Curbing armed attacks to discredit FG

The country in the last couple of months has witnessed some wanton and senseless killings that were clearly premeditated and designed to achieve some objectives. Contrary to the widely held view that, the attacks are by armed Fulani herdsmen, the pattern and frequency of the attacks were clearly beyond the capacity of the indigenous Fulani […]

The country in the last couple of months has witnessed some wanton and senseless killings that were clearly premeditated and designed to achieve some objectives. Contrary to the widely held view that, the attacks are by armed Fulani herdsmen, the pattern and frequency of the attacks were clearly beyond the capacity of the indigenous Fulani herdsmen and had the signature of a group or groups that had sinister motives. To a discerning eye, attributing the attacks to local herdsmen was both diversionary and making them a scapegoat. This is not to say some criminally minded Fulani herdsmen have not been implicated and arrested in some of the Benue, Nasarawa, Adamawa and Kogi states killings. 

Before one is misunderstood, it is important the fact is established that, the country is dealing with a mix of sources of attacks. Firstly, it is incontrovertible that there are isolated attacks by cattle Fulani usually as the result of the straying of their cattle into farmlands. These are few and isolated and not on the scale that would have provoked violence mayhem in the affected communities. Closely related to this are, attacks by criminally minded herdsmen and cattle rustlers. The trend has assumed frightening dimensions in the last couple of years. Secondly, there are attacks committed by gunmen suspected to be mercenaries definitely invited into the country. They seem to be the ones involved in some of the large scale killings in Benue, Kaduna, Adamawa and Taraba states. 

The attacks have the trademark of trained gunmen and the use of sophisticated weapons. Those behind the attacks are vicious and their motives are still left to speculations. Those responsible are the people the President recently referred to as gunmen trained by the former Mammur Ghadaffi regime. There are intelligence reports associating this group with the Boko Haram insurgents. Third and lastly are, attacks committed by suspected Islamic State West Africa (ISWA) elements. This is not surprising as intelligence sources since last year have revealed that, the Islamic State has made significant inroads into some Northern States. There were intelligence predictions then that, the country may witness spates of attacks as a result. A confirmation of this is reported in an article in Daily Sun of 30 April 2018 based on reports from Reuters News Agency which quoted French Intelligence sources as saying that, Islamic State West Africa (ISWA) has gained significant foot holds in the North Eastern part of the country. It will therefore be fool hardy for anybody to jump to conclusion in the absence of incontrovertibly facts that the ongoing attacks in Benue, Zamfara, Kaduna and Adamawa States are by armed bandits. The fact should not be overlooked that, insurgents use the cover of banditry and armed robbery to perpetuate their nefarious activities. The attacks as observed by the Presidential source are definitely not spontaneous but are well planned and systematically executed. The objective definitely is to provoke reactions capable of undermining the government.

Disclosures by the Presidency some days ago that some of the attacks are orchestrated and aimed at discrediting the Buhari Government cannot be far from the truth. Many in the intelligence community have wondered how and why indigenous Fulani herdsmen who are not known to be carrying sophisticated Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) could cause such mayhem on communities in Benue, Taraba, Adamawa, Kaduna and Zamfara States on the scale and manner witnessed recently. Among the questions that beg for answers are, why are the predominantly Christian communities the targets of the armed attacks. The objective definitely is to provoke ethno religious conflicts that would discredit the Government. Those behind the attacks could be succeeding given the huge ethno religious mistrusts the attacks have created all over the country. The attacks by the gunmen whether they are Fulani herdsmen, mercenaries or the Islamic State are aimed at destabilizing and discrediting the Buhari Government. One must however concede to the fact that, the Buhari Government is the target of various subversive plans because of some policies and measures the Government has taken. 

Because of the huge implications of the ongoing attacks to national security, immediate stopping of the wanton killings is the most desirable thing to do at the moment. Terrorists and such other subversive groups are able to infiltrate the country and operate freely because of inadequacy and the absence of security presence in parts of the country. I know for a fact that, this was the weakness the Boko Haram exploited to establish their presence unnoticed in parts of the North East. The Government must therefore order the reconfiguring of all the security, law enforcement and the paramilitary agencies as well as, the Armed Forces to cover the present gaps in the security deployments. The North East especially the areas that are vulnerable to terrorist attacks for example the Damboa, Lassa, Dille, Ngurthlav axis in Borno State and Madagali in Adamawa State should also be considered for a strong security presence. The mobile Police Training School at Gwoza in Borno State should also in the ongoing reconfiguration of security assets be up graded to serve as a launching pad in the ongoing counter terrorism efforts. 

 Shortage of manpower is the other weakness that continues to work against the effectiveness of most of the security and Law Enforcement Agencies in the country that needs to be addressed. The security agencies more especially the Nigerian Police and the State Security Service have over the years being depleted. Consequently, there is really no way they can make the desired impact with their current strengths. This is the reason why the Government should be commended for approving the recruitment of 6000 policemen. The State Security Service equally needs to recruit just about that number to effectively man the areas not presently adequately covered and to enhance its intelligence gathering responsibilities which is a critical requirement at a time like this. The other lesson that should be taken away from the poor handling of the current security challenges is the need to find solutions to the lack of technical capabilities, vehicles and communication gadgets that have undermined the effectiveness of the security agencies. If the truth must be told, there is just no way the Armed Forces and security services can effectively perform effectively with the current outdated equipment holdings, lack of vehicles and advanced technical capabilities. The point needs to be stressed again that, contemporary security challenges are today fought with modern capabilities such as drones, aerial surveillance, radars, CCTVs and well fitted operational vehicles. The point should not be belaboured that, successive governments in the country have not seriously invested in security over the years. This is the reason why it is strongly recommended that the government if it wants to avoid distractions of insecurity should equip the security agencies with modern and advanced capabilities. The maxim it is better late than never is instructive in the circumstance.

Finally, reports emerging recently from diverse sources say that the Boko Haram has not been defeated but only weakened. The latest of this verdict is, by United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS). The statement is reportedly made against the backdrop of several claims that the insurgents have been completely defeated. This claims that should be viewed seriously by the security forces and the government. The fight against the insurgency in the North East is at a stage that requires the support of all and sundry. All that needs to be done at the moment is to step up the efforts. The country should not delude itself that the enemy has been put to sleep permanently. If for anything, the country is likely to witness more desperate insurgency attacks. Ourselves as a people, the security forces and the Government should therefore be on our toes at this end phase of the insurgency.

A.A. Gadzama is the former director general SSS