lagos with his bullet wound to the home of his younger sister who was a nurse and he started receiving treatments on his bullet wound. Unknown to him, IRT operatives in Lagos had information that he had a sister who was residing in Lagos, they trailed him to her house, found him sleeping there and apprehended him. My robbery exploits — Abdulmalik Narrating his robbery exploits Abdulmalik said; “After I formed my new robbery gang, we robbed a woman of N500,000, which was the money she got from contribution she had with some women. One of our gang members who got information about the money told me about it and we robbed the woman and took the money. We also robbed a man at Okene checking point, we pretended to be policemen and collected N1.3million from the man. We then moved to Abuja where we robbed super markets including their customers. We killed a policeman at Shoprite area in Lugbe and took away his rifle. We also robbed a shop along Second Gate on the Abuja-Kaduna Road. There was this dismissed policeman known as Apin-Iron, who was dismissed for taking part in armed robbery. Iron has two Ak-47 and a pistol which he normally used to intercept and seize illicit drugs from people trying to smuggle them into Abuja. We normally visited his place to buy the drugs and we became friends. In one of our visits he told us that he knew several rich people we could rob and all we needed to do was to give him his share of the loot. He gave us information of a man from whom we took N5million and we gave our contact N2.5m as his share because that was what he demanded. He also gave us several other jobs before I had an accident and damaged one of my eyes when coming from Niger Prison Breaking Operation. There was one Mustapha who was an internet fraudster, he was making money, but he started having issues with some cultists in his area so he brought in the police to arrest the boys. But the boys were later released and came back to harass him. So, he came to me and requested for my boys to protect him and I told him he would have to buy my boys two Ak-47 rifles. He agreed and bought us the guns. Then, my boys, Lampard and Abubakar, started moving around with him in military uniforms. People who saw them would think they were genuine soldiers. So, he wanted my boys to kill the cultists as well as the nurse who was treating him because the nurse entered his house and saw him performing rituals and he didn’t want the woman to tell people that he was using charms to make his money. My boys told me about the job and I asked them not to kill anyone, then he became angry with me. I suspect he was the person who went to inform the police about my gang. “After I lost my eyes I was admitted in the hospital but my boys were still going for robberies and would bring money to me after each robbery. I am the gang leader but I wasn’t with them when they killed the seven policemen at Galadima roundabout, I was in the hospital. After I was discharged, I had not gone for any robbery operation with them except Petrol Station robbery where we killed One person but IRT police team later arrested Lampard and Abubakar and they brought the policemen to my house. I had an Ak-47 rifle with me when the police came and I fired some shots which made it easy for me to escape but the police returned fire and I got injured. I managed to escape to Iyana Sango Ota, Ogun State, where my sister was residing. I later learned that the police went on to arrest Fine-Boy and Abubakar and Suleiman, a guy known as scorpion called and informed me. I don’t know how the police knew I was in my sister’s place, they found me sleeping and I was arrested.” he narrated

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/01/how-i-was-indoctrinated-to-wage-war-against-nigeria-boko-haram-commander/

Good morning

gabng:
NN

Most of navy's procurement list is almost exactly like last year's. Hydro survey ship and landing ship tank, rhib boats, flat bottom boats e.t.c also appeared in last year's budget.

For those who like to knock our military unnecessarily, Just because something was budgeted for does not mean the fund was released. Navy's budget is basically a roll over of last year's.

Ibrahimanis:

Most of navy's procurement list is almost exactly like last year's. Hydro survey ship and landing ship tank, rhib boats, flat bottom boats e.t.c also appeared in last year's budget.

For those who like to knock our military unnecessarily, Just because something was budgeted for does not mean the fund was released. Navy's budget is basically a roll over of last year's.

“Ongoing” Asin being paid for in phases

jakeporeshenko:

“Ongoing” Asin being paid for in phases

OK.
Frustrating though.

Maduawuchukwu:


Pls are they still in existence?

They have probably been joined to other battalions after the six weeks offensive.

