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☆ US reaches agreement with Niger to withdraw military forces by September 15
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Oren Liebermann | Anneclaire Stapleton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The US has reached an agreement with Niger to withdraw its military forces from the African nation by September 15, according to the US Defense Department and the Nigerien Ministry of National Defense. Niger’s military government announced in March that it had ended an accord with the US that allowed military personnel and civilian staff from the Department of Defense to operate in the country. The US delegation met with Niger’s ruling military junta last week to try to reach an agreement that would allow for the secure withdrawal of US forces and for clearances for military flights. The delegations also established procedures to facilitate the entry and exit of U.S. personnel, including overflight and landing clearances for military flights,” the joint statement said. Rebuffing the calls, the military junta instead began partnering more with Russia, whose forces are now operating at the same base from which US forces are withdrawing.

Persons: Balima, Chris Meier, Mamane Sani Kiaou, Biden, ” Organizations: CNN, US Defense Department, Nigerien Ministry of National Defense, Department of Defense, Getty, Nigerien Locations: Niger, Niamey, Anadolu, Russia, US, United States

☆ Nigeria kidnapping: Chibok girl rescued after 10 years in captivity
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Stephanie Busari | Michael Rios | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Lagos, Nigeria CNN —The Nigerian army says it has rescued one of the missing Chibok schoolgirls abducted by militant Islamic group Boko Haram a decade ago. But the abduction of the Chibok girls remains the highest-profile example of the group’s targeting of schools. A decade later: Chibok kidnapping survivors tell their storiesSurvivors of the Chibok kidnapping recently shared their harrowing experiences in captivity with CNN on the 10th anniversary of their abduction. One of them Amina Ali, 27, was forced to marry a Boko Haram fighter, spending two years in captivity, before escaping. Ishaya was also reunited with her family in 2017 after spending three years as a “slave,” treating injured Boko Haram fighters.

Persons: Chibok schoolgirls, Lydia Simon, Boko Haram, Haram, “, Amina Ali, Boko, Hannatu Stephen, Ishaya, Stephanie Busari, Michael Rios, Nimi Princewill Organizations: Nigeria CNN —, CNN, Amnesty International, West, Human Rights Locations: Lagos, Nigeria, Borno State, Haram, Islamic State, West African Province, Boko Haram, ”, Nigerian, Kuriga, Sokoto, Atlanta

☆ They were kidnapped from a boarding school 10 years ago. Hear their stories
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Stephanie Busari | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Boko Haram has waged a 15-year insurgency battle in northern Nigeria and has kidnapped thousands of people in that time. But the Chibok girls serve as a potent symbol to the world of hope and resilience. Boko Haram robbed her futureOnce an ambitious student with dreams of academic achievement, Hauwa Ishaya was 16 when she was kidnapped. As a result, she instead became a self-described “slave” – attending to her married sisters’ needs and treating wounded Boko Haram fighters. ‘I believe she’s alive’It is not only the girls kidnapped 10 years ago whose lives have been forever changed.

Persons: Nigeria CNN —, Haram, Amina Ali, Amina, Boko, CNN Amina, “, Hauwa Ishaya, CNN Hauwa, ” –, ’, Hauwa, ”, Hannatu Stephen, Hannatu, ‘, Yana Galang, Rifkatu, Yana, CNN Yana, she’s Organizations: Nigeria CNN, Amnesty International, CNN, American University of Nigeria Locations: Yola, Nigeria, Adamawa State, Boko Haram, Chibok

☆ Nearly 300 abducted schoolchildren released by gunmen in Nigeria, governor says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Sophie Jeong | Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Nearly 300 schoolchildren kidnapped in Nigeria earlier this month have been released, the governor of the country’s Kaduna state said in a post on X on Sunday. “The abducted Kuriga school children are released unharmed,” Uba Sani said, without providing further details. Some students were rescued but 287 of them had remained with the kidnappers – around 100 were from primary school and the rest from secondary school. Kaduna state, which borders the Nigerian capital Abuja to the southwest, has grappled with recurring incidents of kidnappings for ransom by bandits and has witnessed several mass abductions in recent years. This is a developing story and will be updated.

