Share this
By Suleiman Umaru
For years there have been rumours making the rounds that there are moles in military uniform who are giving the Islamic Fundamentalist Group, BokoHaram and the Islamic State of West African Province, ISWAP, in the north east geo-political region states of Borno and Yobe ‘’vital information about the Army strategies and tactics, to sustain the insurgence in the region because of their pecuniary gains. Past Chiefs Of Army Staff were said to have done everything within their powers to contain the activities of the moles but that was how far they could go.
Farouk Yahaya, a Lt. General, and incumbent Chief of Army Staff, CoAS, who has seen all and is not happy that the insurgence in Borno and Yobe, particular, had dragged on this on this long appeared determined to end it. With the Corporation of his General officers GOCs, Commanding the various Divisions and the Brigade Commanders , in the theatres of war,, they were said to have gone back to the drawing board to restrategise on how to handle the insurgence in order to bring it to an end ahead of the 2023, general elections.
This is evident with the Launching of an Operation, with the support of President Muhammadu Buhari, a retired Army General, to fish out the suspected financiers and civilian moles including their military Counterparts aiding and abetting the Islamic Fundamentalist Group, BokoHaram and the Islamic State of West African Province, ISWAP, to sustain the insurgence in the north east states of Borno and Yobe for their own pecuniary gains.
The involvement of the Defense Intelligence Agency, DIA, Department of State Security, DSS, Nigerian Intelligence Financial Unit, NIFU, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, personnel in the Operation may have sent a message to the terrorists and the moles and Insurgents Financiers that the game is up.
The Tactical Operation led by a top intelligence officer, was said to have traced billions of naira to businesses belonging to these alleged Insurgents Financiers which were said to have been blocked in the banks in the series of ‘’post no debit letters to banks by the NFIU and the CBN.
Informed sources told The Value News that it was from these alleged bank accounts that these terrorists Financiers who had penetrated the ranks of the Army withdraw funds to settle the moles who are always there for them.
Indeed, Lt. General Yahaya and the other intelligence agencies, effort ‘’to crack the riddle of how theBokoHaram and ISWAP fighters, including the Kidnappers and other Criminal gangs fund their operations a as well as Launder their proceeds appears to have begun to yield fruit.
Penultimate week, one of the most wanted high ranking intelligence Spy of the ISWAP terrorists, Modu Babagana, who was said to have escaped from military detention in Bama, a fishing Community in Borno state, was said to have been rearrested by troops of 21 Special Forces Brigade. With the re-arrest of Babagana, the Army appear to have sent a signal to other BokoHaram and ISWAP spies in Borno and Yobe states that there is no hiding place for them any longer.
The re-arrest of Babagana was said to have been followed by the arrest of one Lance Corporal Ibrahim Jibrin, an Instructor with the Nigerian Army Battalion in Geidam, Yobe, for allegedly conniving with the Insurgents in the series of attacks of some Yobe Communities in the recent weeks. I t was learnt that when information leaked out that he was a mole in Army uniform, he was put under surveillance after two separate attacks in Geidam and Gashua attacks recently.
The Amy Instructor, who specializes in arms control, was said to have disappeared from his duty post a few days ago, according to a BBC, Housa service report when he knew that the bubble has burst but was said to have been sighted among the Insurgents that had attacked Geidam Community.
In the recent attack at Geidam, home town of Usman Alkali Baba, Inspector General of Police, IGP, no fewer than two dozen BokoHaram and ISWAP fighters, dressed in military uniforms were said to have sneaked to Geidam on foot including Lance Corporal Jibril, himself, earlier in April, 2022. The Army Lance Corporal was said to have watched how the Insurgents rounded up nine people in a bar and slaughtered them, with their hands tied to their back. They were said to have also forced their way into the a Technical College and killed two other people and equally torched some of the school buildings.
A military source had confirmed that Army mole was tracked by an Army Intelligence Unit personnel in Gashua, another Yobe Community, some hundreds of Kilometers from his duty post on Tuesday, April 26, 2022.Prior to his planned escape to Gombe, he has come to the conclusion that if he is arrested by Lt. General Farouk’s men, on the road, he would be court marshaled and if found guilty will face to face the firing squad.
As a prelude to arresting him, the BBC Housa service had reported that ‘’the Army Authorities in Gashua, were intimated and which may have encouraged them to lay an ambush for him. He had boarded a bus at Gashua Park disguised as a civilian to escape to the north east of Gombe where he may not have be known by the people to start a new life.