[quote authorgabng post=74490348]NN[/quote
Wow, NN included SBS procurement at 200 billion... They really take care of these guys]

[quote author=GeneralFarouq post=74496008][/quote]

They've got no options; these guys are damn good.

bidexiii:
Good morning

Wow, the team leader dey do serious gym.

bidexiii:



Nope he can't such weapon for himself in Naija.

Since he has cash, he can modify his AK to his own taste right?

GeneralFarouq:

Since he has cash, he can modify his AK to his own taste right?

Modify the wooden ak riffle .... ??

The best that riffle can get is a sight.

Sizzorkay:
Which was why i talk about numbers, the BIR is a specialized unit, Nigeria have same and are well kitted and organized.
The point is the overall formation, what's it called, Infantry i guess, are they kitted as BIR? speaking of Cameroon for example, probably not, same way NA's own aren't as well kitted as specialized units within the NA or Navy
Its super easy to kit up a few hundred soldiers, when you have to do the same for 100,000, then let's see how they do it

LOL STOP JUMPING INTO ASSUMPTIONS PLEASE.DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY BIR SOLDIERS ARE THERE.CLOSE TO 3000.LET ME POST SOME PICS OF CAMEROONIAN SOLDIERS IN BATTLE GEAR IN WAR ZONE.
THOSE ARE "NORMAL SOLDIERS"

bidexiii:


Modify the wooden ak riffle .... ??

The best that riffle can get is a sight.

Okay

gabng:
DS is getting ETL technology.

@nemesis what's ETL?

Extract transform load

Part of data warehousing

Simply speaking managing large data from different sources , extracting relevant info and then indexing it etc.

gabng:
DIA is getting CRYTTIA & EMM KNOX

@nemesis over to you

Software tools for enabling high grade security solutions for comm devices like phones etc at a considerably large scale ( organisational level )

gabng:
DIA is getting CRYTTIA & EMM KNOX

@nemesis over to you

U missed the most important one

OSINT (open source intelligence) software tool

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nheamuGkt9c

gabng:
DEFENCE HEADQUARTERS has half a billion budgeted for AFSF





I

Ah, thanks

bidexiii:
How I was indoctrinated to wage war against Nigeria — Boko Haram Commander

By Ifeanyi Okolie

A top commander of the Boko Haram Sect, Umar Abdulmalik, who was arrested penultimate Thursday by operatives of the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team, IRT Led By DCP Abba Kyari, in Lagos State, for carrying out several bombings, bank robberies and killings within the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, Owo, Ondo State and Lokoja Kogi State, has revealed how he joined the sect and led members to carry out these attacks.

