By sULeiman Umaru
Between 2009 and now, the Islamic Fundamentalist Group, BokoHaram and the Islamic State of West African Province, ISWAP, a splinter Group of the late Abubakar Sekau, led BokoHaram which , have held the north east states of Borno, Yobe, and the Bandits Group, which have turned the west states of Zamfara, Sokoto, Kaduna , Katsina, President Muhammdu Buhari, home state, including Niger, Ibrahim Babangida, a retired Army General a former military President home state, a war zone, are in for trouble.
The iterrorist and their Bandits collaborators may have played into the hands of Buhari on Tuesday, July 4, 2022, when the President’s advance team of security guards, Department of State Security Service, DSS, and Journalists, heading to Daura, his home town, for the Eid Kabir, Festival, were ambushed and attacked at Dutsinma, described as one of the Bandits Group strongholds in the state .
The ISWAP terrorists may have also sent a message to the Nigerian Commander-In –Chief of the Armed Forces, C-In –C, same Tuesday, that they could attack any security facility and get away. They had attacked Kuje Custodial centre , located at the outskirts of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, and released 69 of BokoHaram members at the Kuje prison, to dare the government.
The Katsina state born Nigerian President may not have found the invasion of the Kuje Custodial centre funny as he was still in Abuja as at the time of the attack. His anger knew no bounds as he was said to have expressed disappointment in the country’s security agencies for their inability to stop the terrorists when he visited the prison premises to see things himself.
Nigerians still believe that Rauf Aregbesola, former governor of Osun state and minister of Interior and Haliru Nababa, Comptroller General of NCS, have explanation to offer for the Kuje Custodial centre attack by terrorists who audaciously released their imprisoned members without any counter-attack to top them.
Many had expected that when the Nigerian President visited the Kuje premises and sought to find out from the Prison Authorities the number of guards on duty as at the time of the ISWAP terrorists attack that he will apply the sledge hammer on the appointees for their negligence but he failed to do so.
Murtala Alyu, Secretary General, Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF had said that ‘’the Nigerian President is not ready to sack any of his appointees believed by Nigerians to have failed the country. According to him, Buhari is’’ unable told his appointees responsible for any deterioration of the security situation of the country and some other socio-economic sectors under their close watch’’, noting that, ‘’the huge amount of money and other resources being pumped into the security agencies have been largely ineffective’’.
He insists that if what had happened in Kuje prison, where terrorists could easily gain access despite the large array of security operatives on guard had happened elsewhere , ‘’it would have led to massive reshuffle of political appointees, forced resignations and possibly prosecution of officials that are negligent in the discharge of their duties, incompetent and plainly untrustworthy’’.
He averred that ‘’the usual response of the Nigerian President to such tragedy including the Kuje prison attack was ‘’the familiar cocktail platitude , of sermons, condemnations and yet more sermons’’.
Aware that Nigerians aree becoming impatient that terrorists and bandits could strike at any any government security facility , particular, the country’s custodial centres and release their members in prison may have encouraged the Nigerian President to give a matching order to Lucky Irabor, an Army General, and Chief of Defense Staff,CDS, Lt. General Farouk Yahaya, Chief of Army Staff, Air Marshall Isiaka Olayinka Amao, Chief of Air Staff, CAs, an Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, Chief of Naval Staff , who recently had a security meeting with him at the Presidential Villa ‘’ to be ready to wipe out the terrorist, bandits and other criminal elements across the country from the surface of the earth with immediate effect in order to bring lasting peace to the country and the African continent in General’’.
He may have decide ‘’ to unleash Nigerian’s military might on the terrorists and Bandits including other criminal elements across the country in their forest hideouts as a lesson to others. He was said to have also vowed that ‘’the masterminds of the Kuje Custodial centre attack and other prison attacks must not be allowed to go unpunished but must be sent to the creator’’.
He may have taken advantage of the graduation ceremony of senior course 44 of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna state , to speak out on Thursday, July 14, 2022, stating that ‘’ the recent attacks by terrorists and Bandits in the different parts of the country bear ‘’the hallmark of national and trans-border insurgency which is a threat trying to wreak havoc in Nigeria as well as neigbouring countries of Niger Republic, TChad and the Central African country of Cameroon., one which must be quashed once and for all’’.
