Boko Haram Terrorism Threats in Nigeria

Boko Haram Terrorism Threats in Nigeria
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ANALYSIS

Dr. Deji James, Human Rights Group: writing from Abuja, it is emphatic that the Boko Haram issue is far from being just a ‘northern’ phenomenon, but nationwide crisis.

One of the greatest challenges President Goodluck Jonathan's administration faces is the growing insecurity across the country. Nigerians are said to now be living in perpetual fear of falling victim to the spate of bombings, assassinations, kidnappings and other acts of terrorism in the country.

Boko Haram, in its fifth straight day of violence, overran a police station in Toro Council in Bauchi State and carted off arms and ammunition. Elsewhere, a heavy explosion followed by bursts of sporadic gunfire hit Maiduguri, where the Islamic fundamentalists have also been waging a campaign of terror.

The Coalition of Ethnic Nationalities of Nigeria (CENN) has said the nefarious operations of the Boko Haram sect must be considered as an act of war and terrorism in the class of a foreign invasion against the country, "and must be drastically confronted as such by the security agencies to prevent further international embarrassment to Nigeria and further loss of Nigerian lives and property".

Governor Obi of Anambra State described the actions of the Boko Haram sect which has resulted in killings of innocent Nigerians in parts of the country, as unacceptable and must be tackled.

Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi, representing Ekiti North Senatorial district of Ekiti State, has justified the recent deployment of soldiers to Abuja to combat the menace of terrorism by Boko Haram, describing the move as a sure way to curtail the activities of the terrorist group. He assured Nigerians that members of the National Assembly will open debate on the matter after recess, saying the issue of terrorism in the country has reached a feverish pitch and needed utmost urgent attention.

Boko Haram has announced its Jihad in Nigeria and its intent on causing further mayhem until its goals of setting up a nation under Sharia is met. For many Nigerians, this is a serious threat, and must be taken very seriously by this President. Boko Haram has basically declared war on the Federal Government of Nigeria, and it is important to evaluate the situation carefully in the coming days on whether to initiate A-grade operations in the North to root out this threat now or allow it to fester and create a growing, inoperable cancer. It is better now to excise the tumor before it spreads.

The Boko Haram menace has taken a new and deadly twist, with the dreaded group issuing threats to eliminate all Christians and even Muslims currently serving in the Federal government. In the statement released by the group last week, it said: “This is a government that is not Islamic. Therefore, all its employees-Muslims and non-Muslims are Infidels.

While the deadly Maiduguri based terror group, Boko Haram, continues to maim, murder and destroy properties, the Nigeria state officials, security agencies are simply at sea as to how to curtail these strings of mayhem. The police most times try to minimize the magnitude of destruction.
Boko Haram’s Terrorism Does Not Threaten Only Nigeria. The Nigerian government has imposed a curfew on the national capital city, Abuja, following recent attacks by Islamist militants. Nightclubs, beer parlours, and cinemas must close by 10pm local time (2100 GMT) and public parks that admit children should close by 6pm. Abuja city’s administration said it has also banned parking of vehicles on two roads where most government offices are located. The security problems bedeviling Nigeria must pique our interest because of its implications for the entire West African sub-region.
To confront this problem we need to have a full understanding of the notion BOKO HARAM. Its direct translation in English means "Western Education is Forbidden" this notion is a very eccentric idea which takes its roots from the colonial era when the British having subdued the fulani's with their artillery batteries in Sokoto had implemented a system of indirect rule in Northern Nigeria, a system which allowed them to pursue their imperialist plans indirectly through the emirs taking full advantage of the existing feudal system.

This grievance has led to mass protests in the north and also the ruling Peoples Democratic Party losing a lot of seats to other political parties. The elite themselves are not safe at all as a result of the spate of high profile assassinations in the country by the dreaded Boko Haram sect. It is very obvious that there is a high level of entropy and ambiguity in the North. The real danger is not in the present but what is yet to come that is why the government must do its best to address the issue of poverty, unemployment and illiteracy in the North.

This time around Nigerians are faced with a problem in the form of terrorist jihadist militants going by the name of Boko Haram which means Western Education is forbidden in the Hausa dialect. The kidnapping of people and blowing up of government infrastructure is one thing but the act of suicide bombing whereby the aggressor is willing to risk his own life by blowing up himself and the intended target to oblivion is a whole different thing entirely.

The recent suicide bombing attack on the National Headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force which is the heart of our nation’s civil security outfit is such an unfortunate event. What even makes the situation more alarming is that it was a suicide attack, the first of its kind in our nation’s history.

This is a war that cannot be won by confrontation because these people live among us and for every terrorist that is killed there will be more to eagerly replace them so it is important that the authorities attack this problem from the roots so that our beloved nation will not follow other countries like Somalia, Afghanistan and the rest.

This is a report of how the fear of Boko Haram is threatening to change night life in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja. It is a season of a long list of forbidden activities after 10pm- including weekends. The Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, acting on intelligence and sound security advice, is toeing the path of caution.

