the late maximum ruler, General Sani Abacha, to repress and suppress the civil
populace are being fished out by intelligence units of the nation’s Armed
Forces to determine their involvement in the training of the Boko Haram
insurgents. Daily Newswatch investigations showed that the need to search
and identify these elements spread in the Armed Forces and the police is
informed by growing insecurity in the country, especially the incidence of Boko
Haram sect, said to have redefined violence in its deadly character of suicide
bombings and gun duel with security operatives.
Presidency sources said the squad, composed of
over two hundred officers, may be linked to the character of the bombings and
killings by the Boko Haram sect. The sources said, though the issue of amnesty
is still on the top priority of the authorities, it is necessary for government
and the security agencies to gather as much information on the insurgency of
Boko Haram in order to more appropriately deal with such incidence now and in
the future.
Presidency sources informed Daily Newswatch that
at the peak of the democratic struggle in the 1990s during the military
administration of the late General Abacha, about 200 soldiers were sent to
North Korea to be trained as professional killers. The training of the
military personnel was said to have taken between six and one year. It was
learnt that after the training of the military personnel, they were
reintegrated into the military for ‘special assignments’ as was then directed
by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Daily Newswatch learnt that the
beneficiaries of the training were placed on special salaries as they took care
of the opposition. The opposition was then spearheaded by the National
Democratic Coalition, human rights and civil society supported by some foreign
countries. Investigations revealed that the killer squad was intact until
shortly before President Olusegun Obasanjo came into office as president in
1999. It was, indeed, Obasanjo’s administration that finally dismantled
the squad. The members of this elite squad were said to have been ‘mixed up
with the military community.’
Daily Newswatch learnt the authorities became
worried when it was indicated that the character of the operations of the
killer squad, which involved ‘the art of sudden disappearances,’ kidnapping,
chemical weapon handling and explosives use, among several other deadly
activities, could be linked with the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents.
Consequently, whether the members of the squad are in or out of the military and
the police, the Presidency sources said they constitute security challenge and
danger, because they could help in the area of providing logistics assistance
to the Boko Haram sect. This position is said to be supported by the fact that
among those arrested Boko Haram members were security men trained in the
handling of weapons. Thus, piqued by the danger inherent in the sophistication
of the activities of the Boko Haram sect in the last two years, Presidency was
said to have been advised to reidentify the killer squad for the purpose of
debriefing and other related reasons.
However, the government is said to be particular
on the information gathering need that may result from identifying the
locations of the members of the squad, whether in or out of service.
A source had earlier hinted Daily Newswatch the
names of members of the killer squad were being compiled sequel to the order by
the Presidency. It was not clear if authorities have actually finished with the
compilation at press time.
