B
y Emeka Ibemere
Last week’s
arrest of members of Boko Haram in far away Abia State, South East Nigeria, has
sparked off controversy regarding the purported arrest of over 400 Boko Haram
goons in South-East geo-political zone of the country.
South East
is predominately Christian faithful dominated by the Igbo speaking Nigerians.
Speaking in
a telephone chat on the alleged arrest and discovery of bomb in South East,
allegedly planted by Boko Haram members, the former Lagos State Commissioner of
police, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, who supported the views expressed by the leader
of the Hausa Community in Rivers State, that those arrested were bona fide
traders seeking for lawful means of subsistence, then asked if the suspects
were found with any incriminating items of evidential value?
He queried, “Whether the army’s arrest was on
mere suspicion because the suspects were from the terror infested north?”
Tsav again
asked whether the alleged kingpin said to be arrested with the 485 others was
declared wanted and if so by who and through what medium and what was his name?
Speaking
further, the ex-police cop queried again. “Could this be a subtle defence for
the violation of the fundamental rights of the arrested innocent Northern
traders?”
“How did the
arrested people pass through police and other military blocks in the North?”
The
no-nonsense retired police cop said due to the previous inconsistencies in
DHQ’s press statements, one was compelled to take the press statements of the
DHQ with a pinch of salt adding that however, Nigeria is in an era of ‘pick and
choose’, meaning that citizens of Nigeria must look before they leap.
Writing in
reaction from New York, one Uzoh who never wanted to give out his second name
again asked. “So where are the suspects
and who gave them the bombs?” he asked, “What next Mr. Commissioner, that these
suspects have been arrested on the spot and even confessed to the crime? This
one should not be swept under the carpet while Biafran Zionist members for
peacefully entering Enugu Radio station were arrested and moved to Abuja too”.
According to
Uzoh, MASSOB and OPC must rise up to the occasion by learning to make and plant
bombs too. If Boko Haram starts bombing the South we've no place to run to
Also another
person simply identified his name as Mr. Jide; said journalists should not wish
and disaster in the states under the incitement of religious hate. “No police
has come out to reveal the identities of the suspects. And, trust Nigeria policeman,
one found loitering around at the time is a suspect. But the dragnet should not
be limited to Hausa or Muslims. A group of aggrieved members have bombed a
church in Bauchi. A group of young Christians carried out a mock Boko Haram
attack at Ikonifin, Osun State recently. When arrested, they were all
Christians. They claimed to be 'acting'. I don't know why Imo should be a prime
target of the devil-BH. This claim is either fathom or an insider work. We
remember the hunters’ episode of 2011. Nigeria, we hail thee”, he submitted.
Joseph
Ubiagba, also another commentator on the issue said Muslims all around the
world, by their actions and inaction should hold themselves accountable to what
becomes of their future even if they plunge the world into war.
Ebele said be
it known to Nigerians that the bombings and abduction saga were because the
President is not a Muslim. He said. “Let me warn that if nothing drastic is
done to curb this insurgency; it would continue come 2015, if Muslim did not
clinch power. Of course, why it seemed difficult to contain is because majority
of the security forces are northerners. It is better for Nigerians to define
themselves now and part ways. Think about what white minority did in South
Africa, before Mandela rescued them; that is, what is being done in Nigeria by northerners”.
Pastor Celestine Maduabuchukwu Nwosu hope the ongoing investigation yields a
fruitful result but asked why the suspects are being hidden from the media?
Martin
Enyinna Akanaefu asked the government to adequately prosecute the case.
“Who are the
suspects? Are they Ibos or are they Northerners? Where are they presently?”
As if
Nigerians have lost faith in the security agencies, the arrest of the Boko
Haram members in South East seems doubtful to most of Imo State citizens. Some who spoke to Daily Newswatch said when
Nigeria police arrests even a pickpocket; they parade them to the media but hid
the Boko Haram members and they demanded to see the six Boko Haram suspects
that tried to bomb church in Imo State.
“Since Boko
Haram started, we don't hear of armed robbers anymore, everybody now is Boko
Haram. Since kidnapping started, armed robbers disappeared, again because every
one of them claimed to be kidnapper. Trust Imo state, their own is different”,
a student stated.
Meanwhile,
the South East governors have also reacted to the alleged infiltration of Boko
Haram in the zone, stating that Boko Haram can’t penetrate their region- South-East.
Speaking
through Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State, after a meeting with President
Goodluck Jonathan at the State House on Monday, the Governors said they were in
Abuja to pledge solidarity to the President in this trying period. They expressed
their resolve to ensure that the dreaded insurgents, Boko Haram are not allowed
to penetrate the region.
