•Mali’s security agents facilitate transnational trips
•Panic in Abuja, South West over their influx, criminal activities
Fulani herdsmen are roaming the suburbs of Abuja with their cattle in large numbers, stoking panic as well as debate in the corridors of power on how to handle them, because they can be deadly in attacks.
They are now known to be the transnational weapons courier for Boko Haram, in deals allegedly facilitated by Mali’s law enforcement agents (gendarmerie) who ensure free passage for weapons and cattle via terrorists’ controlled routes to Niger Republic and finally Nigeria.
Sources in security circles told TheNiche that this was why President Muhammadu Buhari visited France in September to seek the help of Paris, which already has a military force in Mali conducting Operation Barkhane (war on Islamist fighters) in the Sahel.
It is still not clear if French President, Francois Hollande, has agreed to deploy drones and special forces to destablise the terrorists’ capacity in moving weapons to Nigeria.
The United States has agreed to carry out such campaigns, with President Barack Obama deploying 300 troops in Cameroon to conduct airborne intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance against weapons trafficking.
Why Boko Haram is not running out of weapons
Yet, the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) is receiving a lot of heat from the terrorists, who seem not to be in short supply of military equipment.
They swarm like bees in the border towns of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa, brandishing assorted weapons against Nigerian and allied troops.
“As far as I am concerned, Boko Haram is winning the war. Their own life means nothing to them. If you kill 100 of them, they don’t feel the loss. These are people that have killed their parents.
“They are animals. But when they kill one soldier, that is a big blow. And they have been doing that. That is why I said they are winning the war,” an Air Force pilot in the war front in Yola told TheNiche.
On Friday, October 23, no fewer than 27 persons were killed and more than 96 injured in the latest attack at a Yola Mosque.
He explained how Fulani herdsmen courier weapons to the terrorists from faraway Mali, which they have intercepted on several occasions.
He said Mali is the hub of illicit weapons trade in Africa, a lawless territory where heartless merchants sell arms to rebels, international bandits, and terrorists like Boko Haram and its affiliates.
Disguising the weapons among their cattle, the herdsmen – who traverse West Africa with their herds for grazing – transport the arms to Boko Haram terrorists, the source said.
Air bombardment of locations
The Air Force pilot disclosed that they have carried out several air strikes on Boko Haram armoury and destroyed many of their equipment.
He confirmed that the fighter jet which crashed in Yola on October 10 was on such assignment.
The mission was to destroy a Boko Haram armoury discovered by the MJTF. An air force pilot, Flight Lieutenant Ebitemi Owei, who doubled as the administrative officer of his unit, was given the task.
He was en route to drop the bomb when he experienced storm and lightning. He parachuted late because he was right inside the storm, fell and broke his spinal cord. The injury killed him.
Several news media reported that the crash killed all crew members in the aircraft, but the source said only Owei was in it.
He said because of the perilous nature of such missions, only one pilot is usually assigned to mitigate the loss of lives.
Panic in Abuja
The sudden influx of Fulani herdsmen in Abuja, nomads who have no known home addresses, has created panic in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) where they roam the fringes with their cattle.
Their sheer number attracted the attention of security agents, who briefed the permanent secretary of Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) and the Presidency.
What to do with them is still being discussed in the Villa, a source said, largely because of their reputation for clashing with farmers, invasion of villages for reprisals, and other sundry crimes.
Authorities are also careful not to create ethnic fued with the development our source said.
Criminal activities in the South West
The marauders have also invaded the South West, signaling with the kidnap of Olu Falae, former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF).
Falae recounted that he was seized and walked on foot through thick forest, as the herdsmen “were permanently on the move.”
The kidnappers were changing camps every one hour to avoid trailing and detection, a tactic that could only be deployed by criminals who have perfected the art.
“After dragging me around for about two hours, they stopped somewhere for us to rest and there they asked me to phone my wife and tell her that I have been kidnapped and taken out of Ondo State by car, which was a lie.
“It was about 2.30pm on Monday. We started walking with very few stops until 2am the following day. I suspect that I must have covered a minimum of 15 kilometres. That morning I did not take anything.
“So all day I had no food, no water and I walked close to 15 kilometres. How I survived I cannot really remember.
Falae’s kidnappers have been arrested and are facing prosecution.
Grazing reserves to the rescue
Shankar Ibrahim, a retired Major, said nomadic rearing of cattle is no longer tolerable, even within the Nigerian territory, and that cross border movement of herdsmen should be treated as an immigration crime.
He said government must identify grazing reserves where herdsmen are to be restricted to prevent them from transporting crime from one location to another.