The 30-year-old suspect, who is a native of Okene in Kogi State and was alleged to have killed over 200 persons before his arrest told Vanguard that a radical Islamic cleric, who he identified as Mallam Mustapha indoctrinated him into the deadly sect. He explained that Mallam Mustapha came into Okene with his teachings, built a mosque in 2009 and urged residents to shun western education as it was a sin against Allah, and urged them to accept Islamic education which he said was the only education accepted by Allah. He added that he attended several of Mallam Mustapha’s teachings, who he said also urged his followers to disregard the Nigeria State and wage war against her as her system of government was not in line with the dictates of Allah, which he said, ought to be in an Islamic fashion. Abudulmalik, further explained that he joined some of Mallam Mustapha’s followers in destroying their school certificates and he accepted to wage war against the Nigeria State. We robbed banks to sustain the jihad “I joined one of the Boko Haram cells in Okene headed by one Zeeidi and we carried out several bombings within Kaduna, Kano and Abuja. Zeeidi was the person providing the bombs and my job then was to take them to our target locations. After a while, the Department of State Security infiltrated our cell and they started arresting members of our group. Mallam Mustapha was arrested and his mosque was demolished. Zeedi brought the idea of bank robbery so that those of us who have not been arrested could have resources to continue with the jihad. He brought some guns and he suggested we should attack the Kotonkarfe Prison in Kogi State, so we could free our members who were detained there. The attack on the prison was successful and we freed a lot of our members, after which we attacked some banks in Okene and took all the money we could find there. “We then moved to Owo where we robbed some of the banks with dynamites and carted away large sums of money. We used some of the money we made from those robberies to buy high explosives including materials we could use in producing non-metallic bombs that could beat metal detectors. A lot of our members including Zeedi were arrested after those bank robberies and the attack on prison. I moved to Abuja with the bombs we produced and I formed a new cell in 2014. We carried out several bombings in the Fedeal Capital territory including those at Banex Plaza, Nyanya and Kuje areas of Abuja. Unfortunately our gang was busted and five of our gang members were arrested while our bombs, including the non-metallic and the materials we were using in making them were recovered in Gaulaka area of Niger State by the Police IRT Team. I escaped, fled to Kano and I went underground for two years before I returned to Abuja and formed a new gang and we went into full blown armed robbery.” Meanwhile, Police source disclosed that five months after the operatives of the IRT, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, launched investigations into the gruesome killing of seven policemen and a civilian, in July 2018 at a police post on the Galadima Roundabout, Abuja, they made a breakthrough when they arrested a member of the gang identified as Lukman Abdulmalik alias Lampard, through a tip off in Ondo State and he confessed taking part in the killing of the seven policemen. He went on to identify Umar Abudlmalik, as the leader of his gang, who he said instructed them to always kill policemen whenever they had opportunity and take their rifles. The police source disclosed further that the suspect took the IRT operatives to their hideout in Abuja and four of his gang members identified as Abubakar Bello Sidi, Yusuf Abdulazeez alias, Fine Boy, Suleman Zakariya and Haruna Lamid, were arrested but, Umar Abdulmalik, escaped with a bullet wound. Four AK-47 rifles belonging to the deceased policemen, six magazines, 270 rounds of AK-47 ammunition and two police walkie talkie radios belonging to the deceased policemen were recovered from the suspects. It was gathered that Abdulmalik ran to Lagos with his bullet wound to the home of his younger sister who was a nurse and he started receiving treatments on his bullet wound. Unknown to him, IRT operatives in Lagos had information that he had a sister who was residing in Lagos, they trailed him to her house, found him sleeping there and apprehended him. My robbery exploits — Abdulmalik Narrating his robbery exploits Abdulmalik said; “After I formed my new robbery gang, we robbed a woman of N500,000, which was the money she got from contribution she had with some women. One of our gang members who got information about the money told me about it and we robbed the woman and took the money. We also robbed a man at Okene checking point, we pretended to be policemen and collected N1.3million from the man. We then moved to Abuja where we robbed super markets including their customers. We killed a policeman at Shoprite area in Lugbe and took away his rifle. We also robbed a shop along Second Gate on the Abuja-Kaduna Road. There was this dismissed policeman known as Apin-Iron, who was dismissed for taking part in armed robbery. Iron has two Ak-47 and a pistol which he normally used to intercept and seize illicit drugs from people trying to smuggle them into Abuja. We normally visited his place to buy the drugs and we became friends. In one of our visits he told us that he knew several rich people we could rob and all we needed to do was to give him his share of the loot. He gave us information of a man from whom we took N5million and we gave our contact N2.5m as his share because that was what he demanded. He also gave us several other jobs before I had an accident and damaged one of my eyes when coming from Niger Prison Breaking Operation. There was one Mustapha who was an internet fraudster, he was making money, but he started having issues with some cultists in his area so he brought in the police to arrest the boys. But the boys were later released and came back to harass him. So, he came to me and requested for my boys to protect him and I told him he would have to buy my boys two Ak-47 rifles. He agreed and bought us the guns. Then, my boys, Lampard and Abubakar, started moving around with him in military uniforms. People who saw them would think they were genuine soldiers. So, he wanted my boys to kill the cultists as well as the nurse who was treating him because the nurse entered his house and saw him performing rituals and he didn’t want the woman to tell people that he was using charms to make his money. My boys told me about the job and I asked them not to kill anyone, then he became angry with me. I suspect he was the person who went to inform the police about my gang. “After I lost my eyes I was admitted in the hospital but my boys were still going for robberies and would bring money to me after each robbery. I am the gang leader but I wasn’t with them when they killed the seven policemen at Galadima roundabout, I was in the hospital. After I was discharged, I had not gone for any robbery operation with them except Petrol Station robbery where we killed One person but IRT police team later arrested Lampard and Abubakar and they brought the policemen to my house. I had an Ak-47 rifle with me when the police came and I fired some shots which made it easy for me to escape but the police returned fire and I got injured. I managed to escape to Iyana Sango Ota, Ogun State, where my sister was residing. I later learned that the police went on to arrest Fine-Boy and Abubakar and Suleiman, a guy known as scorpion called and informed me. I don’t know how the police knew I was in my sister’s place, they found me sleeping and I was arrested.” he narrated

