By Suleiman Umaru
The last may not have been heard about the suspected BokoHaram attack on the convoy of the Borno state government officials on Friday, September25, 2020 along the Maiduguri – Baga route journeying to the Baga town to join Babagana Zulum, a Professor and the state governor and the attack on the governor’s convoy as well, which occurred on Saturday, September 26, 2020 at the notorious Kochara axis, about 5Kms to the Multi-national Joint Task Force, MNJTF, Camp in the Borno fishing Community.
Appearing on the Channel’s Television recently, Dennis Amakiri, a former Deputy Director, Department of State Security, DSS, said Zulum, who is the Chief Security Officer of the north east state had been warned repeatedly against taking a trip to Baga town because of intelligence gathering which shows that the Maiduguri- Baga route I wasnot safe .
The former DDSS, Deputy Director had said that the governor may have ignored warnings and ventured out which exposed him and his convoy to danger as his convoys were attacked twice, within 48 hours on the same route.
Given an insider information , Amakiri, the DSS, ex-Deputy Director had said that’’ there are processes which must be followed in security circles in Nigeria before a very important personality, VIP, particular, the President and Commander- In-Chief of the Armed Forces, governors, ministers, Commissioners or other top government officials to move out to avoid exposing them to danger.
He had said that if such processes had been duly followed , the Borno state government officials and the governor’s convoys including the masses operating security officials by sharing intelligence to avert an impending tragedy, the Insurgents could not have succeeded in carrying out their ambush attacks that led to the death of about 20 security Operatives. The suspected BokoHaram attackers were said to have disappeared into thin air without any trace of them anywhere, fueling speculations that they had an insider who as giving them information about the governor and the state government officials movement out of Baga town.
Worried by the multiple attacks along the Maiduguri-Baga route and the Kochara location which is about 5Kms to the MNJTF, Camp, in spite of the fact that there are about 1,181, soldiers stationed in the Baga town, 900 other heavily armed soldiers in Munguno town, 72 senior officers ,107 and an additional 400 ,soldiers at mile 4, to ensure the ease takeover of the Baga fishing Community. They had failed justify government Confidence in them in the prosecution of the Counter-Insurgency war in the Hheartland Borno which clearly shows, according security experts that there were people who were really out to sabotage President Muhammadu Buhari good intentions to end the Insurgency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.
In his emotional outburst, following the attack on his convoy despite being escorted out of the Baga fishing town by soldiers last Saturday, Zulum had lost hope of the Nigeria military reclaiming the Baga town. An aggrieved Borno state governor had declared in no unmistakable terms that ‘’the presence of the large number of troops in the Baga fishing Community over the last two years had not made any impact as there are no concrete plans of effectively controlling the f town, describing ’’as a shame and un unacceptable’’.
Zulum, the Borno state governor may have exposed the soldiers racketeering when he said that the problem of prosecuting the counter insurgency war in the north east should not be blamed on the Katsina state born Nigerian President or Tukur Buratai, a Lt. General and Chief of Army Staff, but on the Command and Control structure of the Military , which is nothing ’’to write home about’’.
Given the billions of naira that had been spent by the Buhari led All Progressive Congress , APC, government over the last five years to prosecute Counter-Insurgency war and the billions of naira that had been spent by the Borno state government in the reconstruction and restructuring of the Baga town to facilitate the resettlement the people in their lost home , which was actualised on Thursday, September 24, 2020, the governor had vowed to contact Buratai, the Chief of Army Staff, who incidentally is an indigene of the war thorn state to deploy the soldiers at Baga town , Mile 4, Munguno and its environs to other places where they could be more useful.
. The governor who could not hide his feelings had made it clear to those that cares to listen that ‘’there is sabotage in the system by the moles who will not allow the insurgency to end in the north east because of their pecuniary gains, insisting that ‘’there is need for the Military High Command to rejig the Command structure and in order to inject fresh hands to strengthen the Counter-Insurgency operations. The governor’s emotional outburst confirms what late Alex Badeh, a General and Chief of Defense Staff said at Mubi Adamawa state,, in 2014, that there are fifth Columnists in the military who divulge official security information and Operational plans of the military and movement of top security officials and government officials to the terrorist sect.
The Professor turned Politician had said that going by the ambush and attack on his convoys in the recent time shows that the moles at the Commands will stop at nothing to do everything within their capacity to frustrate the government efforts in ending the crisis in the north east, particular, Borno stat ’, stressing ‘’that Buhari needs to be know the truth’’, an indications that the Commanders may not have not been presenting the true situation of things in Borno state, to Buratai, the CAS.
Sounding tough, the north eastern state of Borno governor, may have sent a signal to the soldiers stationed at the Baga town, Mile 4 and Munguno town, who are involved in prosecuting the Counter-Insurgency war in the state that they still have time to clear the remnants of the Boko Haram fighters who are still causing trouble in the Baga fishing Community in their hide out in the bushes around the town and its environs.
There are indications that the governor who is losing his patience with the security Operatives had concluded arrangements to engage the hunters , Civilian Joint Task Force, CJTF, Operatives, and the Vigilante groups in the state to chase out the Insurgents from the Baga town and make it safe for the indigenes who had returned home to live and restore normal business and tax Administration in the Kukawa local Local government Area of the state..
Recall that the Military Authorities who still want to remain in the good books of the retired Army General had described the Borno state governor’s claims of sabotage theories in the lingering crisis in the north east as ‘’unfounded’’.
The retired Army General may be right when he said some five years ago, that the Abubakar Shekau, led BokoHaram had been technically defeated as they remained a force only on in its heartland of Borno state as they could no longer mount conventional attacks against the t military. This may have informed why they have been resorted to laying ambush on the military or convoys of government Functionaries to further put fear on the people of the state that they are still a force to be reckoned with.