Persons: “, ” Uba Sani, Sani, Bola Tinubu, ”, Mansur Hassan, Nuhu Ribadu, ” Sani, Mariya Knight Organizations: CNN, Secondary School, country’s National, Nigerian Army Locations: Nigeria, Kaduna, Kuriga, Kaduna’s Chikun, Abuja, Princewill

☆ Nigerian Army Hunts for Kidnapped Students, Parents Seek Answers
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( March | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

The source said the army's Kaduna-based One Division was leading the operation and "will soon have the bandits in their sights". "The security agencies and the state government are working tirelessly to ensure the freedom of all the abducted students and pupils. We are making progress," said Muhammad Shehu Lawal, a spokesperson for Kaduna state governor, without giving details. Photos You Should See View All 60 ImagesThe mass kidnapping last Thursday, the first since July 2021, shattered the dusty town of Kuriga, 90 km from Kaduna state capital, with parents waiting for answers from authorities. According to Lagos-based consultancy SBM Intelligence 4,500 people have been kidnapped throughout Nigeria since Tinubu took office last May.

Persons: Garba Muhammad, Hamza Ibrahim, Muhammad Shehu Lawal, Bola Tinubu, Bala Ibrahim, Ibrahim, Tinubu, Ikemesit Effiong, MacDonald Dzirutwe, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Reuters, SBM Intelligence, Security Locations: Hamza Ibrahim KADUNA, Nigeria, Kaduna, Nigerian, Kuriga, Chibok, Borno, Niger, Birnin, Lagos

☆ Nigeria: Suspected insurgents kidnap 50 people in northeastern region
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Reuters —Suspected Islamist insurgents kidnapped 50 people, mostly women, in northeastern Nigeria this week, local officials and a resident said on Wednesday, the latest mass abduction by fighters who have waged an insurgency for more than a decade. They were ambushed by gunmen and made to walk across bushy paths into neighboring Chad, the official said, adding that three of the kidnapped women managed to escape. The Nigerian Army did not respond to a request for comment. Barkindo Saidu, head of Borno’s emergency agency, said he was traveling to the area to assess the situation but was not yet ready to declare the people missing. The agency is in charge of camps housing thousands of Nigerians displaced by the insurgency.

Persons: Reuters —, Boko, Falmata Bukar, Barkindo Saidu Organizations: Reuters, Civilian, Task Force, Nigerian Army Locations: Nigeria, Boko Haram, Islamic, West Africa Province, Borno, Chad, Cameroon, Lake Chad

☆ Nigeria’s president calls for investigation after drone attack kills 85
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Reuters —Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday called for a thorough investigation into a military drone attack that the state emergency agency in northern Kaduna state said killed at least 85 people at the weekend. The state’s governor, a religious leader and witnesses told Reuters on Monday that dozens of civilians were killed following the military drone attack that was targeting insurgents and bandits on Sunday night. The Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency said on Tuesday at least 85 people had died during the attack, giving the first official confirmation of the toll from the weekend incident. “The President directs a thorough and full-fledged investigation into the incident and calls for calm while the authorities look diligently into the mishap,” said Ngelale. The Nigerian Army is yet to comment on the incident but the Air Force has denied being involved in the mission that led to Sunday’s attack.

Persons: Reuters —, Bola Tinubu, Tinubu, Ajuri Ngelale, ” Organizations: Reuters, Emergency Management Agency, Zonal, Nigerian Army, Air Force Locations: Kaduna, Dubai, Tundun, United States, Britain, Abuja

☆ How the Nigerian military fatally shot a young captive
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +19 min

The Nigerian government and military – including the presidency, Ministry of Defence, defence headquarters and army leaders – did not respond to detailed questions for this story. Various entities have accused Nigerian security forces of other abuses in connection with killings of civilians and captives. Two security force members told Reuters they saw multiple prisoners brought out of the barracks and shot after the fighting ceased. Tweets from Nigerian defence headquarters in Abuja show the military declared the hostilities over shortly after 11 a.m. Nine shots fired A uniformed security force member shot nine rounds at the young captive, pulling the trigger at least seven times, according to forensic audio experts who listened to the recording at Reuters’ request.

