BOKO HARAM: TENSION IN MAIDUGURI OVER SECT’S THREATS "WE ARE GETTING NEARER TO FINDING CHIBOK GIRLS - SAYS FG

BOKO HARAM: TENSION IN MAIDUGURI OVER SECT’S THREATS "WE ARE GETTING NEARER TO FINDING CHIBOK GIRLS - SAYS FG

BARELY 24 hours after the insurgents attacked Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State, reports from the city have indicated that rumour was building up that the Boko Haram sect was heading towards the state capital.

It will be recalled that following reports that the Boko Haram militants were planning to attack Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, the Nigerian Tribune reported that heavy military presence was seen around Molai, on the Maiduguri-Damboa road.

Residents also told the Nigerian Tribune that two bombs were discovered by security operatives around the Post Office area of Maiduguri and the anti-bomb squad was invited to diffuse the explosives, though the was not confirmed officially by the police in Maiduguri.

A top security official who was not authorised to speak officially told the Nigerian Tribune that officers and men of the security operatives were on the alert following the security report on the said planned attack to disrupt the Ramadan fast by Boko Haram insurgents.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government, on Monday, said it was getting nearer to finding the over 200 abducted Chibok secondary school girls in Borno State.

The suspected co-mastermind of the bombing incident, a deserter soldier, Ahmed Ogwuche was traced to Sudan and his process of extradition was still being processed as of the time of filing this report.

On Monday, Coordinator of the National Information Centre (NIC), Mr Mike Omeri, said that the process of Ogwuche’s extradition was underway as officials of both Nigeria and Sudan were working on relevant papers to that effect, and denied knowledge of any court processes initiated against it by any of Ogwuche’s family members.

Omeri, who led some other members of the NIC on the regular briefing on efforts to locate and bring back the girls to their families, said security agencies had made much headway in infiltrating the ranks of the terrorists who were in possession of information that would lead to the rescue of the girls and ultimate defeat of the insurgents.

The Director-General of National Orientation Agency (NOA) said part of the new information obtained about the dreaded group was that it had a female wing.

In addition, he said a Boko Haram armourer was arrested but said some of the other pieces of information were still undergoing administrative processes and as such, classified.

“We will let you know when further actions are taken. We now know some of the female operatives of Boko Haram and some of their armourers,” he said.

Responding to accusations by Chibok Community in Abuja that the Federal Government was not sharing information with them concerning efforts being made to locate and bring home the girls, Omeri said “this centre has been open; we have always communicated and media houses have been reporting. But if they want security information beyond what we are communicating, then that is beyond us here.”

However, there are strong indications that indigenes and residents of Chibok may be relocated to one of the southern states to save them from rampaging members of Boko Haram sect. Over 1,000 members of the communities have reportedly indicated their readiness to be relocated from Chibok.

Some of the residents, while speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, described their fate as “far worse than what Nigerians think.”

A south-eastern group, Gabasawa Women and Children Initiative, said more residents of the area were pleading to be evacuated from the communities, stating that efforts were on to ensure that the residents were resettled in one of the southern states.

She, therefore, urged well-meaning Nigerians in the country to be part of the new development tagged, ‘Care for our Girls,’ by adopting and taking care of some of the residents, “even if they want to be unanimous.”

A female member of the community said: “I am very happy that you people are concerned. We live in the bush now. The last time, some people hinted us that they were around but the soldiers said they could not confront them.”

She continued that “we all rushed to the bush and the civilian Joint Task Force confronted them and many of them were killed. They ransacked three villages and set houses and churches on fire.”

Similarly, a member of the House of Representatives from Borno State, Honourable Abdrahman Terab, on Monday, asked the Federal Government not to hesitate to swap detained Boko Haram insurgents for the abducted girls.

The lawmaker, who represents Bama/Ngala/Kala Balge federal constituency, stated this while addressing newsmen in Abuja.

According to him, “from the time the schoolgirls were abducted till now, it has been a security issue. Lots of efforts are being made to rescue the girls. We have seen prisoners swap between the United States government and the Taliban. If you go down history, there have been lots of swap deal.

In the case of Nigeria, it depends on what the government wants to achieve.”

While commending the security operatives for the roles they have been playing in stemming the insurgency, he said, “no matter how weak we think our security agencies are, go round and check most of these attacks.Unfortunately, 80 per cent of the attacks are not being reported. They don’t come and attack in the presence of our forces.

“That means there is a semblance of a might that in the presence of our security men, things don’t happen. If that is the case, it means the need for them to run around and even get more personnel is imperative at this moment.”

The lawmaker, however, called for an institutionalised community police and the establishment of transitional camps to cater for internally displaced persons affected by the Boko Haram insurgency in the affected areas.

Speaking further, he said “the State of Emergency in the North-East areas has some missing links and ingredients. The security forces have no strong connection with the people. And so long as these people feel neglected and the basic ingredients of living are missing, then the people cannot cooperate with security efforts.”