Ex-Boko Haram Fighters, Eluding Detection, Start A New Life In Kaduna, Kano, And Abuja
[THREAD]
He was in the senior commanding cadre among the revered elite jihadist corps in the Islamist terrorist group, Boko Haram. As a Qa’id, the Nigeria Army equivalent of a Brigadier-General, he was high in the sect’s pecking order. Two years ago, Musa ..
(not his real name) took residence in Hayin Rigasa in Kaduna among ordinary people.
Musa was joined by his family, his wife and three children. He lived discreetly, with a keen interest in the minutest information about his neighbours and the neighbourhood. He avoided ..
conversations with people and only ventured out when it was necessary.
He had a medical issue. HumAngle was informed that Musa frequently treated piles but his stubborn refusal to submit himself for professional medical attention and prescription, plus the absence of any ..
medical records stocked whispering campaigns that matter could very well be much more serious. Some even hinted at the possibility of HIV.
A few months ago, Musa gave up the ghost at the peak of the scourge of the coronavirus pandemic. Without any known friends or relations ..
Musa’s family, as well as of his wife, had any idea of their whereabouts for years. A member of the family told HumAngle: “After the death of her husband, she had nowhere else to go, so she returned home to us in Maiduguri. That was when we knew they were no longer in the ..
Lake Chad precinct but were living in Kaduna for over two years.”
HumAngle tracked 15 ex-fighters of Boko Haram who have deserted the battlefronts and have taken up residence in major cities in parts of northern Nigeria. Their neighbours and colleagues at work know ..
nothing about their violent past. Security agencies seem to have no clues about the trend either.
Our investigations show that as many as 3,000 Boko Haram ex-fighters have been living in major cities across northern Nigeria undetected between 2016 and 2020.
They work to eke out a living as daily paid labourers in Abuja, Kano, Kaduna and other major cities in northern Nigeria.
Many among them also work as taxi drivers, domestic workers in people’s homes, wheelbarrow pushers in markets and motor parks ..
traders, and security guards for individuals and organisations.
Implications Of Pantami Saga For Deradicalisation And National Security
[THREAD]
Brewing political crisis and debates on Nigeria’s communications minister, @DrIsaPantami, if not managed properly, could have unintended consequences of derailing deradicalisation across the country’s northern region and the Sahel.
A series of publications targeted at an Islamic cleric and Nigerian government minister has led to scrutiny of his previous extremist rhetoric; but these tensed debates, if not managed properly can risk undermining efforts to promote deradicalisation and counter extremism.
Nigerian Minister Pantami Recants Old Views, Says He Is Against Extremism
After clips of his inflammatory preaching surfaced, Nigeria’s communication & digital economy Minister, @DrIsaPantami has divorced himself from his old views, saying he is a different person now.
[THREAD]
Dr Isa Ali Pantami, Nigeria’s Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, has reacted to the allegations associating him with extremist views and terrorist groups saying that his old fatwas (Islamic rulings) should be read within historical context.
Speaking during his Ramadan tafsir session at the Annur Mosque in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital on Saturday, April 17, Pantami, who is under public scrutiny for his past stance on extremism, said his old views & religious stances were shaped by lack of facts & he no longer holds them.
‘Leave As Soon As Possible’: US, UK Raise Concerns About Post-Election Unrest In Chad
The election was held amid controversy with opposition leaders urging people not to vote, and attacks from Libya-based rebels.
[THREAD]
The United States and United Kingdom governments have warned their citizens against travelling to or remaining in the Republic of Chad after a fresh wave of armed violence followed the conduct of presidential elections.
A convoy belonging to the armed rebel group, ...
Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), had crossed into the Central African country from Libya on Sunday, April 11, and engaged government security forces. The following Saturday, the rebels proceeded southwest apparently in the direction of the capital, N’Djamena.
Damasak: When Going Home Becomes Unsafe For Returnee-IDPs
[THREAD]
The government of Borno, Northeast Nigeria, started an IDP resettlement programme in 2020; Damasak is one the target communities. However, a few months after hundreds of households relocated to Damasak, the border community is once again unsafe.
This week, two disconcerting videos trended on social media — one from a faction of the armed insurgent group, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and the other from fleeing residents of Damasak, a town in Northeast Nigeria.
Damasak: The Nigerian Town Caught In ISWAP’s Crosshairs
The Nigerian military deployed reinforcements after the terror group went on rampage in Damasak that dislodged thousands of locals.
[THREAD]
A series of attacks launched by ISWAP, the Islamic State affiliate in West Africa, in Damasak, a town close to the shores of Lake Chad, has led to the dislodgement of some residents and disruption of badly needed humanitarian assistance.
Damasak, the main town of Mobbar Local Government Area, is located near the border with the Niger Republic.
It is protected by the Army Super Camp 14 situated in the new base about two to three kilometres from the town, along the Abadam-Guzamala road.
IDP Diaries: “Rann Bombing Did Not Kill Me But This Hunger Might”
Muhammad narrowly escaped death during the Rann bombing in 2017. He sustained injuries & lost loved ones. In this diary, he talks about his move from camp to camp & how IDP aid has reduced since then.
[THREAD]
There is hunger. It is not new. Things are difficult. The women now go and pick guinea corn that has sprouted from the ones destroyed by elephants. It took years before I was registered in this camp and in that time, my family and I had to farm; but elephants destroyed our crops.
Some people had to go to Cameroon to farm and we had friends who could not eat for two or three days.
Things were not always this bad. Before the bombing in 2017, organisations like the Red Cross used to give us a lot of materials. My name is Muhammad Al-Jarawa. We were ...