Persons: Melanie O’Brien, –, Ocampo, Christopher Musa, Musa, ” Musa, “, extrajudicially, Michael Oluoha Agi, ’ ”, ”, Boko, ‘ Allahu akbar ’, Yahaya, Haram, Biu, Bellingcat, Belllingcat, Chris Olukolade, Emmanuel Emeka, Emeka, Reade Levinson, David Lewis, Tim Cocks, Carlos Gonzales, Paul Carsten, Daphne Psaledakis, Stephanie van den Berg, Youri van, Adolfo Arranz, Sam Hart, Feilding, Julie Marquis, Alexandra Zavis Organizations: Reuters, International Association of, Nigerian, Ministry of Defence, ICC, Islamic, Human Rights Commission, United Nations, Twitter, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, U.S . State Department, U.S, Boko, Civilian, Task Force, Defence, Facebook, 231, Battalion, 331 Artillery Regiment Locations: Geneva, Nigeria, Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province, Nigerian, United States, Britain, U.S, Biu, Boko Haram, Abuja, Largema

☆ Crowds camp in front of Niger French army base to press for troop departure
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nigerian army officers are seen as faithfuls perform their Friday prayers in front of the French army base in Niamey, Niger September 8, 2023. Relations between Niger and its former coloniser France have worsened since Paris declared the junta illegitimate, stoking anti-French sentiment. There have been calls for around 1,500 French troops stationed in Niger as part of a wider fight against an Islamist insurgency in the Sahel to leave the country. But the crowd in front of the French military has swelled and is showing no sign of leaving. On Friday, protesters celebrated Muslim midday prayers that are usually held in a mosque in front of the base.

Persons: Mohamed Bazoum, Aissa Seyni, Abdel, Kader Mazou, Sofia Christensen, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Niamey, Niger, NIAMEY, Niger's, France, Paris, headscarves

☆ Fact Check-Video shows soldiers in Sierra Leone in 1998, not Niger in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Footage of soldiers entering a village in Sierra Leone in 1998 has been miscaptioned online as showing Nigerian soldiers in Niger, where President Mohamed Bazoum was ousted in a coup on July 26, 2023. The old video clip, which has been overlayed with the false caption: “Nigerian army at Niger,” shows military personnel firing shots while entering the village of Goderich. It shows units of the Nigerian-led intervention force - Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), taking control of Goderich, a rebel area adjacent to capital city Freetown, during a coup in Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone video reappeared with the false caption in August as defence chiefs of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) mull over plans for the possible use of force to reverse the coup in Niger (here). A video showing African coalition forces responding to a civil war in Sierra Leone in 1998, has been mislabelled as relating to a 2023 coup in Niger.

Persons: Mohamed Bazoum, ECOMOG, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, Read Organizations: Associated Press, Economic, West, States Monitoring, Reuters, Sierra, West African States Locations: Sierra Leone, Niger, Goderich, Nigerian, Freetown, mull

☆ Dermot Doran, Priest Who Rallied Aid for Biafran Airlift, Dies at 88
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Clay Risen | More About Clay Risen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The cargo plane flew in low over southeastern Nigeria, its lights out, its radio off, its pilot navigating by the glow of refinery flares along the coast. On the ground, a team of boys suddenly ran out of the bush to light rows of kerosene lamps to guide the craft toward the tiny airstrip, just 75 feet wide and 1,200 feet long. Aboard were 26 tons of antibiotics, flour and salted fish, as well as a 34-year-old Irish priest named Dermot Doran. Father Doran was one of 1,000 priests and nuns, mostly from Ireland, who had been working in the area when the fighting broke out. Overnight, they pivoted from their peacetime roles as educators — Father Doran had been a high school principal — to aid workers during one of the 20th century’s worst humanitarian crises.