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/01/how-i-was-indoctrinated-to-wage-war-against-nigeria-boko-haram-commander/

Lord have mercy,
Robber, terror and murderer, all in a single person

bidexiii:


Modify the wooden ak riffle .... ??

The best that riffle can get is a sight.

let him pass out from Academy first

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/military-prepares-massive-operation-to-retake-baga-others.html

Dailytrust headquarter and regional headquarter was invaded because of this article. The Nigerian army is not really telling us the truth about what is happening in the North east.
Buratai does not deserve to still be the COAS, he needs someone to remind him that we're practising democracy, if buhari is a competent president, buratai will be fired immediately.

The Nigerian security forces should take insecurity in the North west serious. A lot of villages and towns have been overrun by armed bandits in katstina state, most of those town and villages are close to zamfara state.

bidexiii:


Modify the wooden ak riffle .... ??

The best that riffle can get is a sight.

The kits are Ur personal plroperty right?
Is a soldier allowed to buy personal hand gun for use in battlefield, NV... And even his own Kevlar vest

BabaOwen:
• Assembles thousands of troops, equipment

• ISIS affiliate, ISWAP, on mass recruitment drive

• Group imposes tax on locals

• 10,000 flee Baga, Doron-Baga, Kross Kawwa


The Nigerian military has assembled thousands of troops and equipment in preparation for a massive operation to retake Baga and five other towns in the northern part of Borno State from Boko Haram.

The towns were reportedly seized last week by members of the Islamic State in West African Province (ISWAP), the faction of Boko Haram that is affiliated to ISIS.

The Abu Mus’ab Albarnawi-led group reportedly took control of Baga, Doron-Baga, Kross Kawwa, Bunduran, Kekeno and Kukawa, after expelling their military defenders.

The Army has denied reports of the falls of the towns but residents fleeing the areas confirmed the presence of Boko Haram fighters on the streets.

The fresh military buildup is coming days after the Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima convened an extra-ordinary security meeting to come up with measures to halt the resurgence of terrorist attacks in the state.

Daily Trust on Sunday learnt that all the three arms of the nation’s armed forces, the army, navy and the air force, would be involved in the major offensive to flush out the insurgents from the areas they have captured.

Credible sources said the Defence Headquarters had gone far in mobilising men and resources ahead of the major onslaught scheduled to take place anytime soon.

“A major operation is on the way but we can’t divulge the details to you,” a source said.

“More troops including ground troops, airmen and naval personnel are being deployed from different formations. They would join those on ground in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states for the operations,” he said.

Another source said many fighting equipment were being put together for onward delivery to the northern part of Borno for the major operation.

“It is going to be a serious operation, I can assure you,” he said.

Residents in parts of northern Borno confirmed mass movement of soldiers and military hardware to the area.



The Borno State Hunters Union, Daily Trust on Sunday reliably learnt, has also deployed a reinforcement of its men to the captured communities to lend a helping hand to the military.

Boko Haram insurgents have stepped up attacks on military locations in the North-East recently, with an attack in November at Metele claiming the lives of over 20 soldiers.

The soldiers were killed when the insurgents overran 157 Battalion in northern Borno. Additional 12 soldiers also lost their lives in separate attacks around that period.

Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Yusuf Tukur Buratai last month attributed the setbacks to psychological warfare by the Boko Haram faction, which he said had instilled fears in both troops and civilians.

