Tensions in the Niger Delta

Tension is building in the Niger Delta swampland ahead of the expiry at the end of the year of an amnesty aimed at stabilising Nigeria’s volatile southern region. The towns and cities are mostly calm, but residents say kidnappings and armed robberies are increasing in the mangrove swamps where most oil wells are located. President Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim northerner, said in May he might "streamline" the amnesty, set up in 2009 by his predecessor Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian like most Delta people. The deal aimed to pacify militants fighting for more of the oil revenues, and included paying $300 million a year to 30,000 youths to discourage them from blowing up pipelines or kidnapping oil workers.

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  Boys paddle a canoe near the banks of the Nun River in Yeneka village in Nigeria's Bayelsa state October 8, 2015.
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  People ride in canoes and speedboats at Swali jetty on the Nun River on the outskirts of the Bayelsa state capital, Yenagoa, in Nigeria's delta region October 8, 2015.
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  A woman hangs out clothes on a rope to dry outside her home beside the Nun River in Yenagoa October 8.
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  Women peel cassava pods outside a kitchen in Yeneka village on the outskirts of Yenagoa, October 8.
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  The deputy community chief of Yeneka village, Douglas Oguta, poses for a portrait in his home on the outskirts of Yenagoa, October 8.
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  A rack holding electronics equipment, including two televisions, is seen in a mud house in Ikarama village on the outskirts of Yenagoa, October 8.
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  A boy holding a sword stands in a street in Ikarama village on the outskirts of Yenagoa, October 8.
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  A petrol pump attendant sits on a floating fuel station on the banks of the Nun River near Yenagoa, October 8.
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  A man washes himself with river water outside his home on the banks of the Nun River close to Yenagoa, October 8.
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  Children return from school in mid-morning in Ikarama village on the outskirts of Yenagoa, October 8.
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  A man walks near a 'No Parking’ behind a line of three-wheeled vehicles outside a police station in Yenagoa, October 7.
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  A building belonging to the father of former petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke in Yeneka village on the outskirts of Yenagoa, October 8.
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  A church tower is seen behind houses on the banks of the Nun River on the outskirts of Yenagoa, October 8.

Cameroon army drives Boko Haram militants back across northern border

A wall painted by Boko Haram is pictured in Damasak March 24, 2015. REUTERS/Joe Penney

(Recasts with officials saying Boko Haram repelled)

DOUALA, Cameroon, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Cameroonian soldiers drove Boko Haram insurgents back across the country's northern border into Nigeria on Friday, a day after the Islamist militants killed at least eight people in an attack in the remote region that aid groups say is becoming a war zone.

Boko Haram fighters had stormed the village of Kerawa in Cameroon's Far North Zone on Thursday afternoon, the local prefect said, the same day as a similar raid nearby and a suicide bombing in neighbouring Chad.

"The arrival of reinforcements from our security forces... mean the thugs have been forced to retreat across the border to Nigeria," the prefect told Reuters.

Colonel Badjeck, the army's spokesman, said that the military had caused heavy casualties in Boko Haram ranks but no official death toll was available.

Boko Haram guerrillas have made the swamplands of Lake Chad, where the borders of Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria converge into a war zone, the United Nations refugee agency said last week.

Boko Haram has waged a brutal six-year campaign for an Islamist state in northeastern Nigeria. Since neighbouring countries joined an offensive against the group last year, the conflict has spilled across their borders, displacing tens of thousands of people.

Boko Haram used Cameroon's impoverished Far North to stockpile supplies and recruits until the government cracked down on the jihadist group last year.

Cameroon is also in an 8,700-strong regional force led by Nigeria against the militants, expected to be operational by the end of the year. The United States is sending military supplies and troops to the central African country to aid the fight.

BE VIGILANT ARMY WARN JOS RESIDENTS

Boko haram insurgents in Jos – Troops warns residents
October 11, 2015 News 78 Views

Residents of Jos, the Plateau state capital have been alerted by the federal troops known as Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) of the presence of Boko Haram in the city.

The federal troops reported that the insurgents may be planning to detonate bombs through suicide bombers or car bomb at crowded places like markets, relaxation centers, motor parks and schools.

There have been several cases of multiple bomb explosions in the city in recent past which led to the deaths of hundreds of residents including car bombs, suicide bombing and throwing of grenades.

The last of such attacks was during the last Ramadan fast which killed many worshippers listening to sermon at Dilimi Mosque Jos.

In a statement released in Jos on Sunday by the spokesman of the OPSH, Captain Ikedichi Iweha, the federal troop has called on citizens of the state to be security conscious and tighten security around public places

group commend governor simon lalong on peace and security

a group know as rescue team social media vanguard has commended governor simon lalong of plateau state on his new approach toward the restoration of permanent peace and security in the state, the group made the statement through it national coordinator com.II Charles at hill station hotel jos on Thursday while addressing youths from the 17 local government area of the state and some notable fulani youths on the need to join hand with the state government so as to achieve total peace, com Charles who further stated  that with governor  new approach on peace, law and and order will soon be restored in barkin ladi and riyom local government area.