Persons: Dermot Doran, Father Doran Organizations: Nigerian Army Locations: Nigeria, Biafra, Ireland

☆ Nigeria's Tinubu removes security chiefs in major reshuffle
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ABUJA, June 19 (Reuters) - Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu made sweeping changes to the defence forces on Monday, forcing out the security chiefs and the head of police less than a month after taking office. Tinubu, who was sworn in on May 29, has made security one of his major priorities and promised reforms to the sector, including recruitment of more soldiers and police officers, while paying and equipping them better. It is not unusual for a new Nigerian president to send security chiefs into early retirement upon taking office, as Tinubu did on Monday. He picked Nuhu Ribadu, a former senior police officer and ex-head of the country's economic and financial crimes agency, as his National Security Adviser. Reporting by Felix Onuah, additional reporting by Camillus Eboh; Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Alison Williams and Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Tinubu, Nuhu, Christopher Musa, Lucky Irabor, Musa, Felix Onuah, Camillus Eboh, MacDonald Dzirutwe, Alison Williams, Marguerita Choy Organizations: National Security, Defence Staff, Reuters, Nigerian Army, Nigeria Customs Service, Thomson Locations: ABUJA

☆ More women describe having forced abortions in Nigerian Army programme
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +20 min

And both lost their pregnancies after they were taken into custody by Nigerian soldiers and given unidentified pills and injections. Nigerian military leaders previously have adamantly denied the existence of the abortion programme and the deliberate killing of unarmed children. We respect every living soul.”Asked about the military’s comments on the programme, Yau replied: “This happened to me, and they are denying it. After she was put into a room with three other pregnant women, Yau said, army personnel gave her pills and more injections. Reuters was unable to determine if this tally overlapped with others cited in its December story about the abortion programme.

☆ U.S. Congress members seek halt to $1 billion Nigeria weapons deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Daphne Psaledakis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"We write to express our concern with current U.S. policy on and military support to Nigeria," the lawmakers said. The United States has paired security assistance to Nigeria with training focused on compliance with international law. Nigerian military leaders denied the program has ever existed and said Reuters reporting was part of a foreign effort to undermine the country's fight against the insurgents. Nigerian military leaders told Reuters the army has never targeted children for killing. Amid international outcry, Nigeria’s defense ministry agreed to cooperate with an investigation by Nigeria’s Commission on Human Rights, which is underway.

Senator Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has requested a review of U.S. security assistance and cooperation programs in Nigeria following Reuters reporting on an illegal abortion program and killing of children carried out by the Nigerian military. Nigerian military leaders denied the program has ever existed and said Reuters reporting was part of a foreign effort to undermine the country's fight against the insurgents. Nigerian military leaders told Reuters the army has never targeted children for killing. The deal, approved in April, had been put on hold over concerns about possible human rights abuses by the Nigerian government. The United States has also obligated about $6 million between 2016 and 2020 for the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program.

☆ In Nigeria's long war, a young woman is brutalised by both sides
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +16 min

It was a pleasant evening in the summer of 2014, in her Nigerian village near the Cameroon border. Reuters could not reach representatives of Boko Haram or its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province, for comment. But by October 2014, the militants were enforcing extreme sharia law in her village, Aisha said. Boko Haram men often came looking for them, knocking on their door and forcing them to hide. But she did not believe she could do so with Bana, as boys were particularly valued in the Boko Haram community.

☆ Nigerian Army massacred children in war on insurgents, witnesses say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Reuters Graphic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

CJTF members provide the army with intelligence on suspected insurgents, serve as interpreters and help soldiers navigate sometimes unfamiliar terrain. Bello Danbatta, a spokesman for the CJTF, told Reuters that the military and CJTF forces did not target civilians. During combat operations, soldiers told Reuters, it was common to take aim at anyone they came across in areas the army did not fully control. And in a war in which insurgents have forced minors to fight, soldiers said they couldn't even trust in the innocence of children. Soldiers told the women that their children needed injections for malaria and other afflictions, she said.