Daily Trust on Sunday learnt that apart from attacking military bases, ISWAP has been ambushing military convoys and patrols.

The most recent of such attacks happened in Banki, where two soldiers were killed, when troops of 152 Battalion were ambushed by the insurgents. They seized four Hilux vehicles belonging to an unnamed NGO and three drums of diesel.

It was also gathered that the group, after taking Baga, had been making consistent attempts to overrun Monguno (64km from Baga and 171km to Maiduguri). But they have been repeatedly beaten by the Army’s Special Forces deployed in the town.

Many of the insurgents have lost their lives in the hands of the elite troops defending the town, sources said. They also said that over 200 of them were killed by Nigerien forces as they moved towards the neighbouring country after they were repelled from Monguno.

ISWAP holds Baga, others

The ISWAP is currently in control of many towns, villages and islands in the Nigerian shores of the Lake Chad, even as thousands of fishermen and farmers who found their ways out of the locations are now taking refuge in Maiduguri.

The insurgents, according to locals, initially converged on Doron Naira and Dogon Chukun, two islands along the Lake Chad not far from Baga town, before launching last week’s onslaught on the fishing community.

A fierce battle ensued between ISWAP and Nigerian troops, lasting two days (Wednesday, December 28 to Friday, December 30), leading to the withdrawal of Nigerian soldiers attached to the Multi-National Joint Task Force base in Baga.

Sources said the development led to the fall of major towns and settlements like Baga, Doron-Baga, Kross Kawwa, Bunduran, Kekeno and Kukawa towns.

Sources said at the time of the fight last week, only Nigerian troops were at the base as forces from Chad, Cameroon and Niger had for long withdrawn and were only manning their own sides of the borders.

Besides the MNJTF headquarters, the insurgents also overran a naval fighting base and a marine police base.

A fisherman, Modu Ari, who is now in Maiduguri, told the Daily Trust on Sunday that the departure of troops from many locations in the last few months, including those in Metele, following attacks by Shekau-faction of Boko Haram, left many communities at the mercy of the Abu Mus’ab’s faction of the Boko Haram.

According to him, locals in dozens of communities now live under the control of the Abu Mus’ab’s faction.

“Some of the communities include Gashigar, Zari, Granda, Gudumbari, Kukawa, Arge, Metele, Alagarnon Arewa, Kangarwa, Jilli, Birmari, Mairari, Mainari, Kuroskauwa, Mil 4, Mil 90,” he said.

“But the only difference we are witnessing this time around is that the (Abu Mus’ab’s) Boko Haram fighters kill locals only when they show some form of resistance.

“They asked those who want to leave to leave but told those interested in staying behind not to worry,” he added.

He said the fighters were armed with Anti-Aircraft guns and Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs); and that they were in their thousands.

A farmer, Makinta Aisami, who also spoke to Daily Trust on Sunday confirmed what Ari said, but added that locals living in many communities near the Lake

Chad are living in fear and are being extorted by the group.

“They charge taxes,” he said.

He said in communities located far from strong military facilities, Boko Haram fighters were forcing farmers to pay tax before they could be allowed access to their farms while fishermen pay “revenue through their noses” before they were allowed to go with their catch.

He said the only people living in relative peace because of military visibility were those in Monguno, Damasak, Gubio, Gajiram, Kareto and Malumfatori.

‘Missing relations’

Apart from those who fled towards Damasak and Gaidam, thousands escaped to Maiduguri on foot and by road.

They have been thronging the popular Baga Road Market in Maiduguri, sleeping in the open, waiting for the possible arrival of their missing relatives, and partly because they have nowhere to go.

The Borno State Government has been evacuating them since last Monday to the Teachers Village IDP camp.

Daily Trust on Sunday observed, however, that while a substantial number of them would not agree to be evacuated, many were moving back to Baga, banking on a said promise by Boko Haram that they would not be harmed when they return to their captured territory.

“Over the last one week, transport fare to Monguno that used to be N1,000 increased to N5,000 per passenger, and to charter a car will cost between N25,000 and N30,000, instead of the N5,000 it used to be,” a commercial car driver, Mohammed Bukar, told Daily Trust on Sunday.

