We Don’t Need UN Support To Fight Boko Haram – Dasuki

The National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, has said that Nigeria does not require the support of the United Nations (UN) to successfully prosecute the war against Islamist sect, Boko Haram.

He insisted that Nigeria and her neighbours can handle the insurgents.

In an interview with the BBC yesterday, the NSA who acknowledged that the sect was a “real security threat” however said “no” when asked if Nigeria needed outside help, but later said it was an option to involve UN and AU forces even though regional partners were best placed to deal with the problem.

This is coming on the heels of a pledge by the Special Representative of the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General for West Africa and UN Special Envoy to Nigeria, Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, that the apex global body would support Nigeria in the ongoing counter-terrorism operations.

A statement signed by Lieutenant Commander Way Olabisi on behalf of the director defence information, Major General Chris Olukolade, said Chambas made the disclosure when he visited the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja yesterday.

The statement quoted Chambas as saying that the United Nations would be ready to give Nigeria all the needed support to counter terrorism in the country. He therefore called for collaborative efforts with neighbouring countries in order to defeat the menace of terrorism.

For his part while thanking the UN envoy, Chief of Defence Staff said that Nigeria welcomes any form of assistance that could help in the prosecution of her campaign against Boko Haram insurgents.

“He assured the UN Envoy that Nigerian Armed Forces would continue to adhere strictly to the rules of engagement and other guidelines relevant to the observance of the fundamental Human Rights and would work with relevant organisations accordingly.

“The CDS used the occasion to reassure the UN that the military’s presence and roles before, during and after Nigeria’s general elections were focused on ensuring peaceful conduct of elections and protection of lives and properties,” Olabisi said.

Since the Nigerian government declared a state of emergency 20 months ago in three north-eastern states to deal with the insurgency, Boko Haram has strengthened and now controls several towns, where it has declared a caliphate.

The militants gained worldwide notoriety after kidnapping more than 200 schoolgirls in April last year – who have yet to be rescued.

Recently they have carried out raids into neighbouring Cameroon and this week Boko Haram’s leader said his fighters had carried out the brutal attacks on the Nigerian town of Baga. He said they had seized enough weapons from Baga’s military base to “annihilate Nigeria”.

Some reports said that as many as 2,000 people died in Baga but Nigeria’s government has disputed this, putting the toll at 150.

Dasuki told the BBC’s Newsday programme that close to 50 per cent of Nigeria’s army was now deployed to the north-east, which he said showed how seriously the situation was being taken.

He, however, dismissed complaints by soldiers that they were not being given enough weapons and working equipment to tackle Boko Haram, saying there were “cowards” within the armed forces who hampered the campaign against the insurgents.

“Nigerian soldiers currently make up the bulk of UN peacekeepers deployed to Africa,” he added.

Efforts to form a multinational force involving Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon have floundered. However, following a meeting this week, it was agreed that they would seek UN backing for the force – and move the headquarters from the captured town of Baga to Chad’s capital, N’Djamena.

Over the weekend, Chadian soldiers deployed to Cameroon’s border with Nigeria to help secure the porous border.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State, John Kerry says he plans to visit Nigeria in a couple of days.

Kerry made the announcement in a speech discussing how to tackle violent extremism at the Davos economic conference.

How DHQ Website Was Hacked, Restored – Olukolade

An attempt to infiltrate the official website of the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), defenceinfo.mil.ng, has been uncovered while the hackers have consequently been knocked off the military site.

This was disclosed by the director of defence information, Major General Chris Olukolade, who initially took to his twitter handle, @GENOlukolade, before releasing a press statement to journalists later in the day yesterday, which announced that the hackers had been stopped.

Olukolade said that the hackers defaced the front end of the website earlier in the day but could not penetrate the database of the site. He revealed that the hackers may have targeted the military blogsite because of the crucial role it plays in the dissemination of information on the ongoing counter-terrorism operations.

He added that preliminary investigation revealed that the attack was launched from the site end of the host, saying that one Ima Sadiq, who posed as the hacker on the site, had been knocked off and the site has been restored.

“The Defence Headquarters’ information blogsite, defenceinfo.mil.ng, was hacked into at the early hours of Friday, 23 January, 2015. The site was defaced at the front end. However, the hackers could not infiltrate the database of the site.

“Preliminary investigation shows that the attack was from the end of the site’s host. One ImaSadiq who posed as the hacker has been knocked off and normal activities on the channel has resumed.

“Apparently, the site was targeted because of its role as a major channel for disseminating information on military and security activities in the nation’s counter-terrorism campaign,” he said.