You can’t overrun Maiduguri, Military dares Boko Haram

■ Military dares Boko Haram

The increasing attacks on communities in the North-east states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe by Boko Haram has height­ened tension the insurgents may soon overrun Maiduguri, Borno State and birthplace of the sect. But the military has dared the terrorists, saying it was prepared to defend the city with its might.

“We won’t succumb to terrorists’ threats and propa­ganda because terrorism thrives on threat. Terrorists are good in creating fear in the mind of the people to sustain their criminality. We are ready and determined to defend the city and its environs as well as other general area of our operation,” a military source told Sunday Sun. The source, a senior officer who said he was not authorized to speak, admitted the insurgents had had some successful runs in their violent campaigns. He, however, said the military was “already reviewing its opera­tional measures to tackle Boko Haram headlong,” maintaining that Nigerians “will see reverse in the trend of events concern­ing the terror acts.”

Genesis of apprehen­sion

Historically, the modern Maiduguri city known as Yerwa by the locals, was founded in 1907 as a military outpost of the British colonialists. It was also the former headquarters of the defunct North-east states before the creation of Borno in 1976. The people of the area were said to have fought many wars in the past to liberate themselves from invasion of enemies. Ironical­ly for two years, the military found the dislodgment of Boko Haram from the city a hard nut to crack. The insurgents had occupied and terrorized substantial part of the city until June 8, 2013, when some youths volunteered to halt the daily violence and killing of residents. Hundreds of the sect members were randomly apprehended by the club-carrying youths, forcing other members to flee the city and shut down the sect’s opera­tional base.

Residents had enjoyed the relative peace and serenity of the capital Maiduguri but the invasion of Bama by Boko Haram polluted the improving security situation in the city. It was rumoured the insurgents had launched attack on the mil­itary base at Bama to cart away arms in a bid to massively attack Maiduguri and its environs. The military immediately reviewed the existing dusk-to-dawn cur­few from 9pm-6pm to 7pm-6am, a move which residents claimed further heightened fears in the city. It was argued the military might have done the review because of unfavorable securi­ty reports especially after the Bama attack. The development compelled many residents to flee the city last week as hun­dreds of people besieged various motor parks in the metropolis to move out of the state in fear. But authorities insisted that the city was safe.

“The military is equal to the task of ensuring Maiduguri and its environs are safe. Our mili­tary should be commended for their efforts,” Governor Kashim Shettima said in a broadcast last week.

New security mea­sures

The military source who spoke to Sunday Sun also revealed efforts put in place to secure the city. “Proactive mea­sures have been taken to crack down the movement of the in­surgents. You know the town of Maiduguri has been sectorized with troops intensifying the stop and search operation. We have intensified our night patrols and surveillances with support from other security agencies; the po­lice, DSS, customs, immigration, prisons, civil defence and our partner, the youth vigilante. A lot of security measures are being taken to prevent the terrorists from entering Maiduguri,” the source explained.

Asked if the military had received new weapons, which the Federal Government prom­ised to deliver, the source said procurement of arms or sourc­ing for weapons were opera­tional issues, which were not discussed openly. “The public should know we’re improving on our weapons and needed equipment to effectively bring the insurgency to an end. All we need is the support and cooperation from the public,” he said. He said part of the new approach to fighting insurgen­cy in the North-east was the re-organization of the Nigerian Army as promised by Army authority. The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt Gen Kenneth Minimah in Calabar during his recent familiarization visit to army formations and units under the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, disclosed that the army would soon be re-or­ganized. “The army is ready to defeat terrorism and insurgen­cy in the country. First and foremost, we will reorganize the army, renew our doctrine and then, do our training with the new equipment,” he stated.

When contacted to give fur­ther details on the military new measures to curtail the expan­sion of Boko Haram attacks and control on communities in the North-east, Defence spokesman, Major Gen Chris Olukolade referred Sunday Sun to the de­fence headquarters blog. “Thank you so much. Please consult our blog,” he said in an email mes­sage. To underscore the impact of the new military measures on the successes of the count­er-insurgency operation, the military in its blog said it foiled planned attack on Konduga, another troubled town about 35 kilometres to Bama. It said its troops raided terrorists’ hideout in Kawuri near Konduga, 14 kilometres to Sambisa Games Reserve, a Boko Haram hideout, before the insurgents set out to attack Konduga. “Over 50 terrorists died as troops raided their hideout in Kawuri before setting out on a planned attack on Konduga. One fabricated artillery gun, two arti-aircraft gun, an armoured vehicle, some hardwares, weapons, assorted types of ammunition, food items and personal belongings were captured in the process,” the military posted on its blog.

Also in another tweet last Thursday, the Defence Head­quarters (DHQ) said the Nigeria military had put “upgraded” security arrangement for the defense of Maiduguri city. “All facets of security arrangement for the defense of Maiduguri has been upgraded to handle any planned attack or attempt to disrupt the city’s prevailing peace,” it said in the tweet even as it enjoyed people to “remain vigilant as they go their lawful businesses.”

However, residents main­tained they are yet to see more of changes in the military approach to fighting Boko Haram. “For me, nothing has changed. The situation is still the same. We expect more than stop and search and all these patrol thing, the military should use modern technology to fight these insurgents. We do not have time for rhetorics and assurances now, we heard more of such in the last three years,” Malla Mohammad, a resident said.