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Buhari Blames Gaddafi for Killings Across Nigeria

Published

6 years ago

April 12, 2018

Eric

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday publicly blamed former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi who was killed seven years ago for the ongoing killings across central Nigeria.

The killings have long been linked to herdsmen, and some herders of the Fulani ethnic stock have claimed responsibility for some attacks.

But the president said Mr Gaddafi, a dictator swept away by an uprising in 2011, was to blame for the alarming dimension the attacks have taken in recent years.

Mr Gaddafi was killed in October 2011 following weeks of violent uprising across Libya, ending his 42-year reign. He was 69.

Prior to his death, which was aided by the Western incursion into the country, Mr Gaddafi reportedly armed his supporters to ward off the rebellion against him. Libya subsequently plunged into a civil war that still lingers nearly seven years later.

In London with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby on Wednesday, President Buhari said the arms Mr Gaddafi provided to his supporters had filtered into Nigeria where they are now being used to fuel killings across the north-central.

“The problem is even older than us,” Mr Buhari said of killings. “It has always been there, but now made worse by the influx of armed gunmen from the Sahel region into different parts of the West African sub-region.”

“These gunmen were trained and armed by Muammar Gaddafi of Libya. When he was killed, the gunmen escaped with their arms. We encountered some of them fighting with Boko Haram.

“Herdsmen that we used to know carried only sticks and maybe a cutlass to clear the way, but these ones now carry sophisticated weapons,” Mr Buhari said.

He once again dismissed claims that the attacks might have tribal or religious undertone because they largely occurred at Christian-dominated and minority tribes areas, saying those propagating the assertion are doing so for political gains.

“The problem is not religious, but sociological and economic. But we are working on solutions,” Mr Buhari said.

The president has faced criticism from for his response in combating the crisis headlong.

Former Nigerian leaders Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida have criticised Mr Buhari for not demonstrating the capacity to contain the killings, asking him not to run again in 2019. They had also been joined by Theophilus Danjuma, a former chief of army staff, who admonished citizens to defend themselves rather than wait for security agencies.

Mr Danjuma said the Nigerian security agencies are complicit in the killings, saying many tribes may be wiped out if they wait for federal authorities to protect them.

Both Mr Buhari and the military have separately issued statements condemning Mr Danjuma’s remarks and imploring Nigerians not to arm themselves.

The killings, especially in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba States, have resulted in over a thousand deaths this year alone. They have also caused humanitarian emergencies in those states, with each of them running camps for hundreds of thousands of internally-displaced persons.

Mr Buhari has long implied that the attackers are foreigners and not herdsmen, contrary to the accounts of villagers who insist they are being killed by herders.

In the past, Fulani leaders have openly claimed responsibility for killings hundreds of villagers, but said they were provoked by the wanton rustling of their livestock.

Following the killings in Benue in early January, leaders of the group in the state vowed that there would be no peace unless the anti-open grazing law being implemented in the state is immediately abolished.

That position has been repeatedly reechoed by senior government officials, including the

Security analysts expressed concerns that Mr Buhari might not have a good grasp of the crisis, despite how frequent it has manifested in recent months.

“Unfortunately, the president appears to be misinformed,” said security analyst Cheta Nwanze.

Mr Nwanze, head of SBM Intelligence in Lagos, said while it is true that some of the arms in Libya have found their ways into Nigeria following the death of Mr Gaddafi, there is little evidence to support the assertion that they are being used in the north-central killings.

“Most arms from Libya that have been tracked end up with Boko Haram by way of N’Djamena in Chad,” Mr Nwanze said.

He said the arms being used in the north-central have been linked to previously intercepted weapons by the Nigerian government.

On the assertion that the killers are not herdsmen or Fulani, Mr Nwanze said “the president may need to reassess his statement” because leaders of cattle breeders association have repeatedly claimed responsibility for deadly attacks or warned of impending ones in the past.

Another security expert who weighed in on the president’s comments with PREMIUM TIMES Thursday morning was Mike Ejiofor, a former director at the State Security Service (SSS).

“It is really unfortunate that the president would go outside to tell the terrorists are coming from Libya,” he said. “We have no borders with Libya and there are no similar senseless killings in other countries which have borders with Libya.”

Mr Ejiofor expressed a splinter support for the president’s assertion that the killers might not be herdsmen, saying he believes some of them are actually terrorists taking advantage of the fluid security situation to further polarise the country.

Premium Times

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Foreign Mercenaries Involved in Proposed Protest, Says IGP Egbetokun

Published

6 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Eric

The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, on Friday, said that intelligence at the disposal of the Force has revealed that foreign mercenaries are involved in the proposed nationwide protest.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, Egbetokun urged all Nigerians to exercise caution and think twice before joining any protest group.

Egbetokun said, “We have been monitoring development surrounding protest threats. While some groups call for violent protests, emulating Kenya’s recent events, others advocate for peaceful demonstrations.

“However, some individuals promote peaceful protests with violent undertones, raising concerns about their sincerity. We have our history of violent protests in Nigeria, and I don’t believe we have to look to other countries to note the dangers of unchecked demonstrations. We commend patriots who have withdrawn from the protest due to the apparent sinister motives and ignorance of those calling for violence.

