DEFENCE
There is no Massacre in Benue – DHQ
The Defence Headquarters has dismissed the report of alleged massacre by the military in Konshisha area of Benue, following the killing of 11 troops by bandits in the area.
The Acting Director, Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, in a statement on Friday in Abuja, described the report as spurious and misleading.
Nwachukwu explained that there had been incessant cases of communal clashes in recent times among the people of Konshisha and Oju on boundary demarcation.
He said that as part of efforts to resolve the crisis, the Benue government held meetings with stakeholders in local governments with a view to providing solution to the problem.
According to him, appreciable progress has been made and a final date fixed for all stakeholders to meet in the disputed areas to demarcate the boundary.
“Trouble started on the eve of the final meeting during Easter holiday with reports that fresh fighting has broken out in the area.
“All along, 72 Special Forces Battalion has troops deployed on the Oju side of the boundary and troops of the battalion were on their way to replenish their colleagues on April 5, when they were attacked by bandits attend Bonta in Konshisha.
“The troops who were under command of a captain were seized at a checkpoint mounted by the so called Bonta Boys and taken into Konshisha forest where they were all brutally murdered.
“Not satisfied with killing the soldiers, the bandits proceeded to burn all the eleven soldiers and their officer beyond recognition while their weapons and ammunition were carted away,” he said.
The defence spokesperson disclosed that military reinforcements that were dispatched to Bonta the following morning also came under attack from close to 500 armed youths who had fully occupied Bonta at the time.
He said that the number of youths involved in the attacks suggested that the bandits could not be from Bonta alone, but were joined by bandits from other parts of Konshisha.
He said that the troops repelled the attack after more than four hours of intense fighting during which military helicopter provided close air support to ground troops.
According to him, 10 bandits are killed during the fight with the rifle of one of the Killed in action soldiers recovered from the bandits who fell casualty during the exchange of fire.
He said that there were no other civilian casualties in any part of Konshisha till date, apart from the initial 10 bandits eliminated by the troops.
Nwachukwu however, challenged anybody from Konshisha to present to the public the bodies of innocent persons, male, female or children allegedly killed by troops in the area.
According to him, there was never a massacre as being touted by some mischief makers.
Nwachukwu also stated that bandits that escaped from Bonta withdrew into neighbouring villages where they kept on attacking troops as they continued with the search operation through Bonta into other parts of Konshisha.
According to him, knowing the implications of killing troops in cold blood, most of the villagers have fled their homes which are occupied by armed bandits who are firing at troops from the settlements as they advanced into Konshisha.
He said that troops repelled the attacks and destroyed the houses and other buildings which the criminals used as hideouts for the attacks.
“The use of abandoned settlements by armed bandits to attack troops is popular with insurgents.
“The aim is to draw military fire into the dwellings and then turn round to blame soldiers for the destruction.
“This is common guerilla tactics armed bandit designed to whip up public sentiment against security forces and this is what played out in Konshisha.
“This accounts for some of the burnt houses being reported in the press,” he said.
Nwachukwu further noted that some of the phones of the dead soldiers were also tracked to some of the settlements, saying that bandits should be blamed for the destruction since they used these settlements as hideout for attacks.
He said it would be wrong to blame soldiers who were in Konshisha on legitimate duties when some of them were killed.
He added that some of the buildings being paraded were actually burnt during earlier communal clashes between Konshisha and Oju.
The spokesperson said that the soldiers deployed to Konshisha displayed commendable restraints by adhering to the rules of engagement in the face of unprovoked attacks.
He said that military would ensure that the local leaders of Konshisha must bring the main actors responsible for the mayhem to security forces to face justice in addition to the return of all carted away weapons and all other weapons in their possession.
“The military will not tolerate the jungle justice attitude and dastardly acts leading to the gruesome murder of patriotic soldiers on legitimate duty to keep the peace.
“We look forward to working with the Benue government in its promise to support security forces in fishing out those fomenting trouble in Konshisha.
“Once again, there is no massacre in Konshisha and the stories making the rounds are fabricated by bandits and their sponsors to smear the military after killing troops,” he said.(NAN)
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) airstrikes have eliminated scores of terrorists in Kaduna and Zamfara states, and destroyed 25 illegal refining sites in Imo and Rivers States.
The Director, Public Relations and Information, NAF, AVM Edward Gabkwet, made this known in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.
Gabkwet said the Air Component of Operation Whirl Punch had continued in its efforts to track, locate and eliminate the terrorists responsible for the recent upsurge of terrorists’ activities.
He said that intelligence had revealed that terrorists responsible for recent attacks on civilians, abductions and cattle rustling within Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger were domiciled in Kaduna State.
According to him, additional intelligence revealed the sightings of these terrorists relocating from Alawa Forest in Niger, to their stronghold in Malum Forest in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
“Consequently, the Air Component planned and executed an Air Interdiction mission on the terrorists’ stronghold at Malum Forest on Aug 21.
“Battle damage assessment and feedback from local sources revealed several of the terrorists were eliminated as a result of the strike.
