The AP story in particular illustrates the CIA’s characteristic pincer tactic, of financing and arming the “terrorists” via its own agents in the army, while simultaneously financing (and eventually arming) an escalatory, Gene Sharp-type colour revolution of civilians, supposedly protesting against the army’s inability to curb the “terrorists” – RB
Nigeria accuses its own Army of aiding and abetting Boko Haram
Robert Marquand, CSM, Jun 3 2014
Some 15 senior Nigerian military officers, including 10 generals, are under arrest for allegedly aiding and abetting Boko Haram extremists who have spread chaos and fear in northern Nigeria, and in mid-April kidnapped nearly 300 school girls as they took their final exams. The officers, charged with disloyalty, have reportedly given information to Boko Haram on Army troop movements that has resulted in ambushes. They are also accused of allowing troops under their command to fight with Boko Haram and then melt back into Army ranks, and some have reportedly supplied arms to the shadowy insurgency. The Boko Haram drama continues to preoccupy Nigeria, where more than 520 civilians have been killed since the girls were abducted in Chibok in the north. Last Sunday, nine worshipers in a Christian church were slain by Boko Haram, though the group has killed far more Muslims than Christians. Meanwhile, today, following outrage by parents and civic groups, a ban on public protests about the plight of the girls was reversed. Police chief Joseph Mbu first said the protests over the slow pace and general confusion in finding and returning of the girls were a security risk. The head of the Nigerian military said on May 18 that the Army knew where the girls were being kept, though by May 20 the Goodluck administration’s spokesman cast doubt on that claim. News of the arrested generals ran in a Nigerian paper called Leadership and was given currency by an AP story today. For more than a year, rumors have swirled that the self-styled “Islamic” insurgents have been receiving aid from politicians and senior military officials in the northeast, which has a different political and social dynamic than the south, where Pres Jonathan hails from. Boko Haram has vowed to “destabilize” the Jonathan administration, and has escalated those efforts in the past year after Jonathan declared a military emergency in three northern states where Boko Haram operates. AP tried to confirm the arrests with Nigerian officials. It said:
Defense Ministry spokesman Maj-Gen Chris Olukolade did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. Last week, he denied that senior military officers were being investigated for helping Boko Haram and sabotaging a year-old offensive to curb the 5-year-old uprising that has killed thousands.
Last week in Abuja, the protesters, who helped bring visibility to the Boko Haram insurgency, and who helped inspire the hashtag movement #BringBackOurGirls that Michelle Obama has endorsed, were roughed up and their placards and tables overturned by masked thugs who the civic groups said were hired by the government. Today, in withdrawing the ban on protests, Nigerian authorities warned those demonstrating to be careful about security.
10 Generals Guilty of Arming Boko Haram, Report Says
Michelle Faul, AP, Jun 3 2014
KADUNA, Nigeria – Ten generals and five other senior military officers have been found guilty in courts-martial of providing arms and information to Boko Haram, several Nigerian newspapers said Tuesday, though the military insisted there was no truth in the reports. They follow months of allegations from politicians and soldiers who told AP that some senior officers were helping Boko and that some rank-and-file soldiers even fight alongside Boko and then return to army camps. They have said that information provided by army officers has helped Boko in ambushing military convoys and in attacks on army barracks and outposts in their north-eastern stronghold. The ‘Leadership’ newspaper quoted one officer saying that four other officers, in addition to the 15, were found guilty of “being disloyal and for working for the members of the sect.” Defense Ministry spokesman Maj-Gen Chris Olukolade, who last week denied reports saying senior officers were being investigated, reiterated in a statement on Tuesday:
Defense headquarters wishes to state once again categorically that there is no truth whatsoever in the report. This is a falsehood concocted by those who appear hell-bent on misleading Nigerians and the international community to give credence to the negative impression they are so keen to propagate about the Nigerian military.
Nigeria’s military often denies substantiated reports, such as on extra-judicial killings of civilians and detainees. It is accused of such gross human rights violations that Usaian efforts to help in the rescue of nearly 300 abducted schoolgirls have been limited by a Usaian law restricting sharing of some types of information and technology with abusive security forces. The alleged sabotage by senior officers could explain the military’s failure to curb the 5-year-old uprising by Boko that has killed thousands, despite a year-long state of emergency in the northeast. Boko has attracted international condemnation and UN sanctions since its Apr 15 abduction of more than 300 schoolgirls, of whom 272 remain captive. Nigerian activists pressing the government to rescue the schoolgirls filed a complaint Tuesday against a police ban on protests. Community leader Pogu Bitrus of Chibok, the town from which the girls were abducted, said:
We filed a complaint that the police don’t have any right to stop people from expressing themselves.
The protests have “degenerated” and are “now posing a serious security threat,” Abuja police commissioner Joseph Mbu said in a statement Monday banning all protests in the capital related to the topic. The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, said such a ban violates basic rights under the Nigerian constitution. However, Nigerian police on Tuesday said they had not ordered a ban on peaceful assemblies or protests in Nigeria.The statement said:
The Police only issued advisory notice, enjoining citizens to apply caution in the said rallies. Citizens are strongly advised to reconsider their positions on the issues of rallies and protests.
The kidnapping crisis has highlighted Nigeria’s failure to curb Boko’s uprising. Leadership newspaper on Tuesday quoted military officers saying the 15 allegedly found guilty of providing arms to Boko Haram are among many more being tried at divisional level. The verdicts are being referred to defense headquarters in Abuja, where the fate of the officers will be decided, the newspaper said. The officers it quoted spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to give information to reporters. Pres Jonathan said last year that he believed that some members of the military and even of his own government, including some Cabinet ministers, sympathized with Boko or belonged to the group. Jonathan in January fired his entire military command and weeks later replaced the defense minister. His government and military have been harshly criticized for lack of action that has led to the schoolgirls’ prolonged captivity. Defense chief Air Marshal Alex Badeh said last week the military knows where they are being held but fears to use force as it could get the girls killed. Jonathan is under increasing pressure to make a deal with the insurgents, who are demanding he free detained fighters in return for the girls.
Niqnaq 