By Suleiman Umaru
Leo Irabor, an army General and Chief of Defense Staff, CDS, overseeing he Multi-national Joint Task Force, MNJTF, set up by Niger, Nigeria, Chad and he Central African country of Cameroon, complimenting the efforts of the Operation, to compliment the Nigerian efforts in prosecuting the anti-terrorist war in the north east states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, has given an insight how the army saved the country saved the country from ‘’the most catastrophic incident the very week suspected gunmen opened fire on worshippers at St.Francis catholic church, Owo, south west state of Ondo.
The CDS, had said that the gunmen had planned to carry out a similar attack in the ancient town of Kano, described as the swing state, in political circles and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. The Army General noted that the security situation in the country has improved in the last one year, notwithstanding the gunmen attack of ST. Francis, Owo, Ondo, described as an awareness state, in the south west geopolitical region.
Appearing on Channels Television recently, General Irabor, had said that the security agencies had acted on intelligence to botch the Kano attack. According to him, the army had uncovered Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs, making materials, in the ancient city. He further disclosed that based on the intelligence available to the security agencies, they have also uncovered a large quantum of arms and ammunition and other materials which the gunmen had intended to use in various parts of the country. He may have alluded to the southern states including Niger, General Ibrahim, a former Nigerian military President, home state and the FCT.
He will want Nigerians ‘’to trust the military and the other security agencies including Usman Alkali Baba, led Nigerian Police Force and the intelligence agencies for the anti-terrorist war in the north andBanditry in north west states of Zamfara, Sokoto, the Caliphate state, Kaduna and Katsina, Buhari ,home state as well as other criminal elements across the country to be more effective’’.
Henry Ay , a retired Major General and former Commander of the Special Task Force , Operation Safe Haven, may have shocked Nigerians, when he stated that poor parenting triggers is what had triggered the insecurity in the country, meaning that there is no involvement of terrorists or banks from other parts of the Sahel region, particular, Niger Republic, Mali, Mauritania, Cameroon and Chad, including the North African country of Libya.
But Mohammed Bazoum, the Nigerien President had told Bello Matawalle, governor of Zamfara state who had him a visit in December , 2021, that ‘’the problem of armed banditry across Niger Republic is coming from Madawa and Bayan Dutsi which was said to have escalated to Nigeria through the Mahradi region, where Rotimi Amaechi, a former governor of Rivers state and the immediate minister of Transportation had extended the $1.6 billion, 284 Km, cross-border Kano-KatsinaJibia –Mahradi line to, at the instance of President , Muhammadu Buhari. The multi- million dollar design, construction, and financing, contract, whih is currently being hadled by a Portugues firm: Mota – Engil , according to informed source are bein rushed to ensure that it is completed before the expiration of these Administration I May 29, 2023. There are fears in both official and unofficial circles that the Mahradi side of the 284 Km, cross-border project might be abandoned by the next government if the Buhari Administration fails to complete .
The worry of many was that even without the cross-border rail line linking Mahradi region of Niger Republic being completed by the Nigerian government, armed bandits from the country are still flooding the north west states of Zamfara, Sokoto, Kaduna and Katsina, including other parts of the country, with the support of the armed Fulani Fulani herdsmen through the forest, it would be worst if the multi-million dollar is completed. The repeated attacks and killings in Zamfara, Sokoto, Kaduna, Katsina and the recent attack in ST. Francis Catholic church, Owo, Ondo state and the killings in the south east bear eloquent testimony to the fact that the country is under siege.
On Saturday, June 11, 2022, the armed bandits were said to have abducted no fewer than 50 wedding guests travelling along the Soko-Zamfara road, described as very dangerous by motorists but 10 of them wre said to have escaped . The victims were said to have included Telephone marketers at the popular Bebeji Plaza, in Gusau, captal of Zamfara state.
The Katsina state born Nigerian President has assured Nigerians that he will stop at nothing until those in the custody of the Bandits or the Islamic Fundamentalist Group of BokoHaram and the Islamic State of West African Provice, ISWAP, including other criminal gangs across the country are’’ freed and their kidnappers brought to Justice’’. The Nigerian President had given his words that that he country’s security and intelligence agencies would be strengthened to improve its overall security.
In a related development, the six south states governor of Ogun, Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo, who are not happy that terrorism and banditry had penetrated the region, with the recent attack of ST.Francis Catholic church where over 40 worshippers were killed and while 61 others taken to various hospitals in the Owo town and its environs .There anger may have been informed by the fact that terrorists and bandits attack of churches has never happened in the south west but a regular occurrence in Kaduna, Niger, Plateau and some other parts of the north. This may have informed why the governors are worried the criminal elements and their sponsors in the north have exported the violent attack on churches to the region. At present they have declared a ‘’three –day mourning for the Owo catholic church victims, ’’, with a promise ‘’to protect the people under their domain’’.
The Western Nigerian governors had said that the Owo church by gunmen has compelled them to intervene in the entire region ‘’to nip the insidious phenomenon of insurgency in the bud to avoid a repeat in the future’’. There have been agitations over the years about spaces being taken over by unidentified and unknown migrants in all the south west states but the nothing appear to have done to address the complaints. This may have informed why the governors have taken the bold initiative to recommend an increase in the scope of surveillance of the activities of these undocumented settlers by relevant security agencies in all the state, across the region.
They may have sent a message to the gunmen and their sponsors that the south west states may no longer be an free-for- all area for terrorists and bandits to penetrate, attack, kill and go without resistance. The governors, at their recent meeting, were said to have agreed that it was time ‘’to convene the south west Security Committee to look critically into this creeping menace of insurgency and banditry into the region before it blossoms into another intractable social problem’’.
Rauf Aregbesola, a former governor of Osun state and minister of Interior, had linked the ST. Francis Catholic Church attack to to ISWAP, based on Nigerian Security Council findings , which Rotimi Akeredolu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, and the Ondo state governor, had described as a hasty conclusion by the Federal government.
Kayode Fayemi, governor of Ekiti and Chairman, Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF, who incidental had paid the N100 million to purchase the All Progresive Congress, APC, Presidential nomination forms but withdrew from the race for Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, a one-time governor of Lagos state had described the the NSC, claims linking to ISWAP to Owo catholic church attack as ”mere speculation”. He had said that that there is no evidence ”to confirm that ISWAP terrorists wee responsible for the Owo church attack which had claimed many lives and left several others injured”
Many believe that if it was in of the south eastern states that suspected gunmen had carried out the attack in the church and the federal government came out with a Statement linking it with IPOB and ESN, the governors would have agreed to the conclusion. There is no gain saying the fact that the south east governors are the most uncoordinated in the country, moving in different directions to appease the Presidency.
Until Dave Umahi, Hope Uzodinma, and the other south east governors start thinking like their south west Counterparts, the region would remain a haven for suspected gunmen and kidnappers. The Methodist Bishop who was kidnapped but the church paid N100 million ransom to get him out from the Kidnapper’s den had said that those that kidnapped were some ”armed Fulani youths”. He had sotopped short of calling them terrorists or the armed herdsmen, who Professor Wole Soyinka, a Nobel Laureate had described as ”Opportunists”.
