This was against the backdrop of
revelations that the troops were finding it difficult to check activities
of the terrorists because of the sophistication of the sect members among other
factors.
In a statement issued,
yesterday, by the Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris
Olukolade, the Defence Headquarters said that civilians had been evacuated from
the battle ground before commencing the operation.
According to the statement, “the
air operations to clear terrorists bases sited in Daggu and Yazza areas
of Borno State during the weekend have registered the expected results in the
ongoing campaign against terror.
The mopping up operation by ground
forces after air assault has confirmed the death of several terrorists located
in the bases. Civilians had earlier been evacuated from the vicinity of
the identified terrorist enclaves in line with operation orders before the air
and land assaults. Extensive cordon and search of the entire locality is
ongoing with a view to apprehending the wounded and other members of the
terrorists group who might still be trying to flee.
Fierce encounter
“Also yesterday, troops in
pursuit of those who carried out attack in Buni Yadi last week, had fierce
encounter with the terrorists around Mainok and other locations between Apa and
Abulum in Borno State. The air and land operations that ensued recorded the
death of some terrorists. Soldiers also died in the encounters”.
The statement added that,
“suspects who are believed to have been responsible for detonating the bomb
that exploded at Bintu Sugar Ngamari area of Maiduguri yesterday (Saturday)
killing many citizens and wounding several others have been arrested and are
helping in the ongoing investigation on the incident. Patrols are
continuing on land and air in the entire mission area in North East towards
apprehending or eliminating the rampaging terrorists in the area”.
The Defence Headquarters
dismissed as untrue the reports claiming that civilians were mistakenly killed
in the air operations in some parts of the mission area, as the claim could not
be confirmed after the mopping up aspect of the operation.
It reaffirmed its directive that
necessary care should continue to be taken to ensure safety of innocent
Nigerians in the operational areas notwithstanding the fierceness of the
encounters.
Meanwhile, authoritative
security sources disclosed to Vanguard at the weekend why Boko Haram
members have been carrying out their killing campaign in the North East
seemingly without molestation.
The source said that a
combination of many things have made the activities of the sect difficult to
check.
The source who is with one of
the security agencies based in the North East told Vanguard that as
things stand, the security agencies in the North East cannot cope with the
sophistication and the battle hardiness of the sect members. “Have you asked
yourself why these guys strike at night? The reason they attack at night
is because they know that our soldiers cannot cope. For instance, the sect
members wear night vision goggles and ride in a convoy of brand new Hilux
vehicles. They see what our soldiers cannot see at night. With their
sophisticated weaponry and their combat hardiness it is no wonder they operate
freely at night. Do our soldiers have night combat gears? I do not think so.
Why Boko Haram is elusive
“Another reason I think
these guys are out gunning our men is that they are battle hardened. Our
investigation showed that they are not Nigerians. They are mostly from Chad and
Niger republics. These men have decided to export terror to Nigeria. Have you
not wondered why there was a lull in their activities late last year? This was
when they exported their activities to the Central African Republic. After the
war there, they came back to Nigeria. Have you not wondered why there is peace
in Niger and Chad where there used to be change of government so often? These are
men that used to cause trouble in their countries but now they have found a
viable occupation in killing innocent people in Nigeria. One way I think the
government can get to the root of the matter is to find out the financiers of
these terrorists. Where did they get the brand new hilux vehicles they
are using? These things should be investigated. This is not just guerrilla
warfare. It is more than that. You can’t move in a convoy of 10 vehicles and
operate for at least three hours unmolested and you say its guerrilla warfare”,
the source said.
Vanguard also gathered
that fear of summary execution of the locals of communities in the area, was
hampering the passing of information that would have boosted intelligence and
security operations to check the terrorists.
According to Vanguard’s
investigation, once information goes out that the terrorists were in a
community or that they planned to launch an attack from a location, and
security agencies nipped the attack in the bud or succeeded in arresting the terrorists,
other members of the group would go after the suspected informants, tie them up
and summarily execute such persons.
A chilling account was also
narrated to Vanguard of some informants, having their throats slit open
with long daggers or swords in the presence of community members to serve as
deterrent to those who may want to embark on such dangerous road, with the sect
members shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ meaning God is great.
Aside the dangers of giving out
information which has made people of communities in the area to suffer in
silence; there is the pronounced problem of the military not having the kind of
equipment like attack helicopters they need to prosecute the onslaught against
the group.
Another reason discovered by Vanguard,
is the frequency in the changes of Commanders, snowballing into frequent change
of strategy and this in a way affects the morale of soldiers on the battle
field.
For the army, there are issues
of inadequate Armoured Personnel Carriers as well as vehicles like pick up vans
which are not really the type needed for the prosecution of the battle in such
terrain.
A source told Vanguard
that if the government was able to equip the Nigerian Airforce with about 70
Mi-35 Helicopter gunships for instance, and they carry out daily patrols and
are armed with the sorties to take out these terrorists any time they venture
to come out, the terrorists will run out of the country.
However, the fear of officials
of government at the federal level too, that arming the military heavily and
giving them the free hands to carry out the operation will lead to collateral
damages and result in innocent citizens being caught in the crossfire, thereby
raising issues of human rights, is another area that the terrorist are
capitalizing on.
Also, another challenge facing
the prosecution of the war on terror is the fact that instances have occurred
where it was discovered that movement of weaponry and troops as well as
operational plans have leaked to the terrorists to the extent that some planned
assault on them have backfired and troops ended up being ambushed and killed.
The problem of funding for the
operation has also been mentioned and in this regard, the National Assembly has
been seriously indicted as they have constantly found it extremely difficult to
approve funds for procurement of modern equipment on the grounds that they were
too expensive.
Unfortunately, the modern
equipment needed like aircraft, APC’s, tracking equipment and specialized
military trucks needed for such operations, are all denominated in foreign
currencies.
On the foreign side, Vanguard
gathered that neighbouring countries like Cameroon, Niger, and Chad, because of
their socio-economic problems and fear of provoking the terrorists to turn
against them, preferred to adopt a standby attitude and confront the terrorist
any time they ran into their territory.
Source: Vanguard
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