Barely an hour after a local government council chairman was shot dead on Sunday evening in his house in Maiduguri by suspected members of the Islamic fundamentalists, Boko Haram, the group was reported to have bombed another local drinking joint at Wulari mammy market in Borno state capital leaving several persons dead and many others injured.

AFGHANISTAN! That was what it called its based in Kanamma, Yobe State. It uses guerrilla tactics as a means of doing devilish things, yet it professes Godliness. Drive-by and ride-by sporadic shooting of police officers and innocent passers-by have become another way of wreaking havoc. Bombs have recently come in handy, and bombs are being deployed with maximum effectiveness. This is the world of Boko Haram, the Islamic terrorist group that appears to be fast replacing the militants of Niger Delta.

The issue of security should not be left alone to government. From my own point of view, government alone cannot stop the activities of terrorists which have left thousands of innocent Nigerians either dead or wounded. People in their thousands are relocating from Maiduguri to their villages and other neighbouring states they consider safe, as the city has been turned into a war zone. When our correspondent visited some motor parks across the metropolis, thousands of people, including students of the University of Maiduguri which was closed on Monday, were seen trying to flee the embattled city.

Death & Destruction, Thy Name is Boko Haram
The members of this sect do not spare royalty or religious leadership. Take: On May 30 this year, suspected members of the sect shot dead Abba Anas Umar Garbai El-Kanemi, the younger brother of Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai El-Kanemi. Also, a renowned Islamic Scholar, Shiekh Ibrahim Gomari Airport ward in March.

There was stampede in Kano, Bauchi, Kaduna, Maiduguri, Abuja, Jos, Kogi, Adamawa, Yobe, and Suleja over Boko Haram terrorism acts on Monday when news of incessant killings and bombing by Boko Haram with military forces were announced.

‘’We want people to know that the Federal Government fought us and therefore by the grace of Allah, we would continue fighting until we succeed or die in the process,’’ he said the sect spokesman. Abu Zaid said the sect members would continue to trail former governors of Borno and Bauchi states, Christian preachers as well as all the enemies of God.

Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have arrived Nigeria to help in the investigation of the 16/6 bomb attack on the headquarters of the Nigerian Police Force in Abuja. The FBI is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency (counterintelligence).

The University of Don said that despite the threats by the police and army to crush Boko Haram, the group has continued relentlessly to attack and kill policemen and military-men with ease. The manner in which they went to attack police headquarters in Abuja underscores the fact that they have intelligent people behind them.

However, it is time for government to act before it is too late!


Dr. Deji James, writing from Abuja, Human Rights Group.
13/07/11

Why Boko Haram bombed the Nigeria Police Headquarters in Abuja

Nigeria: Boko Haram Terrorism Threats: Police Headquarters Bombing and our security

I must confess that I am neither surprised by the brazen attack on the headquarters of the Nigeria Police, the almighty Louis Edet House in Abuja, by members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect, nor by the reaction of President Goodluck Jonathan. Why?

I was in Maiduguri and Bauchi August for over a week in 2009 after the Boko Haram attacks that set Borno and Bauchi States ablaze, literally. The level of destruction was unprecedented. I visited the prison and police stations that were sacked. I went to the police college where senior police officers on course were slaughtered while sleeping. I saw churches that were bombed. I went to the sect’s headquarters located at the Maiduguri Railway Terminus Areas (MRTA) that had been destroyed and taken over by security men. I was told of the atrocities committed in that very compound and shown what was alleged to be the killing chamber of the sect’s leader, Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf, who was summarily executed by the police after his arrest.

I visited the compound of Yusuf’s father-in-law, the 72-year-old Alhaji Baa Fugu Mohammed, who was alleged to be one of the financiers of the sect. The man was also executed, his compound destroyed. I interviewed two young women – 22-year-old Patricia Ibe, who was an accountancy student then and 14-year-old Chidinma Obigwe. Two of them watched as three of their religious brethren had their throats slit.

They were taken away as spoils of war, only rescued when men of the Borno State special security outfit, Operation Flush, invaded the sect’s headquarters where they and over 1,500 other people, mostly women, were held hostage.

I spoke to Rev. Dr. Daniel Egboka, Assistant General Superintendent of the National Evangelical Mission and Chairman, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (Borno State chapter), who was also the Pastor of the National Evangelical Mission Wukari Headquarters, Maiduguri. Not only was his church burnt down, his Assistant Pastor, Sylvester Nseobong, his brother who visited from Akwa Ibom, Patrick James, and the church’s security man, Elijah Gambo, were the three men Patricia and Chidinma watched their gory execution.

Pastor Egboka showed me the bones of his fallen colleagues; still at the very spot they were burnt. As at the time of the interview, his wife had fled Maiduguri, vowing never to set her foot again in the state or any part of the North. I interviewed the then state Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, whose former Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Buji Fai, resigned his appointment to join the sect. Buji was also summarily executed. There were insinuations then that the Governor ordered the execution of Mohammed and Buji to stop them from spilling the bean. Sheriff denied the allegation vehemently, claiming that he was also a target. The Commander of the Operation Flush 11, Colonel Ben Ahanotu, who I met in the Governor’s office, spoke off record, detailing the enormity of the crisis and the atrocity committed by the sect members.

The Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbal El-Kanemi, who only assumed office on May 31, 2009, barely two months before the mayhem, spoke. He said the irreverent Yusuf embarrassed not only the state but the entire Muslim community.

The University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) was filled to capacity with victims – men, women, children and the aged. I spoke with soldiers and policemen with all manner of wounds. The mortuary was overflowing. As a result, corpses were being dumped at the car park of the Umaru Shehu Ultra Modern Hospital, Bulumkutu.

Police denied me access to the arrested Boko Haram members, who were in detention, but I spoke to members who were not detained and they vowed revenge. I spoke to many other victims of the madness and came out with the impression that the sect’s capacity for violence was almost infinite. Scarier was my perception that they had the capacity to sustain the insurrection. I saw a people whose thirst for blood was insatiable.

In Bauchi, it was the same level of atrocity committed by the sect members. Many young people are now in their early grave as well as religious and political leaders. I interviewed sect members arrested by the police and vowed to wage war on the nation. Both traditional and religious leaders have been displaced. Bishop A.T Moses was mentioned as the enemy to their mission as well as Pastor Sunday I. Peters.

Since 2009, I have watched as they carried out attacks with astounding precision, knocking off high value targets almost effortlessly.

So, when the group issued a statement last Wednesday, boasting that their warriors had “arrived Nigeria from Somalia where they got serious training on warfare,” and vowing that they would “wage jihad on the enemies of God and his Messenger,” I sensed an escalation in the paroxysm of violence that had gripped the
country. The vow was a reaction to the Inspector General of Police Hafiz Ringim’s boast that the days of Boko Haram were numbered after receiving 10 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) from the Borno State government the previous day.

It is instructive that Ringim’s office was bombed a day after the group made its vow. It is also helpful, but by no means comforting, to note that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, the first time ever in Nigeria, after Boko Haram’s claim that their fighters had returned from Somalia.

I was also not surprised by Jonathan’s response when he visited Louis Edet House on Saturday. “Let me use this opportunity to assure Nigerians that it happens all over the world, no country is safe,” the President said. How the knowledge that terrorism is a global phenomenon can assuage the anxiety of distraught Nigerians, only the President can explain.

But I was not surprised because that was the same answer he gave after the gruesome murder of the Governorship candidate of the Borno State All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Modu Fannami Gubio, who until his death was the Commissioner for Finance. Six other people killed in that brazen attack on January 28 included the Governor’s brother, Alhaji Goni Modu Ngala, who was former chairman of Ngala local government.

Since terrorism had become global merchandise, Nigerians have nothing to complain about, the President seemed to have suggested. But that is too simplistic a solution coming from him. No Nigerian is going to be comforted by the fact that bombs are also exploding in other parts of the world including the United States and Europe.

The fact of the matter is that Nigeria has become a haven for terrorists and this should give the President serious concern. Sadly, he doesn’t seem to appreciate the enormity of the crisis because if he does, he would have appreciated the significance of the bombing of the police headquarters. It is an audacious attack executed strategically to send a clear message that if the security of the seemingly impregnable police headquarters could be easily breached, then nowhere, not even Aso Rock is safe.

Leadership is not an easy task. It is only in Nigeria that people grow younger and look more robust when they are elected or appointed into public office. In other climes the reverse is the case because leadership exerts its toll on those who occupy public office. Anyone who is in doubt should look at President Barack Obama; how much he has aged in three years.
Presidency is not a feel good job. Jonathan must roll up his sleeve and work. We have full-blown terrorism on our hands. And the successful attack on the Louis Edet House, where the Inspector General of Police, Ringim, escaped death by the whiskers, is a morale booster. It is disturbing that the President and Commander-in-Chief of the country thinks that terrorism can be wished away which is what his statement that, “Nigeria is also having some ugly incidents lately but surely we will get over it and people should not panic at all,” seems to suggest.
However, it was learnt that preliminary police investigations into the 16/6 bombing showed that the Police High Command and the top leadership of the nation’s security agencies came to that initial conclusion from reading the footages of the incident from the Close Circuit Television at the Louis Edet House. The impact of the bomb, which destroyed about 77 cars in the IG’s parking lot and reduced the Honda to an engine stump, killed the suspected bombers right inside their car.
Journalists who went to the police headquarters shortly after the blast last week observed so much confusion among the police about the particular car that actually carried the device. A good number of the policemen pointed to a mangled car whose two tyres were on a culvert in the car park as the car driven by the bomber. It took a lot of protest from the journalists to get a close photograph of the car when the rescue team comprising men of the Red Cross and National Emergency Management Agency got the human parts from the car into some black cellophane bags.

It took a four-man team of journalists from the PUNCH close to one hour to extract that piece of information from a police officer who lost his car to the blast and two of his junior colleagues to disclose the real car that carried the bomb. However, the police have said that the ongoing investigations would soon unveil the sponsors of Boko Haram.

Boko Haram is a determined foe. It must be fought decisively and even if not totally vanquished, at least defanged or we should all consider ourselves dead.


Source: Emeka Owoniyi (JNCR)