But at a military checkpoint at the Yobe town, he was identified and arrested, he was transferred to a waiting military patrol van on transit to his battalion in Geidam, to face the charges against him for disappearing from his duty post without due approval from the Authorities.
Note that he was placed under the two armed escort soldiers. He may have volunteered some vital information by the interrogating soldiers during arrest which the escort soldiers may have relayed back to their Command which may have facilitated the arrest of other moles in the Geidam Battalion.
Given that his arrest and further interrogations by the Army Authorities in Geidam, may force him to spill the bean which may expose more soldiers Collaborating with the BokoHaram and ISWAP Insurgents may have informed why he resorted to plan B, and plotted on how to snatch a gun from one of the escort soldiers on the transit military vehicle. He was said to have had his way, overpowered the second escort soldier, and shot himself to death.Kennedy Anyewau, a Lt. and OPHK, spokesperson, who was said to have confirmed the incident reportedly said that the Army Instructor was very ‘’skilful and had been one of them’’.
But the question on the lips of most people was: how could an arrested and handcuffed soldier, and put under the care of two armed escort soldiers on transit to his Battalion in Geidam, loosen the handcuff on his hands with ease, snatched a gun from one of the escort soldiers , overpowered the second escort soldier and shot himself without any attempt to retrieve the gun from him and still watch him kill himself .
Although, Lt. Anyewau, spokesperson of OPHK, had said that ‘’investigations is ongoing ‘’to unravel the circumstances that may have led to the incident’’ but Nigerians are not amused by his Statement. OPHK, Authorities may have been forced to beam searchlight for Lance Corporal Jibrin, after an in-depth investigations into connections between BokoHaram members and military officers, that they were said to have used to infiltrate the ranks of the army and thus, sabotage the OPHK, efforts in the north east and other military operations in different parts of the country, particular, the north west states of Zamfara, Kaduna, Sokoto and Katsina, Buhari , home state ,including the north central state of Niger where Bandits Group, have put the people under siege.
Until his death, Lance Copral Jibril, and his C-conspirators, were said to have been involved in giving out information to the BokoHaram and ISWAP, fighters last November about the OPHK, planned operation in Geidam. This may have informed why they laid an ambush for the Army convoy for the Operation who ran into them unprepared at Tansu Kawu village along the 120Km, highway linking Maiduguri and Damaturu, Capital of Yobe state.
Recall that in April 2014, troops of OPHK, the Operation Lafyle Dole, had arrested some military spies of BokoHaram who were said to have leaked the information on the deployment of soldiers from Maimalari Barracks to confront the terrorists , which may have informed why they laid ambush for the soldiers killing so many of the soldiers of the 101 Battalion.
Despite the activities of the moles in military uniform Collaborating with the BokoHaram and ISWAP fighters to sabotage the OPHK and The Joint Task Force, JTF, set up by the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, of Nigeria, Niger , Chad and the Central African country of Cameroon, a no nonsense Lt. General Yahaya, the CoAS, has urged the troops participating in the ongoing insurgency war in the north east geo-political region ‘’to remain dogged and unrelenting in routing out the criminal elements’’.
The Army General who spoke during a recent visit to the Headquarters of the JTF in Maiduguri, Borno state, to assess the level of successes recorded thus far was said to have also enjoined the troops, ‘’to be more decisive in routing the criminal elements from their enclaves in the Sambisa forest and Lake Chad region’’.
His heart may have been gladdened that the soldiers are making a head way to end the crisis in the north east geopolitical3region ahead of the 2023, general elections when he was given an ‘’update on the ongoing Operation Desert Sanity and Operation Lake Sanity’’. The recent Operation at the Lake Chad Basin by the West and Central African military Force, JTF, in the Lake Chad Basin, shared by by Chad, Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon, where 20 Insurgents were killed speaks volume. The Nigerien forces were said to have killed an additional 30 Insurgents in the Jiwa area of the country by the the Basin on Monday, April, 25, 2022.
In achieving the feat by the Nigerian and Nigerien forces at their own part of the Basin, the Coalition force was said to have provided aerial support to the soldiers from the two West African countries which allowed them to carry out ”aggressive patrols of the umbun Rago in the north east state of Borno.
It is instructive to note that the Lake Chad Basin and its countless islets have become one of the main havens for the ISWAP fighters, particular, over the last seven years.
