By Suleiman Umaru
The Bandits operating in the north west states of Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina, President Muhammadu Buhari, a etired Army General home state, appears to have bitten more than they can chew. The Bandits and the Islamist Fundamental Group, BokoHaram and the Islamic State of West African African Province, ISWAP, may have stepped their attack in the north west and north east geopolitical regions respectively when information filtered out that the Taliban who had waged a 20 year-old war to take over the North American country of the United States, US, backed government Afghanistan, has finally sacked President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, has finally sacked the government On Thursday, August 19, 2021,, forcing him to flee to, Qatar, on exile.
They may have had at the back of their mind that if the Talibans could take over the government in the Middle East country of Afghanistan, they could do it in Nigeria. It is not surprising why the Bandits and the BokOharam and ISWAP, Nsurgents, may have buried their differences to Collaborate in their struggle to take over control of the entire north and impose Islamic Law on the region. They may have thought that with the Monday, August, 23, 21, attack, of the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, Kaduna, would weaken the Nigerian Army fighting capability but got it wrong.
Lucky Irabour, a General and Chief Defence Staff, CDS, who had described the attack on the Permanent site of Defence Academy, as ‘madness’’, had said that the Criminal elements must be stopped as soon as possible’’. The Nigerian Army General, who oversees the Affairs of the Multinational Joint Task Force, MNJTF, Collaborating with the Nigerian Army, in prosecuting the counter-insurgency war in the north eastern part of the country may have shown the anger in him over the Bandits attack on the military facility in Kaduna state, when he met with the retired military officers in Yoloa, the Capital of Adamawa state on Tuesday, August 24, 2021, to seek their support in the ongoing anti- insurgency war in the region which had entered it 12th year.
He had told the retired senior military officers in north east states of Adamawa, Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba , that ‘’the infiltration of the Bandits and the Insurgents into the country did not come by virtue of banditry action’’. Note that Taraba, is the home state of Theophilous, Danjuma, a multi-billionaire retired Army General, and a one –time Chief of Army Staff and former minister of Defence, during former President Olusegun Obasanjo Administration.
, He noted that ‘’any form of insecurity is a cause of worry for anyone, stressing that’’ the military are determined that this madness must be brought to an end speedily’’. Note that the rampaging Bandits had killed two officers and abducted another senior officer when the stormed the NDA, Kaduna premises. He may have made the retired senior military officers.
The Army Chief may have known that Nigerians are losing their patience over the high level of insecurity in the county that he had asked the people ‘’to trust the relevant security agencies that have been saddled with the responsibilities of planning the rehabilitation of repentant insurgents’’. He has assured the retired north east military officers that there was no cause for alarm in bringing the insurgency war to an end, insisting that ‘’the military will deal with the situation for the good of the region as there will be no lose ends that will give the insurgents room again to strike in the region.
Appealing to the north east military vetrans to take full advantage of the insecurity parley in the region, in ‘’evaluating the various military operations’’,staing that that their patrotic and constructive assessment of the general insecurity situation in the region would add value to the ongoing Clearance operations, which had forced over 2,600 Insurgents to surrender so far, as confirmed by Babaga Zulum, a Professor and governor of Borno state, who disclosed that he has been attacked more than 50 times . This may have informed why the north east state governor has asked the Katsina state born Nigerian President at a closed door meeting at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday, August 24, 2021, not to bow to pressure to reject the surrendered Insurgents to avoid a return to an endless war in the region.
Admitted that with the over 12 years of iInsurgency in the region, over 100,000 people have been killed which had made over 50,000 other people comprising of women as widow including Children, who are Ophans, in Borno state alone, the Borno governor would the Nigerian President to pardon the surrendered Insurgents instead of prosecuting them for their Criminal activities in the country.
Kunle Olawunmi, a retired Naval Commodore, may have shocked Nigerians including the service Chiefs when he said the government knows behind the decade –long BokoHaram Insurgency in the north east. He alluded to the fact that the government said that they had arrested 400 Bureau De Change, BDCs, operators that are sponsoring Boko Haram Insurgents’’ but that that was how far they could go. The retired senior Navaval officer noted that months down the line, the long-awaited list of the BDCs operators sponsoring the Insurgents are yet to be made public, stressing that this is a bad advertisement for the Buhari Administration. He believes that the government has developed a cold feet in fighting Insurgency or Banditry in the country because ‘’some of those backing Insurgents or Bandits are top government officials’’, confirming what former President Good Goodluck Jonathan had said that that there are Boko Haram members in government.
The Army would not agree. This is because intensified military attack on the terrorists Bandits appears to have become too hot in the recent time that the Criminal elements no longer have a suitable hiding place in the forest that they are gradually infiltrating the north central stat of Plateau, which had been known for violence in the early 80s.
Recall that between August 14, and now, the north central state had been in the news, both within and outside the country , over persistent attacks and killings which had encouraged members of the state security Council comprising of Samuel Lalong, the state governor and the military and paramilitary security chiefs to go back to the drawing board in order to bring the situation under control.
Notwithstanding the efforts being made by the security agencies personnel in the state who have the backing of the governor to deal decisively with the gunmen trying to throw the state into crisis, nine persons were said to have been killed at Kwoi village , in Magu Local Government Area, when fight broke out between of security operatives and the gunrunners in the Plateau state village. Ubah Ogaba, An Assistant Superintendent of Police, the Plateau state Police Command spokesperson disclosed six of the hoodlums were shot dead while several others escaped with bullet wounds.
The Plateau state Police Command Image maker disclosed that Ahdulrahman Isah, An Inspector and Commander of Usman Alkali Baba, the Inspector General of Police, IGP’S, Intelligence Response Team, IRT, based in Magu town, and one Hassam Mohammed , a Local Vigilante lost their life in the gun duel with the gunmen.
The Magu Community attackers may be jubilating in their hideout in the state that they succeeded in throwing throwing the Community into confusion but it may be short-lived. This is because the security operatives who went after the hoodlums at the Magu village had recovered three breach numbers from the fleeing gunmenmen which will help tracing them and their sponsors in their hideout in the state. The Telecommunications breach numbers are 868, 106076 and 123489.
The Value News learnt the members of the state Police Command, IRT, are working closely with the MTN, and other Telecommunications Companies operating in the state to unravel the owners of those breach numbers, meaning that their days are numbered.
Already, Lalong, the All Progressive Congress, APC, governor of the state, has made it clear to those that cares to listen that ‘’the government will not allow any form of Lawless to disrupt the peace of the state’’, warning those that are bent on fomenting trouble to desist from it as it will never be tolerated’’. This may have informed why the Military Joint Task Force are combing the nooks and crannies of the flashpoint Local government Areas in the state to fish out the hoodlums.
