PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has given marching orders to his service chiefs on the fight against Boko Haram insurgents, this time warning that he will take no more excuses for failures.
The presidential directive, it was gathered, was handed down to the security chiefs by the president following last weekend’s terror attack on students of the College of Agriculture, Gujba, Yobe State.
A subsequent meeting between the National Security Adviser and the service chiefs, according to a security source, decided that henceforth, commanders and heads of operation would be held responsible and accountable for failures in the fight against terrorists.
Since Sunday’s attack on the Yobe college, more than 100 militants have been reported killed, especially those linked to the murder of the pupils, while several commanders and other members of the sect have been arrested.
Apart from the deployment of fighter jets in Yobe and environs, Saturday Tribune gathered that state-of-the-art satellite surveillance equipment have been installed in the troubled area to monitor movements of the insurgents and prevent future surprise attacks.
It was also gathered that well-armed plain clothes security operatives have been deployed around schools in the zone.
The top military source told Saturday Tribune that the National Security Adviser recently held meetings with the service chiefs, including the police, State Security Services, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps on effective collaboration and synergy.
A series of conferences and meetings have also been held lately among other ranking officers and commanders for them to close ranks and work together.
The source said that following recent orders to the effect, there is now better collaboration and sharing of information among response agencies (Army, Air Force, SSS, etc) towards a more effective anti-terrorism crusade.
As part of the renewed onslaught against the rampaging sect, the volunteer youth (also known as Civilian JTF) are to be trained on basic security, safety and self-defence.
Meanwhile, suspected Boko Haram members reportedly killed a Nigerien soldier and seriously wounded three others in Borno, a high-ranking Niger security official told AFP Thursday.
“A soldier from Niger was killed yesterday (Wednesday) around 7:00 pm (1800 GMT) and three others were wounded in an attack by eight armed bandits on Nigerian territory,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
The soldiers were part of a West African force based in Baga, a town located in Borno. The three wounded soldiers were taken to a hospital in eastern Niger’s Diffa, near the border with Nigeria.
Diffa-based private radio station, Anfani, claimed the soldiers were “ambushed by Boko Haram 10 kilometres from the border with Niger.”
Boko Haram has said it is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north, but the group is believed to be made up of different factions with varying aims.
The group has attacked churches, mosques, newspaper offices, the security forces, politicians and a UN building, among other targets.
According to an estimate earlier this year, Boko Haram’s insurgency has claimed more than 3,600 lives, including deaths caused by the security forces. The current toll is likely much higher.
Source: Tribune
