Apprehending fleeing insurgents
Zurmi Emirate Council in Zamfara State recently handed over three suspected fleeing Boko Haram members to the Nigerian Army. Confirming the arrest of the suspects, Commanding Officer, 223 Light Tank Battalion of the Tactical Operation Unit, Gusau, said the suspects were apprehended by a local vigilante group in the area. The suspects were, according to him, moved after preliminary investigations to the 1 Division, Nigeria Army, Kaduna for further interrogation.
The Commanding Officer who commended the emirate council and members of the local vigilante for their vigilance said items recovered from the suspects included AK 47 rifles, 600 rounds of ammunition, illicit drugs and charms. Some vigilant members of the community who saw the suspects on camel back lurking in bushes surrounding the neighborhood tipped off the vigilante group. The vigilante group then tactfully moved in and arrested the suspects. When it was discovered that they were connected to the fleeing Boko Haram insurgents who were dispersed by the military’s Operation Lafiya Dole from the dreaded Sambisa forest in Borno state last December, they were taken to the traditional ruler in the area who thereafter handed the suspects to the 223 Light Tank Battalion in Gusau.
It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari in his New Year message earlier this year appealed to Nigerians to be on the alert and watch out for strange figures resettling in their communities. He further requested Nigerians to report strange figures found in their communities to the nearest security agencies. President Buhari added that “the support of all Nigerians to security agencies to enable them successfully execute their mandate is crucial in our bid to effectively secure our country.”
Soon after the capture of the Sambisa forest by the military, authorities of the Nigerian Army predicted the possibility of dislodged insurgents finding their ways into local communities. They stressed the need for citizens to remain vigilant and report suspected persons or objects to relevant security operatives. Suspicious movement by suspicious persons or objects should attract the attention of community members in every locality in Nigeria including those states, cities, towns or villages that were never devastated by the insurgents. Travelers noticed to be using a means of transportation that is unusual in a particular region or area should be suspected of being part of the fleeing insurgents. Clothing that are not in tune with the weather of an area could make such persons who put on heavy dresses under a hot weather to become objects suspicion.
Besides the arrest of fleeing insurgents, citizens through individual and collective vigilance could also forestall suicide bombings. In their attempt to remain relevant or to attract attention, members of the Boko Haram group have in the past few weeks returned to the use of suicide bombers to kill innocent Nigerians. But through the vigilance of security forces as well as local community members which the terrorist group has made their soft targets, most of the suicide bombings were either averted or had the suicide bomber killed, with minimum number of casualties recorded.
Last Tuesday, February 7 2017, security forces succeeded in arresting one of the two female suicide bombers in Molai area on the outskirts of Maiduguri while the other who attempted to escape was shot and consequently went up in flames. Community vigilance is strongly helping to counter the activities of insurgents. Suicide bombing was a major aggression launched by the Boko Haram group in 2012 and 2013 against the civilian population in Nigeria.
More vigilance by Nigerians is expected around motor parks. Managers of motor parks should lookout for new faces that pretentiously show up as drivers or conductors. Fleeing insurgents could also be carrying luggage that are tied in abnormal sizes and shapes which should make such baggage to become objects of suspicion.