Adopting New Strategy to Tackle Insecurity 

With the claim by the Middle Belt Forum that the military was aware of the identity and hideouts of the perpetrators of the Christmas Eve attacks on Plateau State and that seven communities had been renamed by the invaders, it is obvious that terrorists who invade communities and forcefully occupy them, are still being treated as sacred cows, Ejiofor Alike writes

As Nigeria continues to grapple with the nationwide state of insecurity, the Deputy National Publicity of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Mr. Stanley Kavwam, has made a startling revelation, declaring that the military is aware of the identity and hideouts of the terrorists who carried out the Christmas eve attacks on three local government areas in Plateau State.

From the North-west where bandits terrorise residents, the South-west where ritualists hold sway, to the South-east where unknown gunmen kidnap, slaughter and harvest the body parts of their victims, virtually all parts of the country are unsafe.

In the North-east where the immediate past administration claimed that it had defeated Boko Haram, the terrorists have continued to launch attacks. 

The terrorists in gun trucks and motorcycles had last Monday killed 12 persons in two communities of Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State, while they also torched many houses and shops in Gatamarwa and Tsiha communities on the fringes of Sambisa Forest.

 Borno State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Yusuf, who confirmed the attacks, disclosed that the insurgents were disguised in military uniform, before attacking the two vulnerable communities located on the fringes of forest.

The latest attacks in Chibok came barely two weeks after the terrorists attacked the town and killed two people, looted houses, and shops, before setting them ablaze.

A three 330KVA electricity towers of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) was also brought down on Christmas eve by the terrorists, plunging the residents of Yobe and Borno states residents into darkness.

The affected towers are sited along Maiduguri-Auno and Damaturu-Gujba roads in the two states.

The people of Taraba and Benue communities on the borders with Cameroon are constantly being attacked by terrorists who constantly attack, kill, rape and destroy their means of livelihood.

Reacting to the Christmas eve attacks on Plateau State, while speaking on ARISE News Channel, Kavwam alleged that security agencies knew that the attacks would be launched. He insisted that the military was informed before and during the Christmas eve attacks.

“They received about 37 distress calls, that is ‘Operation Safe Haven’ or the Joint Task Force. About 37 distress calls!! Yet nothing was done,’’ he alleged.

He added: “They know where they orchestrate the attacks from. The autonomous community called Manga is at the foot of Bokkos hills, bordering Wamba in Nasarawa State to the south; It’s this autonomous community from where these attacks are orchestrated from, just the same way we have in the Mandara hills in Borno State.

He said: “These attacks could last for as long as 12 to 24 hours and there is no security presence whatsoever.”

He added that despite President Bola Tinubu’s directive to service chiefs to intensify security in the affected communities, “nothing has changed and the attacks are still going on and there is no response from the security authorities.”

The MBF deputy publicity secretary had recalled how General TY Danjuma (rtd) had alleged that the military was colluding with the invaders, adding that the collusion has persisted.

“Let me give you a classic example. How could a community be invaded, the inhabitants dislodged, and that community is renamed and they still inhabit that community and the security agencies do not do anything about that?’’

He added that seven communities in the state had been renamed by the attackers.

“There is no way the security can absolve itself from liability because they (insurgents) do announce before they come. They come in thousands. How could 1,000 people invade the local government area? And there are security agencies in all of those areas. How do they manage to pass and how do they acquire their weapons?’’ Kavwam queried.

Before President Bola Tinubu assumed office, foreign invaders masquerading as herdsmen had frequently sacked communities in North-west and North-central, and occupied their lands under the guise of avenging the death of a cow allegedly killed or stolen by criminal elements.

Despite claiming responsibility for such heinous crimes, none of the attackers and their sponsors was arrested by security agencies.

Rather than going after the invaders, who were the aggressors, security agencies had targetted communities that organised self-defence or reprisal.

The most dangerous dimension was the allegation by the MBF official that the sacked communities were renamed and occupied by the invaders without the security agencies arresting anyone.

Since the MBF official made the claim, neither the security agencies nor government officials have disputed this claim, which suggests a grand plot to displace indigenous communities by foreign invaders with the backing of powerful forces.

Since it has become increasingly obvious that certain perpetrators of insecurity in the country are being shielded by those who should arrest them, President Tinubu should quickly give marching orders to the security agencies to rout out these terrorists from the occupied communities and other places, which serve as their bases for launching attacks in order to end the inglorious era when they brazenly justified their attacks on their helpless victims.

While some of these herdsmen and other terrorists escape to the neighbouring countries or neighbouring states after carrying out a successful attack, some brazenly occupy the lands vacated by their victims without any response by the security agencies.

Apart from shielding terrorists who sack communities and occupy their lands, the complicity of security agents in kidnap-for-ransom has elevated this act of criminality to a lucrative venture.

Security agents were not only caught in the act in some reported cases, unconfirmed reports have also alleged several cases where security agents at checkpoints facilitated the movement and transfer of ransoms to kidnappers by the families of victims.

While bandits administer some communities where they collect levies and are publicly conferred with traditional titles, security agencies still claim that these bandits are on their wanted list.

Recent media reports claimed that bandits have occupied Dogon-Dawa, Kurege, Kangarewa and Mangoro communities, among several others in Niger State and are governing these areas based on their own rules.

While the past administration had boasted that no inch of the Nigerian soil was under the control of Boko Haram in the North-east, many communities in the North-west are still under the control of bandits.

Tinubu should devise a new approach to tackle insecurity instead of adopting the old way of issuing press statements, threatening fire and brimstones after every incident, which do not bring an end to such incidents.  

Also reacting to the Plateau attacks, a former President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, has urged the President Tinubu-led administration to consider a review of the nation’s security architecture with a view to making it more proactive and strategic towards addressing the recurring insecurity in the country.