“We note those who have spoken out against any form of protest at this critical juncture, fearing enemies of our country may be manipulating the process. We confirm their fears are genuine, as we have credible intelligence on foreign mercenaries’ involvement in this planned protest. The Nigerian police urge all Nigerians to exercise caution and think twice before joining any protest group.”

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Adeleke Has Neither Borrowed Nor Draw Security Votes in Running Osun, Says Spokesperson

Published

9 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Eric

Mallam Olawale Rasheed, Spokesperson to the Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, has said that the governor has neither borrowed a kobo nor draw security vote in the administration of the state ever since he took office.

Olawale Rasheed made the clarification in a press statement he signed himself, and made available to The Boss.

The clarifications in response to questions from reporters who quoted some opposition figures alleging the state Governor of increasing Osun debt, and of accessing security votes to the tune of billions of naira.

Mr Rasheed attributed such allegations to pure mischief, ignorance of public finance and deliberate misinterpretation of state data, noting that Governor Adeleke is pursuing his many governance initiatives within the confines of available resources from federal allocations and internally generated revenue.

According to the Spokesperson, the state Governor is achieving so much through fiscal discipline, deliberate curtailing of overhead cost and widening of revenue nets, all which resulted in fiscal and financial health of the state.

Mr Rasheed posited that opposition figures displayed ignorance by ignoring the impact of the exchange rate crisis on the inherited external debt stock of Osun State, explaining that the weak naira increased the naira value of the state debt stock.

“The Debt Management Office is the national debt data repository. According to the DMO, Osun owed foreign lenders the sum of $91,779,393.97 as of December 31, 2022, and by December 31, 2023, the external debt profile of Osun stood at $87,247,488.51.

“From the figures above, Osun’s external debt dropped. The noticeable difference in the naira value of Osun external debt was due to the significant devaluation of naira. In 2022, a dollar averaged at N460, and so, the naira value of $91,779,393.97 Osun’s external debt in 2022 was N41bn compared to 2023 when a dollar averaged N1,400, which is essentially why despite the fact that Osun debt reduced to $87,247,488.51, the naira equivalent was N78bn”, the Spokesperson narrated.

“On the allegation of security services votes included in the uploaded budget performance report, let me clarify that the subhead only referred to the cost of various security services and operations across the state which is different from the conventional concept of security votes as drawn by most state governors.

“The security service funds in the identified subhead were used among other interventions to service special peacekeeping operations, provide logistics support to quench inter communal clashes and support the operations of the different security agencies across the state”.

“The funds meant for various security related services are accessed through normal approval processes with appropriate records kept. We however firmly affirm that Mr Governor did not and is not drawing any personal security votes as is the convention before his assumption of office. This is in line with his avowed commitment to free state resources to execute his ambitious five point agenda,” the Governor’s Spokesperson noted.

He described as defeatist the recent penchant of the opposition to twist state finance data to support false narration, submitting that such failed strategy confirms the opposition has run out of ideas and initiatives in the face of Governor Adeleke’s widely acknowledged exceptional performance.

News

Glo 1 Celebrates Eight Years of Connectivity, Boosts Capacity

Published

13 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Eric

Telecommunication services provider, Globacom, has celebrated the eighth year of uninterrupted connectivity for Glo 1, the international submarine cable which is solely owned by the company.

Glo 1 has, since 2016, not experienced any disruption in its operations, thereby ensuring uninterrupted connectivity for individual and corporate customers who derive their internet requirements from the network.

The company said in a press statement that Glo1 submarine fiber cable infrastructure recently upgraded to ensure maximum utilization and enhanced service delivery.

Globacom exclusively financed the entire end-to-end architecture of Glo 1, including access systems, the national fiber-optic backbone, the international cable systems, International gateways and data centre services. Globacom’s presence in several countries and its fibre optic networks entail that it can offer last mile and domestic long haul services to Glo 1 customers. Earlier this year, when most submarine cables in Nigeria and West Africa experienced fibre cuts which caused widespread internet downturn, Glo 1 was unaffected and was about the only source of succour for internet users in the country.

Glo 1 successfully powered financial institutions, internet service providers, and data consumers throughout the period. Industry watchers posited that Glo 1 international submarine Cable’s resilient architecture and durability made the cable impregnable to disruption.

Glo 1 connects directly to London with lowest latency, thus guaranteeing ultra fast and reliable internet connectivity. Latency refers to the length of time it takes for data to travel from one point to another across a network

The Glo 1 capacity boost effectively compliments the ongoing technical expansions and upgrades of Glo network infrastructure to ensure unique calling and browsing experience on the Glo network.

Globacom disclosed that the Glo 1 facility offers customers the most guaranteed solutions to their business needs and has customized services to address the requirements of a wide segment of clients including Oil and Gas companies, Manufacturers, government, education and medical institutions.

“The cable facilitates teleconferencing, distance learning, disaster recovery and telemedicine, among several other benefits for the African people” the company said.