Following sect leader’s death, FCT, states keep vigil

The uprising which started on Sunday in Bauchi, spread to Borno, Yobe, Katsina and Kano during the week, although the Army and the police said they had crushed it and the sect leader, Malam Mohammed Yusuf killed in Maiduguri on Thursday night. In Abuja, Weekly Trust observed unusual presence of soldiers and police men in […]

The uprising which started on Sunday in Bauchi, spread to Borno, Yobe, Katsina and Kano during the week, although the Army and the police said they had crushed it and the sect leader, Malam Mohammed Yusuf killed in Maiduguri on Thursday night.

In Abuja, Weekly Trust observed unusual presence of soldiers and police men in some strategic places within the city. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) more soldiers and the police have, however, been deployed to the flashpoints in some states.

In Yola, the Adamawa State Police Command has ordered all its formations to be on the alert, in addition to the roadblocks being mounted. Spokesperson of the Command Altine Daniel led newsmen to some of the roadblocks within Jimeta and Yola metropolis yesterday.

Daniel said some policemen had also been posted to some strategic locations to check movements, and others posted to government establishments and places of worship. He explained that “Operation Tsaro”, a special security outfit comprising all security operatives in the state, were on constant patrol.

Murtala Nyako, a retired vice admiral, now the state governor, has also met with security agents, according to his Chief Press Secretary, Maijama’a Adamu. Adamu said due to the magnitude of the disturbances in the neighbouring states and far, “Nyako spent the whole of yesterday including part of the night meeting with various bodies.

In Ibadan, the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Baba Bolanta, has assured residents not to exercise any fear, saying the religious crisis in some parts of the country will not spread to the state. “There is no need to fear’’ Bolanta told newsmen in Ibadan, shortly visiting some police formations in the city.

The Plateau Inter-Religious Council for Peace and Harmony, rose from its meeting yesterday in Jos,  and “expressed  shock and terrible disgust” at the crisis, calling on religious leaders to educate their followers properly on religious teachings. Speaking with NAN after the meeting, the co-chairman, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, appealed to government to be alert to the security of its citizens.

An Early-Warning and Early-Response Committee was on Thursday constituted in Jos by the Inter-faith Mediation Centre, a Muslim-Christian Dialogue Forum based in Kaduna. NAN reports that men of the State Joint Security Task Force continued their 24-hour patrol of flashpoints in the state with Armoured Personnel Carriers strategically positioned.

In Kaduna, the state government on Friday increased security presence in the state capital, following the announcement of the killing of the ‘Boko Haram’ leader, Malam Mohammed Yusuf. NAN reports that more police men were deployed into `The Operation Yaki’, an outfit to crush insurgency, while security men appeared at strategic locations.

In Calabar, the Cross River Police Command said it has deployed policemen to places of worships across the state. The command has also stationed policemen at centres where religious crusades have been scheduled to hold in the state during this period.

Etim Dickson, an Assistant Superintendent of Police and the Command’s spokesman, who disclosed this, said the measures were taken on Wednesday as the sectarian crisis heightened. He told NAN that policemen were deployed to major churches with high population of worshippers “because they may constitute targets of such attacks”. A worshipper at the Central Mosque in Calabar, who simply gave his name as Farouk, described the sectarian crisis in the northern states as unfortunate and against the tenets of Islam”

In Abuja, the FCT Police Command yesterday arrested 36 suspected members of ‘Boko Haram’ on Zuba expressway in the Federal Capital Territory. Mr Moshood Jimoh, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Command, made this known at a news conference. He said the suspects who were intercepted and arrested at Zuba in the early hours of Thursday, claimed to be travelling to the southern part of the country in search of job.

According to him, investigation reveals that all the 36 suspects left their different locations of Kano, Jigawa and Yobe to assemble in Kano before their planned movement to Lagos. The Ekiti State Police Command said it has commenced “Stop and Search” security approach to prevent the spill-over of the sectarian violence into the state.

The Acting Commissioner of Police in Ekiti State, Mr. Fibian Ojiri, told NAN on yesterday in Ekiti that all the divisional police stations had been placed on `red alert.’ Ojiri explained that security meetings had been held with all area commanders and divisional police officers (DPO) to assess the security situation in the state.

While describing the state as peaceful, the commissioner said road blocks had been mounted in strategic places. In Kogi, the state Police Command said it has ordered the suspension of open air preaching.

 The Acting Commissioner of Police, Abdulahi Magaji disclosed this in his office during a meeting with some religious leaders in the state. He said this ban has become necessary to ensure that people do not take undue advantage of the crisis in some parts of the country.