Assistant Politics Editor, DANIEL KANU, takes a look at the exploits of the military in containing the menace of Boko Haram insurgents.
Reported success of Nigerian soldiers battling the Boko Haram terrorists in the North East has, in a way, ushered in a regime of hope among the obviously traumatised citizenry.
Despite recent cases of attacks in Kano and Potiskum, through suicide bombing, the hitherto large-scale massacre and brazen annexation of territories by the terrorists have come under control of the soldiers.
Though the Boko Haram menace is yet to be totally exterminated, many count the military’s relative success as a move that has certainly gladdened the hearts of Nigerians.
These courageous sequential victories, political watchers believe, would reinforce the hope of Nigerians that their land will soon be pulled out of the jaws of insurgency, which has crippled socio-economic life in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, among others, for nearly five years now.
The security forces had on several occasions vowed to end the insurgency, but had on such instances failed to realise their self-imposed deadlines and goals in ways that had put their reputation under public scrutiny.
Before now, Boko Haram operatives had taken control of nearly half of Nigeria’s North East and forced many inhabitants of the area to flee into the nearest safe zones where they now live in rehabilitation camps.
Many non-indigenes have fled the zone for fear of being killed.
It is, thus, heart-warming that in the past couple of weeks, many members of Boko Haram’s fighting forces have been killed in several encounters with Nigerian troops, while many villages and communities that had come under the control of the sect have been liberated and re-captured.
The latest of such onslaught took place early last week during which about 300 Boko Haram fighters were killed and 11 villages recaptured from the group. With the encouraging feat, the table for now is gradually being turned against the insurgents.
Rage of the military
The military, in the last couple of weeks, has not relented in bombardment of Boko Haram strongholds in the Sambisa Forest, as well as Bama and Gwoza communities.
The heat has become so severe on the group that while most of them are on the run from the Sambisa Forest, scores of them disguised as women are being arrested during search operations conducted in communities recaptured from them.
The information released by military authorities shows that in the last couple of days, the military has recaptured more than 11 communities in Borno from insurgents and still counting.
Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, in a statement, said the military had established a cordon on Baga and embarked on the search of houses to fish out dislodged insurgents, who were hiding in the area.
He said soldiers’ attacks have been successful, as various weapons, some strange, were recovered from the militants.
Olukolade stated: “The cordon-and-search in Baga has revealed some terrorists disguising as women. The searches are also yielding more discoveries of arms, especially bombs hidden in various locations, especially Baga town.
“Apart from those captured in the course of fighting, many arrests of terrorists hiding in the town are being made and troops are still busy interrogating the suspects.”
He also stated that the Nigerian Air Force has continued bombardment of identified targets in Gwoza, Bama and Sambisa forest, “preparatory to other phases of the mission”.
According to him, the air strikes “have been highly successful, as they achieved the aims, hitting vital targets with required precision”.
He said insurgents were in disarray, “as they scamper to escape from the impact of air bombardment of their locations in the forest”.
Olukolade said having successfully liberated “Baga, where the terrorists have been marauding, the troops’ attention has now been focused on consolidation of the security of the area to pave way for return of citizens.”
Antics of a monster
Since its disturbing emergence in 2001, the ravages of Boko Haram have been felt in the entire country, as tales of their gory activities continue unabated. Wherever it attacks, it leaves a trail of blood and death. Aside its predilection for kidnapping, which resulted in its abduction of hundreds of schoolgirls last year, the group holds the ignoble record of being responsible for the brutal killing of more than 13,000 persons till date. Although it professes to be an Islamic group, Boko Haram attacks both Christians and Muslims, and destroys their places of worship.
And from being Nigeria’s problem, Boko Haram spread its tragic tentacles to neighbouring countries like Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic. This threat has provided the platform for cooperation, as many countries within the region now seem to be united against the insurgent group.
Unarguably, the military assistance being offered by Nigeria’s neighbours like Cameroon, Chad and Niger has also proved very useful in distabilising the insurgents in places they previously controlled, like Dikwa.
Beyond making regular incursions into Cameroon, Boko Haram at a time brazenly kidnapped the wife of the country’s deputy prime minister and even issued a death threat against the president.
The sect, today, has been listed among terrorist groups that have links with other international insurgents like Al Qaeda, El Shabab etc.
The group’s activities have also gained global attention, particularly with the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls, who, sadly enough, are yet to be rescued at press time.
And House applauds
Even the House of Representatives, in a rare move that saw the members rising beyond party line, commended the military for the onslaught against the murderous sect.
The House also gave kudos to Jonathan for the impetus he has given the Nigerian Army which facilitated its re-taking of some of the towns that had fallen under the control of the insurgent group.
Prompted by a motion of urgent national importance moved by Muhammad Monguno (APC, Borno), when the House reconvened last week, the lawmakers praised the military for its bravery and steadfastness, noting that in “previous months, notably in Borno, Boko Haram had nearly over-run the state, but today the tide is turning against the insurgents as a result of the gallantry of the soldiers”.
Monguno noted further that, prior to the new offensive, the Islamist group had subdued some communities, hoisted its flags in the local government headquarters and subjected the people to despicable norms.
“Almost all the local governments taken by Boko Haram have now been liberated. So the armed forces require some encouragement from us in the parliament,” he said.
Arguing in the same vein, Abubakar Momoh from Edo had commended the effort of the military in chasing out the insurgents.
“We were aware that few months ago, Boko Haram unleashed a reign of terror on many parts of the North East. But today, this has been curtailed.
“We need to commend the military and the Commander-in-Chief, President Goodluck Jonathan, who made it possible for the soldiers to operate effectively,” he added.
