Dele Agekameh.
Since 2009, the country has been
reeling from serious attacks perpetrated by Boko Haram terrorists. It
started like isolated attacks involving terrorists who daily sneaked
into people’s homes and murdered them in cold blood. Their activities
later grew in proportion and capacity to wreak havoc on hapless
citizens. These satanic activities were no longer confined to the homes
of their victims, they also hacked people down on the streets, highways,
churches, mosques and wherever they chose to ply their lethal wares.
Today, it has assumed the status of an
epidemic on its own with countless people and numerous security agents
fallen victims in the hands of these terrorists who seem very
determined. It was this frightening dimension introduced into the whole
saga that prompted the Federal Government to impose a state of emergency
on the three North-eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe on
Tuesday, May 14, 2013. This underscores the government’s resolve to
confront the growing incidence of violence and insecurity in the
country.
While justifying the need for the
measure, President Goodluck Jonathan bemoaned the breakdown of law and
order in the affected states, parts of which he said terrorists had
taken over. In a nationwide television broadcast, the President said:
“Following recent developments in the affected states, it has become
necessary for Government to take extraordinary measures to restore
normalcy… Accordingly, the Chief of Defence Staff has been directed to
immediately deploy more troops to these states for more effective
internal security operations. The troops and other security agencies
involved in these operations have orders to take all necessary actions,
within the ambit of their rules of engagement, to put an end to the
impunity of insurgents and terrorists.”
After this proclamation, the military
moved in with their war arsenals. The first few months were hectic as
the terrorists seemed to have dug in. With the more sophisticated
weapons paraded by the Nigerian troops at that time, the terrorists were
soon routed from city centres as they took to their heels and sought
sanctuary in the hills and dense forests of the North-east. But just as
people were beginning to heave a sigh of relief, the terrorists came up
with deadly attacks using guerrilla tactics. And because the troops were
not fighting a conventional war, they had to be mindful in their
assault against the terrorists so as not to incur heavy civilian
casualties.
As it is, the terrorists seem to be
capitalising on the self-restraint of the troops to wreak havoc on
defenceless and innocent people, particularly in Borno State, which is
the stronghold of the terrorists. Added to this is the fact that the
terrorists who obviously enjoy some external support from Al-Qaeda in
the Islamic Magreb, have grown in sophistication in recent times. This
is apparent from the deadly attack unleashed on many targets, including a
military base in Maiduguri on December 2.
The attack, which came barely a few days
after the President got approval of the National Assembly to extend the
emergency operation in the North-east by another six months, took
everybody, including military authorities, by surprise. Unfortunately,
it was the military that suffered the heaviest casualty in the attack as
about five aircraft were disabled by the terrorists when the Air Force
base in the town was hit. Other military formations, including
checkpoints, were not spared in the coordinated attack. That was just
one of the many attacks in which the military suffered serious setback.
Sometimes ago, at least 40 Nigerian
soldiers were reportedly killed and 65 others went missing in a deadly
ambush by suspected members of the extremist group in the state. The
casualty, one of the heaviest for the military in its ongoing campaign,
occurred along the Baga –Maiduguri Road on Friday, September 13, in what
was described as a classic case of operational and communication
failure. A detachment of soldiers under the 134 Battalion of the 12
Brigade under the Multi National Joint Task Force, MNJTF, stationed in
Kangarwa village in Kukawa Local Government, had conducted a
reconnaissance in order to gather intelligence around the area. During
the exercise, they established the presence of previously unnoticed Boko
Haram camps. The soldiers returned to their base and filed a report.
The report recommended aerial bombardment of the area ahead of a ground
operation by troops.
Unfortunately, the plan was cancelled at
the last minute by a senior officer without formal communication to the
more than 100 troops that had already advanced on the area.
Consequently, due to lack of communication, the troop ran into the
terrorists without knowing that the aerial bombardment had been
cancelled and they were caught unawares.
The soldiers were trapped in the ambush
as they came under heavy fire from the terrorists who had surrounded the
area, leaving at least 40 soldiers dead. Some 65 others were missing.
The terrorists also confiscated a huge cache of weapons from the
soldiers. The attack jolted the army authorities which immediately
ordered an investigation into the suspected operational blunder that
gave the terrorists such an upper hand. The authorities were so irked
that the commanding officer of the unit was instantaneously removed from
his post.
That attack came less than two months
after a similar miscalculation on August 4, which also resulted in a
heavy casualty following a similar surprise attack by the terrorists on a
camp at Malam Fatori where no fewer than 20 soldiers got missing. Just
as with past failures and massacres, the military authorities had placed
a lid on the two incidents. These terrorists’ assault are a sad
reminder of the difficulties which daily confront the military in its
campaign against a dodgy but adept enemy that continues to take
advantage of mistakes by military planners to inflict heavy casualties
on the military.
This was probably why the December 2
attack on the Air Force base and other security formations in Maiduguri
sent the military authorities back to the drawing board. New strategies
seem to be unfolding. It may have included the trial of those being held
for terrorists’ activities. The Defence Headquarters recently
recommended 500 suspects for immediate trial in respect of terrorist
operations in the three North-east states. Some of those slated for
trial include high-profile suspects, some of whom had been training
other terrorists in weapon handling. Among the suspects are a medical
doctor and some paramilitary or service personnel who had been fighting
on the side of the terrorists. While some of the suspects might face
trial in the states where they committed terror-related activities,
others may be arraigned before federal high courts.
In the same vein, the report also asked
the authorities to release 167 others from detention. It described 614
cases inconclusive and recommended a review of the issues against the
suspects. The suspects are among the almost 1,400 detainees screened by
the Joint Investigation Team set up by the Defence Headquarters at the
detention facilities in Maiduguri, Yola and Damaturu between July and
September this year. The report also proposed that some of the detainees
be tried for other offences ranging from armed robbery, murder to
drug-related offences. This is a good development.
From all indications, the military high
command needs to look inward in order to be able to contain the
activities of these terrorists. There is no doubt that with the various
ambushes and surprise attacks on military formations, there are moles
within the military itself.
Take the attack on the Air Force Base
for example. Without insiders’ involvement, it would not have been easy
for the terrorists to overrun the base and other military establishments
with ease. And the fact that the attack was carried out by the
terrorists as a pre-emptive attack on the military on the eve of a
planned major offensive on the terrorists’ locations in the forests and
hills of Maiduguri, shows the hands of insiders in the whole episode.
The military will do itself some measure
of good if it can conduct a thorough investigation into both the
December 2 spontaneous attacks and previous attacks on security
formations in the past. It is only by doing this that the wings of the
Boko Haram terrorists can be safely clipped.
The opinion expressed above is solely that of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of Nigeria Intel.
NigeriaIntel
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