Shettima: Attack on My Convoy, a Plan to Attract Media Attention Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, has claimed that the attack on his convoy by Boko Haram was planned by the terrorist group to attract local and international media attention and sustain its propaganda strategy. The governor, in a statement signed on Thursday by his spokesman, Mallam Isa Gusau, said he mourned “with the deepest thoughts and heartfelt condolences, the demise of some fellow citizens, brothers, associates and loyal supporters following an unfortunate ambush of some vehicles in his convoy by suspected insurgents on Tuesday evening along the road to Gamboru, the headquarters of Ngala Local Government Area.” The statement reads, “While the governor is expecting full security briefing to get accurate information on the incident, preliminary report on Wednesday confirmed the killing of three persons during the attack, which principally aimed to attract local and global media attention in ord...

UN Raises Alarm as Cameroon Plans to Evict Nigerian Refugees to Borno The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed grave concerns over plans by Cameroon to evict thousands of Nigerian refugees to Borno. UNHCR said it deplored the reported move that Cameroon was forcing several thousand Nigerians to return to Borno, adding that it has put the lives of the refugees “at risk”. Cameroon is currently home to more than 370,000 refugees, including some 100,000 from Nigeria, according to UNHCR. “We are gravely concerned for the safety and well-being of all these people”, said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. The UN refugee agency said on January 16, 267 Nigerian refugees, who had crossed into Cameroon in 2014, were forcibly returned. It regretted that at dusk on January 14, militants attacked and ransacked the border town of Rann, about 10 kilometers from the Cameroon border. UNHCR said that at least 14 people were reportedly killed and an estim...

Wife of Boko Haram Leader, Mamman Nur Arrested Abdullahi Ibrahim, the Borno Commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), said one of the two female Boko Haram bombers nabbed by the command is the wife of Mamman Nur, a factional leader of the terrorist group. The teenager, who was identified as Fatima Muhammed Kabir, was arrested recently, along with another woman, Amina Salihu at Borno Express Motor Park. Their mission was to carry out an Improvised Explosive Device attack in Maiduguri, the women disclosed during interrogation. Ibrahim disclosed that an NSDCC official who posed as a captured Boko Haram Amir was the one that interviewed the women. The commandant spoke at the commissioning of the newly donated equipment by the U.S Department of state on Wednesday in Maiduguri. Ibrahim said many Boko Haram members have surrendered their arms and renounced their campaign of terror, through the command’s civil approach to issues.