“Initially, you could not find more than 500 residents remaining in Baga, Mile 4 and Doro,” a leading member of the Borno State CJTF, working under the Multinational Joint Task Force, (MNJTF), told Daily Trust on Sunday on Friday, explaining, “Soldiers had themselves fled from the communities …when the boys (Boko Haram) came and invaded Baga. They simply seized a deserted military barracks, 8 Div Headquarters.

“As I am speaking to you now, thousands of our returnees, including my father and mother and many of my own family members and friends are still missing in the bush between the Lake Chad and Maiduguri,” Muhammad Bukar from Kangarwa near Baga, said.

ISWAP recruiting youths

A community leader in northern Borno who does not want his name mentioned, said the insurgents were recruiting young people.

“They are seriously working on the psychology of our people,” he said.

“They no longer kill our people, especially the youths, instead, they show them they are better in terms of taking care of them, and to me this is very dangerous.

“Of course, they collect taxes from sales of produce and fish but they no longer forcefully collect the goods and with this approach, they are getting some sort of sympathies, tactically winning the love of our children,” he said.

“The terrorists have the advantage of knowledge of the environment and they can go to Cameroon, Chad, or Niger if the heat becomes unbearable for them, hence the need for serious cooperation between all the countries in the area of operation to stop the menace,” he added.

The forces behind ISWAP

In August, 2016, ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi put to an end, the seven years of Abubakar Shekau’s leadership in Nigeria and the West African Province.

In his stead, he anointed Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi, whose real name is Habib. He is the son of the late Mohammed Yusuf, the founder of Boko Haram.

The Boko Haram under Shekau had earlier in March, 2015 paid allegiance to ISIS’s proclaimed caliphate under Al-Baghdadi.

When he was removed as leader, Shekau on August 4, 2016, released an audio in which he described the breakaway leader, Al Barnawi as heretic. Soon after the new development, sporadic fighting broke out between the two factions, one headed by Shekau and the other by Al-Barnawi who has the support of Mamman Nur.

Findings by our reporter at the time revealed that while the ISIS-backed Al-Barnawi had an upper hand in northern part of Borno State, Shekau remained dominant in the central and southern parts of the state, where the large swathe of the Sambisa forest is located.

With the support of Mamman Nur, Albarnawi achieved a lot in consolidating his gains in northern Borno by trailing and killing “Shekau’s boys” in places like Monguno, Kukawa, Damasak, Abadam, Marte and Kala-Balge.

On the other hand, Shekau remained “strong” in villages in Gwoza, Damboa and Chibok, which are all not far from the Sambisa forest.

Mamman had been on the wanted list of the United States with ransom placed on his head.

Nur was killed around August, 2018, by forces close to Al Barnawi over alleged “selfish” handling of millions of money in hard currencies allegedly given to him as ransom for the release of captives.

Before his death, Nur was seen as ISIS linkman in Nigeria, but fronting Al-Barnawi as leader, in order to retain the loyalty of the original supporters of Mohammed Yusuf.

With Nur’s death, the Albarnawi faction becomes more vicious in attacking military formations and ambitious in capturing more communities.

Beyond northern Borno, Al Barnawi’s fighters are now inching towards central and southern part of Borno, launching attacks in places like Mainok, Jakana and other locations along Maiduguri-Damaturu road.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/military-prepares-massive-operation-to-retake-baga-others.html

Is there no way to exploit the division between the two sects?, the NIA, DSS and DMI should look into that. It would be lovely to instigate them against each other.

Obasanjo once said "carrot and stick", but I say "stick and then club", leave the carrots for those who need it. The government can set up a new dud terrorist group in that region that would cultivate division, sway a lot of BH/ISWAP followers to its side, learn about them and help crush them. It should be achievable if our Intel guys are serious about it. Not just to budget billions for phantom covert operations.

Pakistan seeks 62 JF-17 Block III fighter jets

http://zeenews.india.com/world/pakistan-eyes-62-jf-17-jets-from-china-as-rafale-dogfight-continues-in-india-2168320.html/amp