Many commend the onslaught against Boko Haram essentially on account of the dislocation the sect had inflicted on the country. For instance, the nation’s much-publicised general election had to be postponed for six weeks due to the problem of Boko Haram.
INEC had on Saturday, February 7, postponed the elections by six weeks, citing security challenges. The first set of elections (i.e. Presidential and National Assembly) was initially slated for February 14 and the other (Governorship and State Assembly) February 28.
At the moment the first set has been slated for March 28, while the other fixed for April 11.
Apprehensive of the challenges that may be experienced in the North East, service chiefs and relevant security agencies had advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the federal government on the postponement on the claim that they could not guarantee violence-free polls, if held as originally scheduled.
Even recently, while briefing the Senate, INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said the electoral commission could not guarantee the elections holding as scheduled, saying that only security agencies and service chiefs can guarantee security for the polls, though the commission remains ready to conduct the elections.
Jega said: “I kept saying consistently that INEC is not a security organisation; we are an election management body. So, we rely a lot on security to be able to ensure that things are done well and that there is no disruption of the electoral process.
“We have been working very closely with the Inter-Agencies Consultative Committee on election security and that is why, for us, if the service chiefs say ‘we can’t guarantee security; give us more time’, what is the alternative security arrangement?
“That’s a very difficult question to answer. I have said, not everything that has to do with the conduct of successful election is within the control of INEC.”
The postponement attracted mixed reactions across the land, with some condemning it and describing it as a ‘coup’. But Jega rose up stoutly to defend the decision, saying it was arrived at after thorough consultations with major stakeholders.
INEC was advised to shift the date of the election to allow time for the troops fighting insurgency to either rout the insurgents completely or weaken them sufficiently before the elections are held.
Enter President Jonathan
President Jonathan at different fora has always vowed that Boko Haram would be defeated. In an interview with a national newspaper, THISDAY, last week, he emphasised that the menace of the sect would be contained before the March/April general elections.
Perhaps the latest development may be kudos to his promise.
Penultimate Thursday, at the inauguration of four Navy ships in Lagos, Jonathan disclosed that the federal government was working hard to improve the capacity of the armed forces to fight insecurity.
He boasted that his administration would rout Boko Haram and conduct elections as now scheduled by the INEC.
“So, Nigerians can see that the present administration is leaving no stone unturned to improve the capacity of our armed forces, not just the Navy but also the Army and the Air Force,” he noted.
“We have built sufficient capacity. And let me also use this platform to promise good country men and women that we would rout Boko Haram.
“Our capacity has increased sufficiently and our officers and men are doing wonderfully in the North.
“We must conduct our elections as scheduled by INEC, because within this period, we are convinced that we will return the North to the level where the activities of extremists will not affect our elections.”
From attacks on security formations and bombing of churches, the insurgents’ activities no doubt graduated to a full-scale war. Government had before now sought, albeit unsuccessfully, to halt the insurgency with little success and its response to the insurgency, steeped in politics and other extraneous dynamics, has been less than satisfying.
Perhaps with the new modern war tools getting better and the troops being motivated, it is obvious the tide is turning for good.
Government has traversed a range of options to put an end to the activities of the insurgents. Apart from the use of force, it had to set up a dialogue committee under the leadership of the Minister of Special Duties to explore peaceful resolution of the crisis. The conflict also attracted help from a group of indigenous hunters as well as the civilian ‘Joint Task Force (JTF)’, who exploited their knowledge of the terrain to assist the security forces.
However, the dividend was anything but substantial, as the insurgents persisted in their atrocious and wanton killings, gaining territories within the Nigerian state in full combat engagement with the Nigerian security forces.
Matters arising
Despite commendations on the efforts of Nigerian soldiers, critics accuse the government of playing politics with Boko Haram issue in the North East. They claimed that the postponement was a tactics for Aso Rock to perfect its strategy on how to rig the election.
Former Senator Olabisi Durojaiye told TheNiche that the postponement was not necessary, as there was no time every registered voter would vote.
Even the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the move by the government to use soldiers to provide security during the election, saying it is a disguise to manipulate the polls.
The party, in fact, wrote a letter to Jonathan and Jega asking them to give heed to a recent court judgment barring the involvement of soldiers in elections. The letter, dated February 16, 2015, emanated from the Director, Legal Services of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume (SAN).
APC, in the letter, called the attention of the federal government to a judgment delivered on January 29, 2015 by Justice R.M. Aikawa of the Federal High Court, Sokoto and another by the Court of Appeal, Abuja, on February 16, 2015 which overruled the use of military in elections.
PDP has, however, accused APC of nursing a hidden agenda in resisting the use of soldiers to provide security during the polls. The party’s Deputy National Chairman, Uche Secondus, who made the allegation, had argued that the military, as deployed in previous elections, did not participate in the election process, stressing that those who are kicking against the use of the military at this time of insecurity are agents of destabilisation.
But arguing from non-partisan perspective, Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, backed the call for troops to take charge of security to ensure peace in the elections.
Odinkalu said: “As far back as 2013, Nigeria has been in a civil war and we can’t now in 2015 decide to say Nigeria is not in a civil war.
“We don’t have the assets to protect all of Nigeria, given that Nigeria is fighting a war.”
The current level of insecurity in the country, he added, justifies the deployment of troops for the election, stressing that it is in line with the Geneva Convention Act.
On his part, Jonathan has assured that he is committed to the conduct of credible election. He said he is committed to security and that Boko Haram would be defeated. These are promises still in the womb of time.