Present at
the meeting were Sullivan Chime of Enugu State, Theodore Ahmafule Oji also of
Abia State and Martin Elechi, the governor of Ebonyi.
Obiano told
State House correspondents: “No, they (Boko Haram) can’t get there; I can
assure you of that. We will not allow that to happen.
“I can’t
tell you in any material details about bombs found or not found. All I can
assure you is that we are very alert in the Southeast and we are watching what
is going on. I can assure you that Boko Haram cannot come to the Southeast.”
“The Southeast governors came this morning to
assure him that we are with him all through the way and that he can count on
us.
“The
President is a human being and he is under a lot of pressure and some other
people are making the work a lot more difficult for him.
“Instead of
supporting him to steer us out of these stormy waters, they are adding kerosene
to fire. So we are here to tell him that we are here supporting him and that he
should count on us.”
Speaking
with confidence on the arrest of the alleged suspected Boko Haram members who invaded
South East, the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum immediately condemned what it regarded
to as an indiscriminate arrest of 486 northerners in Abia State as suspected
Boko Haram insurgents.
The group told
media that it was sure that all the alleged arrested Boko Haram was northerners
who had no link with Boko Haram. The group warned the South-East governors that
such action was capable of fuelling enmity between the northerners and
southerners.
AYCF, President,
Alhaji Yerima Shettima, was reported to have told reporters that the group was
worried that a continuation of such arrests could lead to the break-up of
Nigeria.
“This gives us a lot of worry. Are these
South-East governors or whoever is at the helms of affairs doing this in the
interest of this country or to cause more hatred for our people, so that the
country will break up? He explained.
“Those who
are acting out this script of disintegration are not helping this country,
especially at this challenging period. We are not in support of Boko Haram or
their bomb attacks. We are saying that innocent citizens should not suffer
because some evil-minded people come from their area. I can tell you that those
who were arrested in Abia are not Boko Haram members”, he stated further. “We
had a case where about 500 people arrested in Lagos. I intervened and on
getting to the force headquarters, we discovered that most of them were
innocent and they were released.
“We are not
saying security agencies should not do their work, but they should not go about
arresting hundreds of people just because they are looking for one or two
suspects.”
AYC leader claimed
that it was wrong to think that it was only northerners who plant bombs in the
country. He disclosed that some southerners had been arrested for terrorism.
He condemned
the northern governors and other political leaders in the region for keeping quiet
while northerners were being victimised.
It would be
recalled that prior to the arrest of the dangerous religious sect in the zone,
six suspected Boko Haram members were arrested in Owerri, the Imo State capital
in the early hours of Sunday June 15, inside the Winners’ Chapel along the Port
Harcourt road by the state police command, while planting bombs in the church
premises.
Witness account said the security personnel
attached to the church had noticed some strange movements within the church
premises and monitored their movements.
It was
gathered that the church members and the senior pastor of the church, Moses
Oyedele, who were around during the time, alerted the security and the police
immediately rushed to the scene with soldiers and other security agents.
Daily
Newswatch gathered that about six bombers had already taken over the church
premises in order to perpetrate their nefarious activities. On arrival at the
scene of the incident, the police immediately cordoned off the church premises
in search of the suspects, leading to their arrest. On interrogation, it was
discovered that the suspects had planted a bomb at the entrance gate of the
church and had taken position round the premises of the church so as to plant
more bombs.
However, the
police anti-bomb squad detonated the bombs and conducted a thorough check round
the premises to ensure that there were no other hidden bombs within the
premises.
Further probe on the suspects, was a
confession from the goons that they were suicide bombers who had stormed the
state with the intention of bombing five churches in the state.
The action
forced the church authorities to relocate the service of that day to the Heroes
Square near Imo Concorde Hotel where they conducted their first service which
was supposed to begin by 7a.m.
The state
Commissioner of Police, Adbulmajid Ali, advised the people of the state to be
vigilant now that the Boko Haram members had penetrated the state.
He confirmed
that the anti-bomb disposal unit of the state police command had detonated the
bombs, adding that investigations to unravel the circumstances surrounding the
incident had commenced.
The state
Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha while addressing journalists condemned the
action. He commended the security agencies for their timely intervention.
As people of
the state were yet to get relief from the shock of the bomb discovered from a Church
48 hours after, the Nigerian Army 144 battalion in Asa, Ukwa West Local
Government Area of Abia State, allegedly intercepted a convoy of 33 buses
conveying 486 suspected insurgents including eight females between Aro -Ngwa
and Imo Gate along the Enugu- Port Harcourt expressway.