“Similar strikes were also conducted on terrorists’ hideouts at Bayan Ruwa in Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara.
“The terrorists were tracked to the zinc roofed structures in a vegetated area with few footpaths and a river line North West of the location.
“The targets were then acquired and engaged in successive passes,’’ he said.
In the Niger Delta, Gabkwet said that the air component of Operation Delta Safe destroyed 25 illegal refining sites and overhead tanks in Ohaji/Egbema in Imo and Degema and Cawthorne Channel in Rivers.
He said that a leaking pipeline was observed with the leakage spreading across over 150 metres radius in Greenville in Rivers.
According to him, the leakage has its attendant negative consequences on the vegetation, aquatic habitats and farmlands. (NAN)
The Nigerian Army announced on Sunday that its troops had neutralised a notorious Boko Haram commander, Abu Rijab, and other terrorist fighters in an offensive operation on Saturday.This was made known in a post on the Nigerian army’s official X Handle.It said that the operation took place in Bula Daloye, Bama Local Government Area of Borno.
It said the successful operation was in addition to the surrender of numerous terrorists and their families to the troops as a result of sustained pressure against their enclaves. Army said the troops also apprehended several criminal suspects and recovered arms and ammunition.“Following an intense firefight, the troops overpowered the terrorists, neutralising three, including a wanted Boko Haram commander Abu Rijab.“The operation led to the recovery of two AK-47 rifles and mobile phones.“Additionally, eight terrorists and their families surrendered to troops in Gwoza Local Government Area.“The same troops also apprehended two suspects in Konduga Local Government Area with 52 bags of illicit drugs intended for supply to terrorists,” it said.The post also revealed that troops operating in Taraba apprehended the chairman of Gassol Local Government Area Hunters’ Association, Alhaji Adamu Tanko, for selling an AK-47 rifle to a suspected terrorist.It said that investigation had revealed that the weapon had been recovered during a joint operation against terrorists in Boki Lamba, a border town with Plateau.In Plateau, the service said its troops apprehended two suspected criminal elements in the Rikkos area of Jos North Local Government Area.According to the post, troops recovered a fabricated rifle and mobile phones containing images of various calibres of arms and ammunition.“The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, has commended the troops for their resilience and commitment.“He also expressed gratitude to the public for their continued support of the Nigerian army, sister services, and other security agencies through credible and actionable information about criminal activities,” it added. (NAN)
The Chief of Air Staff(CAS), Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar says the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) will continue to take vital steps towards protecting key national assets against criminal elements.
Abubakar stated this at the matriculation and combined graduation of set 2 students of the Nigerian Air Force College of Nursing Science and Critical Assets Protection Squad Course 5, of Regiment Training Centre on Friday in Kaduna.
Abubakar said, “As a fighting force, we shall continue to take vital steps towards protecting our key assets across the country.
”This is not just from agitating demonstrators, but also from terrorists, insurgents, economic saboteurs and other criminal elements in our society.
”We have plans toward improving the efficient and manpower capacity of all personnel of the Nigerian Air Force(NAF).”
He stressed that human beings were the most important in every system.
Abubakar said, “You can have expensive and sophisticated equipment and facilities, if the humans managing the system are not adequately trained and properly motivated, then that system will definitely fail and vice versa.’
He, therefore, said that part of his key enablers command philosophy was deliberate training and mission-oriented force development.
Abubakar said, “This is why we are glad today to have been able to graduate the trainees from the critical assets protection course and the basic nursing course.”
He stressed that the two courses were particularly very important considering the contemporary happenings.
The CAS explained that the critical assets protection course was critical to
NAF, citing the recent protests.
He said, ”They turned violent, accompanied by destruction of government facilities, attacks on some government critical national assets and looting in some states.”
Abubakar, therefore, said the graduates of the critical assets protection course were properly trained and educated to be able to handle such situations.
According to him, the more personnel are trained on the course, the more the NAF would be able to protect the nation’s critical national assets from external aggressors and internal saboteurs, criminals, insurgents, terrorists and their likes.
The CAS also said that considering the exodus of medical practitioners from Nigeria, the basic nursing course would bridge the gap.
Abubakar said, “The more we are able to train doctors and nurses, the faster we close the gaps and make sure we have a very effective and efficient health care system not only for the NAF, but for the whole country at large.
“To the graduates, you must have it at the back of your minds that your profession is a noble calling, requiring compassion, dedication and expertise.”
He reminded the graduates that they were distinct from other healthcare providers.
”You have a wide scope of practice and approach to medical care, just as you play an integral role in promoting health, preventing illness, and caring for all individuals.
”They include those who are disabled or are physically or mentally ill.
“In NAF, you will be the backbone of our medical services, providing critical care to our personnel, their families as well as vulnerable civilians in need of medical attention.
“We have quite a number of civilian students, some of whom we also trained free of charge as part of our corporate social responsibility,”Abubakar said.
He appreciated President Bola Tinubu for his unwavering support to NAF.
The Report says that awards were given to the graduates who distinguished themselves in the course of study.(NAN)
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