☆ U.S. State Department 'deeply troubled' by report on Nigerian army killing children
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department is "deeply troubled" by a Reuters report that the Nigerian army killed children in its fight against insurgents and had raised the allegations with the Nigerian government, a spokesperson said on Monday. Nigerian military leaders told Reuters the army has never targeted children for killing. "We are pursuing further information, including from the Government of Nigeria and stakeholders working in this space," a State Department spokesperson said by email. Our Embassy in Abuja is seeking additional information, including by speaking to Nigerian authorities." The Reuters report said intentional killings of children have occurred across northeast Nigeria, where the military have been battling Islamist extremists for 13 years.

☆ UN Secretary-General calls on Nigeria to investigate report of forced abortions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

To match Special Report NIGERIA-MILITARY/ABORTIONS REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS, THIS PICTURE WAS DIGITALLY MASKED BY REUTERS TO PROTECT THE IDENTITY OF THE WOMAN. Dec 9 (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Nigerian authorities to investigate allegations of systemic and coerced abortions reportedly perpetrated by the Nigerian army, U.N spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Friday. Reuters reported on Wednesday that the Nigerian Army has run a secret, systematic and illegal abortion programme in the country's northeast since at least 2013. "We call on the Nigerian authorities to fully investigate these allegations and make sure there's accountability," Dujarric told reporters later on Friday. Nigeria's defence chief said on Thursday the military will not investigate the report, saying it was not true.

☆ Nigeria military ran secret mass abortion program in war on Boko Haram
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Reuters Graphic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

The existence of the army-run abortion programme hasn’t been previously reported. The conflict zone The abortion programme has taken place in the northeastern states of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa, where the Nigerian military has been fighting Islamist insurgents. A spokesperson for Jonathan told Reuters that the former president had “no knowledge of any allegation of such heinous acts” by the Nigerian Army. Some of the most powerful military leaders in Nigeria oversaw counterinsurgency operations in the northeast as the abortion programme grew. Waging war on Boko Haram The abortion programme began during the presidency of Jonathan.

☆ Reaction to Reuters report on Nigerian military abortion programme
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 7 (Reuters) - A Reuters investigation published on Wednesday revealed that the Nigerian Army has run a secret, systematic and illegal abortion programme in the country's northeast since at least 2013. It's a concerning report, and for that reason we are seeking further information." ALICIA KEARNS, CHAIR OF UK PARLIAMENT FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE"The stories in this report are heartbreaking and - if verified - represent a large-scale, and deeply concerning, abuse of human rights. "It is the responsibility of UK authorities to ensure that their support of the Nigerian military does not aid human rights abuses and we expect the Government to take these allegations seriously. JIM RISCH, LEADING REPUBLICAN ON U.S. SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE"This is a deeply disturbing report.

☆ Nigeria's Obasanjo clinches unlikely Ethiopia truce
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Former Nigerian president and African Union envoy Olesegun Obasanjo arrives for the signing of the AU-led negotiations to resolve the conflict in northern Ethiopia, in Pretoria , South Africa, November 2, 2022. Summary Obasanjo stepped down as Nigeria's president in 2007Now aged 85, he took up peace-making in retirementMediated in crises from Ivory Coast to MozambiqueJOHANNESBURG, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Olusegun Obasanjo has had mixed results as a mediator of intractable conflicts across Africa since he stepped down as Nigeria's president in 2007, although he has never tired of trying. Obasanjo stepped down from Nigeria's presidency in 2007 and presided over elections that marked the first handover of power from one civilian head of state to another in Nigeria since it became independent from Britain in 1960. The test now is whether Ethiopia's conflict is on track for a permanent peace deal or just a temporary respite. After Abacha's death in 1998, Obasanjo was released and was elected as civilian president in 1999.

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