The suspects
were said to have been intercepted around 3am on Sunday, and were coming from
different parts of the Northern states to South Eastern States. The age bracket
of the alleged criminals was between 16 and 24, claiming to have come for
greener pastures in the zone.
The Headquarters of the 144 Battalion, Asa,
where the suspects are being detained confirmed the incident. The Commander of
the military base, Lieutenant Colonel Rasheed Omolori, said the suspects were
arrested by his men.
The
Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Abia State, Dr. Eze Chikamnayo,
explained that two buses escaped with their occupants.
Although
Lieutenant Colonel Omolori declined comment, he said the incident has been
reported to the Defence Headquarters, Abuja.
The
Commissioner said the sheer size of the movement made it suspicious, adding
that none of the suspects was able to identify the location they were heading
to and wondered how such a long motorcade could not be intercepted by security
personnel until they reached Abia.
Dr.
Chikamnayo said that at the moment, the Army and other security agencies in the
state were working to unravel the actual mission of the suspects and those
behind the movement.
He was of
the view that if other security personnel in other parts of the country would
do as much as 144 Battalion, Asa, in Abia, insurgency in the country would be a
thing of the past.
“I expect
every state to work hand-in-hand with their security personnel to check
insurgency. Every security problem is local and if we handle it locally it will
be nipped in the bud,” he said.
He cited the
case of Abia State during the days of kidnapping and how it was taken as an
Abia problem and condemned the idea of demonstrating in Abuja over matters that
should be handled locally.
The Defence
Headquarters (DHQ) revealed that one of the most wanted terror kingpins was
among the 486 Boko Haram suspects arrested in Abia State.
In a
statement by Major General Chris Olukolade, Director, Defence Information, the
Defence Headquarters said that a terror kingpin on the list of wanted
terrorists, whose name was not revealed, was detected during the screening of
the suspects arrested in Aba.
It stated
that all security agencies and Para-military groups were involved in the
screening of the suspects, adding that the exercise would identify, “possible
security risk or illegal immigrants”. Olukayode stated that the apprehended
wanted terror kingpin has been taken into custody.
The
statement, entitled: “Update on the screening of 486 arrested travellers in
Abia State: Wanted terror kingpin
nabbed,” reads: “A terror kingpin in the list of wanted terrorists of security
forces in Nigeria have been detected in the ongoing screening of the 486
suspects nabbed while travelling in over 33 Hiace Hummer buses at night along
Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway last Sunday. “So far, other security agencies,
including the Para-military, have joined the screening to ascertain the status
of the remaining suspects. Those
identified as possible security risk or illegal immigrants are expected to be
identified for further action.
“Meanwhile,
the identified terror kingpin has been taken into custody. Further development will be communicated to
you in due course.”
Also, the
former Amir-ulhajj of Abia State and Deputy Chairman of Aba Muslim Community,
Alhaji Musa Iheakaram, has urged the state government and security agencies
operating in Abia and the entire South-East to beef up security in their
states.
Alhaji
Iheakaram, who spoke against the backdrop of last Sunday’s botched bombing and
the arrest of 468 Boko Haram suspects, said it was obvious that the insurgents
may have made an in-road into the South-East.
“The
discovery of the IEDs planted at the headquarters of the Living Faith Church in
Owerri by terrorists should be an eye opener because what happened in Owerri on
Sunday could happen to any church or mosque in Aba,” he stated.
According to
him, rumours do not go for nothing. He advised the state government and
security agencies not to dismiss the infiltration of Boko Haram into Aba, but
going a step further to beef up security in the city.
However, Charles Anike, National President,
Eastern Union, a social cultural organization, said both incidences weren’t
coincidence and that such issue shouldn’t be overlooked and giving a ‘tribal
mark’. He pleaded to the North to avoid touching the lion on the tail whether
dead or alive, so that Nigeria would continue to live in peace. Anike said the
suspected Boko Haram Members’ excuse of invading Abia and Imo States aren’t
enough to justify their convoy movement akin to their operational working
arrangement in carrying out their devilish acts in Yobe, Adamawa and Borno
States. Anike disclosed that Abia and Imo States are not anyway near European
and American countries were people go for greener pastures and that the two
states doesn’t give job. He wondered while in a convoy and charted vehicles.
“How can a whole tribe invade another tribe in search of job in a convoy of 36
buses? It’s questionable”, he stated.
