By Sueliman Umaru
When President Muhammadu Buari, a retired Army General was first elected as President of Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2015, he had boasted that he will free the 20 local government areas under the control of the late Abubakar Shekau, led Islamic Fundamentalist Group, BokoHaram in the north east state of Borno, because of his reputation for being tough on security matters as a former military ruler of Nigeria in the 1980s.
True to his words, with the push by the country’s military and support by the neighbouring West African country of Niger Republic and Chad, including the Central African counry of Cameroon, currently hosting the African Cup of Nations, which was postponed last year, due to the Asian country of China emerged coronavirus, popular, COVID 19, he had regained most of the local government areas in the state. But Abadam, Guzamala are still remaining in the hands of the Criminal elements.
That much was confirmed byBabaga Umara Zulum, a Professor and governor of Borno sate, who could no longer keep it to himself, barely 17 months to the end of the Katina state born Nigerian second term in office. The governor had opened up when the vocal Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, and Chairman, Committee on Army led other Senators and military officers from the Army Headquarters to pay him a Courtesy at the Government House recently.
The August visitors had expected the Professor to tell them that Operation Hadin Kai troops have virtually recovered every lost ground in and that insurgency have considerably reduced to the barest minimum in Borno state. They were ,however, surprised when he told them that though the people are witnessing which was lacking before the coming of the present Buhari Administration in 2015, but more still needed to be done by the General Officer Commanding, GOC, 7 Division and his officers ‘’to end terrorism in part of the country’’. Lt. General Yahay led army and Ai Marshall Olayinka Amao, led Nigerian Air Force , which have been fully equipped by the Federal government to fully confront the BokoHaram and their 2015 break away fact led late Barnawi, the Islamic State of West African Province, IISWAP, with modern military equipment and fighter Jets to recover Guzamala and Abadam which are still under the control of the terrorists.
Abdulkarim Lawan, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly was the first to raise the alarm that 90% of the Communities in Guzamala Local government area in the state, where he hail from are still under the control of BokoHaram, despite claims by the Farauk Yahaya, a Lt. General and Chief of Army Staffs that they have recovered every lost ground in Borno state.
An aggrieved Zulum lamented that ‘’the people of the state , especially those from the southern and northern part are becoming married on a daily basis over the increasing number of IWAP Group who have been terrorising the Commnities including making two attempts on Maiduguri, the state Capital. He had told Senator Ndume led Team to the Borno state Government House of a recent security report showing that in some Communities of Mandaragirau axis in Biu Local Government Area, over 500 BokoHaram/ISWAP groups have been converging with over 300 motorcycles and celebrating parties /marriages amongst themselves without confrontation from the military.
Many who have had the opportunity of witnessing the operations of the Insurgents in the state will tell those have never been to the north east to witness the activities of the insurgents first hand that ‘’the rival ‘’ISWAP Group to BokoHaram are more equipped , sophisticated, intelligent and deadly in operaion and that is why they are growing from strength to strength on a daily basis and ready to hold on to the war in the state. Informed sources told The Value News that both for ISWAP, members of the armed BokoHaram Group, would have surrendered to the gallant Nigerian troops. Already morethan 8,000 of the Late Shekau loyalists were aid to have surrendered to the Operation Hadin Kai troops in Borno state.
He has a good news for the Senate Committee members on the Army and the senior Army officers that had accompanied them to Borno on a fact finding mission that that the 11 local government Areas in the state: Gwoza, where the Nigerian Police Force, NPF, have a well- established training College, , Bama, a fishing area, Marte, Munguno, home town of Babagana Munguni, a retired Major General and National Security Adviser, NSA, Dikwa, Ngala, are becoming more peace than before , despite the occasional attack on the military bases in Dikwa, Ngala, Marte and Bama , by the ISWAP Group by the the military have held their group in these local government areas. This may have informed why the Nigerian President who was in Borno state could beat his chest that the military are on the final phase of the insurgency war in the north east states of Borno and Yobe as they have already been driven out from Adamawa, home state of Atiku Abubakar, a former Vice President and Presidential Candidate of the Leading Opposition Part in the country, the PDP, in the 2019 , general elections. The former Nigerian Vice President, who political Observers see as another Buari, who had contested the Presidential election in Nigeria for times , making it the fourth time and re-elected in 2019, according to informed PDP sources is warming up to collect the party Presidential form for the 2023 elections.
While BokoHaram and ISWAP , have become a state in a state in Borno , Senator sehu Sani , who was elected I the country’s 8th Senate, had said that that ‘’ the Bandits operating in the north west states of Zamfara, described as home of the Bandits, Kaduba, Sokoto and Katsina, Buhari home state have become a state within a state’’.
According to him, the Bandits Group in the region have stablished governance structure based on Islamic doctrine in the Communities controlled by them in the sense that ‘’they just kidnap and extort money , but have reached a point where they even install traditional Rulers and Imams’’.
There is no gainsaying the fact that that the Bandits group, which Ibrahim Dosara, the Zamfara state Commissioner for Information have 100 Camps , scattered all over the forests in the state with over 32,000 armed followers, crisscrossing the entire region and extending their operations to the north central region , to open new Camps, have continued to unleash mayhem in Zamfara, Kaduna, Sokoto, Katsina, Niger and Taraba, home of Theophilous Danjuma, a retired Army General and former minister of Defence, during Olusegun Obasanjo Administration, ‘’killing many people and kidnapping hundreds of others.
Only recently, Air Marshall Amao led , NAF, Special Forces, rescued 26 kidnapped victims while patrolling along Birnin Gwari-Kaduna road in Zamfara state. Edward Gabkwet, a Commmodore, had said that the rescue operation occurred when the NAF Special Force came across five abandoned vehicle with their doors open nea Anguwar Yako Community, an indication of forced removal or evacuation f occupants and likely kidnap scene.
He noted that acting on insticts, the Special Force officers began plotting the general scene of the abduction and extended it far bout four Kilometers radius into the nearby Communities and well into the bush while clearing he eneral area. He disclosed that ‘’upon sighting the NAF Special Force personnel, three of the kidnapper escapees suddenly emerged from the bushs around the scene. He stated tha further search into the bushes into the hinterland led to the discovery of four different groups of victims that were found hiding, stressing that a total of 26 victims were found and rescued.
The victims were said to be travelling from Bin Gwari to various locations including Kaduna, Minna and Kano, when they fell into the waiting hand of the Bandits armed to the teeth who were said to have appeared from the bushes in three different directions along the route and surrenderec their vehicles. The Kidnappers were said to have fled into the bushes with a handful of victims while some others took cover and fled and hid in the bushes until they sighted the NAF Special Force and came out.
