Following the invasion of the den of the Boko Haram terrorist group by the Nigerian armed forces and the steady recovery of territories illegally occupied by them, we had called attention to the need for greater vigilance, not only by the military and security agencies but also by the entire citizenry.
We had warned that the terrorists were likely to resort, once again, more increasingly to asymmetrical warfare, such as suicide bombings, invasion or infiltration of internally-displaced persons camps and staging coordinated gun attacks on crowds of innocent Nigerians, especially in markets, motor parks and places of worship.
The recent gun attack on the office of the Department of State Services by gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram fighters in Lokoja, Kogi State, was hardly surprising. Kogi has always been a place of interest for Boko Haram. In that encounter, a policeman was shot dead while official reports had it that three terror suspects were killed. There were also unconfirmed reports that some detainees were set free by the hoodlums.
What happened in Kogi was regrettable though predictable. With reports of terrorists losing territories, their fighters “surrendering” in large numbers and logistic supply lines being cut off by the troops, they would naturally come into the populace and attempt to stage jailbreaks to replenish their dwindling store of fighters. This is a wake-up call on our military and security agencies to be on the red alert and battle-ready to respond to threats that may arise around the holding facilities.
It will not be out of place for the federal government and the military to replicate the civilian joint task force (Civilian JTF) experiment in the North East in other parts of the country, especially in areas where Boko Haram suspects are being held. The task of keeping the enemy at bay and apprehending them before they cause havoc is a collective responsibility and should never be abandoned to the military alone. But the civil populace can only key into it when the government provides the platform and strategy for its actualisation.
It is surprising that years into our war on terror, very little is being heard about efforts to bring captured Boko Haram fighters to book. Chad, which only started experiencing Boko Haram attacks a year ago has already convicted and brought many of the terrorists in their custody to book through public executions. It is important to set a similar example here in Nigeria and make it clear that we have zero tolerance for those who seek to destabilise the nation and reduce its innocent people to refugees in their own country.
We must be more vigilant and decisive in the war on terror.