He was said to have gladdened the heart of the service Chiefs when he said that’’ the government will not fail in its responsibility to provide them with the required guidance and support to ensure that plan to wipe out the terrorists, Bandits and other criminal elements across the country succeeds’’. He was said to have cited one of the specifics like training which he noted will ‘’focus primarily on countering security threats’’..
It was not surprising why he had said that ‘’combating these relevant security threats effectively demands that African countries continue to work together at all levels; be it tactical, operational and strategic’’. He had cited the collaboration between the Armed Forces of Nigeria, Niger republic, TChad and Cameroon in a Multinational Joint Task Force ,MNJTF, operation to combat the BokoHaram and ISWAP, insurgency in the Lake Chad region , which currently has General Irabor, Nigeria’s CDS as the General Officer Commanding, GOC.
Security experts believe that if the Nigerian President had taken this bold initiative to wipe out the terrorists, Bandits and other criminal elements posing as a threat to the country’s security in his first term in office without threating them with kid gloves , the issue of terrorism and Banditry in Nigeria would have been a thing of the past.
Recall that he had given his words I his first term in office to put an end to terrorism and Banditry within five months but that was how far he could go. There is no gain say the fact that instead of terrorism and Banditry declining in the country , it has grown in size that they have they taken over Nigerian forests from where they Launch their targets and abduct individuals for ransom.
Take for instance , the the emergence of the Ansaru , Terrorist Group which had attacked the Abuja-Kaduna Passenger Train on March 28, 2022, and abuducted 64 Passengers and killed eight others. Note that one of the abducted Passengers was Sadiq Abdullahi, the son of Professor Ango Abdullahi, a one-time Vice Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria and now Chairman , Northern Elders Forum, NEF, and others who said to have been released on compassionate ground and Negotiations, which Mallam Tukur Mamu, Media Consultant to the controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, and self- appointed Negotiator between the government and the terrorists was single handedly carried out by him ‘’ to facilitate the release of the victim’’s. It could not be ascertained if any ransom was paid to the terrororists but going by past experience that they may not have agreed to release Abdullahi, Prof. Ango’s son and others without money exchanging hands.
In a related development, six BokoHaram Commanders who could no longer bear the heavy bombardment of the Nigerian Air Force with the support of the ground troops in the Lake Chad region of Borno state were said to have surrendered to Nigerian troops in Gwoza, one of the flashpoint local government areas in the state on Wednesday July 13, 20222, to escape being killed. That much was confirmed by Bernard Onyeuko, an Army Major-General, and spokesperson of the Defense Headquarers.
Major – GeneralOnyeuko Defense Headquarters spoke spokesperson, had said that the six BokoHaram top Commanders could surrender because troops of Operation Hadin Kai, had taken the battle to the Islamic Fundamentalist Group and ISWAP enclaves with more Coordinated Operations that there is no hiding place for any of the Commanders any longer without being fishing out or killed’’.
He gave out the names of the six BokoHaram Commanders who had had surrendered to Nigeian troops as Mallam Mala Hassan, nicknamed Walli, because of his expertise in handling weapons, Ali Magadali, popular, Munzur, Musa Bashir, dubbed Chief ANUR, Buba Dahiru, who goes by the name Munzur, Jafar Hamma, KAID and Abbali, NAKIB. Some of the BokoHaram Commanders were said to have had their root from THESE terrorist Groups: Ansar Dine, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, AQIM, JNIM, Islamic State West Africa, ISWA, Islamic State Greater Sahara, ISGS, Movement for Unity, and Jihad in West Africa in Mali.
Security experts believe that if the military keeps to the mandate given to them to send the terrorists, Bandits and other Criminal elements posing as threat to Nigeria security, and fully deploying the A 29 Super Tucano fight Jets and other fighter Jets procured from the North American country of the United states, US, and other fighter aircrafts and equipment obtained from Russian Federation before the advent of war with Ukraine, the days of the terrorists, Bandits and Criminal elements across the country are numbered.
