21– 28 August 2015

1) Boko Haram

Privately Owned Media

“Boko Haram Strengthens Ties with Islamic State Group” Daily Trust, Abuja-based Daily, 23 August 2015

• Nigeria’s Boko Haram extremists are strengthening ties with the Islamic State group, as shown by reports that Nigerian militants are fighting in Libya, recent arrests in Lebanon and India and the blocking of thousands of suspected extremists from leaving Nigeria

“11 Killed, 5 Injured, as Boko Haram Attacks Army Chief, Buratai’s Convoy”  AllAfrica.com, Vanguard, Lagos-based Daily,  23 August 2015

• The ambush of the Army Chief's convoy by the terrorists according to a statement issued in Maiduguri and signed by Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, occurred at Faljari village between Mafa and Dikwa
• At the end of the hot exchange, 10 Boko Haram terrorists were killed, 5 terrorists were captured, and one soldier was killed while one officer and 4 other soldiers sustained severe gunshot injuries

“Suicide Bombers Kill Two, Injure Four in Maiduguri” Guardian, Lagos-based Daily, 27 August 2015

• Two suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers attacked the Maiduguri military post, near Gomari Airport roundabout in Borno State, killing themselves, a soldier, resident and injuring four others
• Two suspected suicide bombers on foot detonated Improvised Explosive Device (IED) strapped on their bodies

“Six Killed by Suicide Bomber in Damaturu” Guardian, Lagos-based Daily, 25 August 2015

• A young female suicide bomber on Tuesday killed at least six people and injured up to 28 others outside the main bus station in the northeastern Nigerian town of Damaturu
• Boko Haram Islamists have in the past months used young women to carry out bloody suicide attacks
• Boko Haram has stepped up attacks in three states in its northeastern heartland since President Muhammadu Buhari came to power on May 29

“Air Force Destroys Boko Haram Supply Trucks” Daily Trust, Abuja-based Daily, 24 August 2015

• The Nigeria Air force has destroyed two trucks used in logistic supply by the Boko Haram terrorists in the North Eastern parts of the country

“B’Haram: Military to Deploy 8700 Soldiers” Punch, Privately-owned Daily, 26 August 2015

• Military chiefs from the Lake Chad Basin Commission have perfected plans to deploy 8,700 troops of the Multi National Joint Task Force against the Boko Haram insurgents

“Switzerland Pledges to Support Boko Haram Affected Communities” Punch, Privately-owned Daily, 25 August 2015

• The government of Switzerland on Monday agreed to partner Nigerian Northeastern states affected by the Boko Haram insurgency in reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement of destroyed communities
• Ambassador of Switzerland to Nigeria, Dr. Daniel Cavegn, expressed the willingness of his home government to increase aid to the area as the need might arise, adding that before now Switzerland had been involved in humanitarian efforts to the zone through renowned global agencies

“Nigeria, Benin Republic Agree to Strengthen Security Cooperation” Daily Trust, Abuja-based Daily, 26 August 2015

• President Muhammadu Buhari said at a joint press briefing after a closed door meeting with President Boni Yayi of Benin Republic that they discussed economic cooperation between the two countries in a bid to promote regional integration

2. Responses to Boko Haram

"Chad Arrests 60 Suspected Militants after Suicide Bomb Attack- Chief Prosecutor." Daily Trust, Abuja-based Daily, 29 June 2015

• Alghassim Khamis, the Chief Prosecutor of the Central African Nation, on Monday said ‎security forces in Chad, had arrested 60 suspected militants and dismantled a cell responsible for two suicide bomb attacks in N'djamena on June 15
• "An active cell of a terrorist network has been identified and dismantled, and that those arrested came from Chad, Cameroon, Mali and Nigeria," He revealed

"Boko Haram Member Arrested Spying IDP Camp in Yobe." Daily Trust, Abuja-based Daily, 26 June 2015

• A suspected Boko Haram member was arrested yesterday spying on the Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) camp in Damaturu, Yobe state.
• A security source told our correspondent that the arrest was based on a tip-off by vigilant residents who complained of seeing a strange man loitering around the camp

"Niger Troops Kill 15 Boko Haram Militants." Daily Trust, Abuja-based Daily, 26 June 2015

• Niger’s army killed 15 Boko Haram militants in the course of land and air operations against the armed Islamist group, the defence ministry announced on Wednesday.
• The army also took 20 prisoners, Colonel Moustapha Ledru said on state radio, and destroyed an armoured vehicle, 26 motorbikes, and two caches of food and fuel held by the Islamists
• The announcement came after an attack by Boko Haram militants in southeast Niger last week killed 38 civilians, most of them women and children

State Run Media

"U.S. Condemns Latest Boko Haram Attacks" Daily Independent, Lagos-based Daily,  26 June 2015

• John Kerry, U.S. Department of State Spokesperson, Washington, D.C. in a statement said that these latest attacks serve as a reminder that despite progress on the battlefield, Boko Haram remains capable of deadly and destabilizing acts of terrorism
• He said that the United States stands with Nigeria in the face of this threat saying, “We will continue to take steps to increase our support for their efforts.”

Social Media

Will Ross (@willintune): BBC Correspondent Nigeria (03 July 2015)

•  “Buhari says “last desperate acts of fleeing agents of terrorism” heighten need for countries in region to fight BH as a regional force.”
• “Buhari urges Muslims in Nigeria and across the world to reject with one voice the attackers claim to be acting in the name of Islam.”