LASG: Lagos Safe, Secure
How Boko Haram suspects were rounded up in Lagos
Lagos State Government yesterday assured residents that the state remained safe and secure but urge them to be vigilant while going about their legitimate businesses.
This followed the arrest of 45 suspected Boko Haram
insurgents in the state.
The suspects were arraigned on Friday at the Isolo Magistrate Court in Lagos, after they were picked up one after the other from different locations in the state based on intelligence gathered by the Department of State Security (DSS), which gave the operatives accurate lead to them, THISDAY has learnt.
Following this development, Lagos State Government has said as the police and other security agencies intensify their efforts to rid the state of hoodlums, armed robbers and suspected terrorists, the residents should remain calm but very vigilant
The government expressed confidence in the combined efforts of DSS, Police and other security agencies to keep the state free of terror attacks and stamp out robberies and violent crimes.
The state government, which stated these in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, vowed not to relent in its constitutional duty to ensure safety of lives and property throughout the length and breadth of the state.
The statement states that the current reality is that times have changed and the need to urge every citizen to be more security conscious is now paramount.
“Our appeal goes to every school, housing estates, religious houses, markets and shopping complexes, hotels and restaurants and sporting arenas to take issues of security and personal safety more serious these days and to work with both the government and security agencies in promptly reporting any persons with suspicious activities or unusual gatherings that may compromise security. Care must also be taken in how domestic servants and house aides are also employed.”
The statement reiterated Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s directive to rid the state of hoodlums and miscreants operating from uncompleted and abandoned houses, urging owners of such properties to complete or secure them or have the law to contend with.
It added that Lagos State government sympathises with victims of robberies and violent crimes, while promising that the government would continue to fund the state security apparatus and do everything within its power to arrest the unwholesome situation.
A DSS official, who gave an account of how the suspects were picked up told THISDAY that, initially, the operatives rounded up 60 persons suspected to be Boko Haram insurgents, but they later released15 of them, who were reckoned to be innocent. According to the official, the suspects were picked up from flash points like Ijora Badia, Mile 12, Ojodu-Berger, Mushin, Apapa, Isolo and Idi-Araba.
“Based on intelligence report, we picked up those under our surveillance and they led us to the others. While some of them are Nigerians, others were persons from neighbouring countries who entered Nigeria illegally.
“During interrogation, they confessed to us on how they were recruited and deployed to Lagos to wreck havoc. They also mentioned places like Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi, as one of the places they were sent to bomb,” the DSS official volunteered.
“The number you saw at the court was not the initial number of persons arrested. After they were arrested in their numbers, we had to profile them to fish out the main culprits (45 of them), while the innocent ones were set free.
“Our intelligence report had indicated that the Boko Haram suspects were not ready to stop their plans to infiltrate the South-west and set up their terror cells with Lagos as their headquarters.
“Remember that this is not the first time we have arrested Boko Haram suspects in Lagos. We are not resting on our oars,” the source added.
The 45 Boko Haram suspects have been remanded in custody pending the advice of the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP).
Commenting on the arrest of the suspected Boko Haram insurgents, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, said it was a testimony of the determination of the security agencies to stop terrorism.
According to him, “The arrest shows we are doing everything we can to make sure that every citizen of Nigeria is secure. It shows people are really working round the clock to make sure everywhere is safe.”
Abubakar noted that the incessant bomb blasts that had been witnessed recently were caused by frustration on the part of the Boko Haram sect.
He spoke in an interview with defence correspondents after a tour of units and command in Lagos under the Air Vice Marshal Muhammadu Muhammed led-Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Logistics Command.
“These are signs of frustration because if you look at what was the situation on ground in the past where you have about 15 vehicles moving in convoy from one village to another killing people, it’s not happening now.
“These isolated cases of bombings are signs of frustration on the part of the Boko Haram sect. We are doing everything humanly possible to make sure that Nigerians would be secure and no territory of Nigeria would be captured again by the Boko Haram sect.
“Out of frustration, few of the individuals ( Boko Haram) might be able to sneak through security network and create what we are seeing now in Yola and Maiduguri.
“These bombings are not caused by lack of intelligence report. It is not possible to provide 100 per cent security. Along the line, there will be some problems just like we are seeing,” he said.
Speaking on the likelihood of moles infiltrating the military Abubakar said, “I don’t know if there are moles in the military but I don’t think so. Everybody is committed. All hands are on deck to make sure we deal with this problem.
“Nigerians also have a role to play. Look at the incidences of suicide bombing, for instance, a fighter aircraft tank cannot spot a 13-year-old girl carrying bombs. It’s the community around.”
Debunking claims that the military has used mercenaries or has plans to use them, he said, “We don’t have plans to use any mercenary.
“We have highly committed personnel, patriotic and very hardworking and courageous and we are doing everything humanly possible to deal with the situation.
On the December deadline set by the president he said, “The deadline is still there and it’s something that can be achieved.
“We are working seriously to achieve it but while fighting, there is also need to take care of the welfare of your men. The military is doing a good job and we have also identified certain areas that we need to do more.”
Also, debunking claims that the recent crash of NAF aircrafts could be traced to the purchase of substandard equipment, he said: “Not exactly. A detailed investigation is ongoing but I can tell you that the main issue was weather. It has nothing to do with substandard equipment.
“For the first air crash (in Kaduna), we are trying to move the aircraft engine to the United States so that we can have a very thorough investigation as to what caused the crash.”
Meanwhile, two female suicide bombers struck Dala Yazaram, a community in the suburb of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, Saturday morning, a member of youth vigilante group, Solomon Izge told THISDAY
One of the suicide bombers detonated the explosive device strapped on her body, killing her and three other persons including within the community. The detonated bomb also led to many injuries.
Izge said the injured and the corpses had been taken to the general hospital in Maiduguri.
The other suicide bomber was however caught by the youth vigilante in the area before she could detonate the explosive on her
Izge said she was detained and would be handed over to the military for further action.
Following the bomb attack on a mosque in Jambutu area of Yola, Adamawa,
casualty figure of bomb blast in Jambutu area of Yola, Adamawa State capital has risen to 33 dead and 90 injured and hospitalised in Specialist Hospital and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in state capital.
Confirming the casualty figure, the state coordinator of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Alhaji Saad Bello, said six victims of bomb blast died Friday night in the hospital.
He said some of the victims injured had also been discharged, reducing the number of people injured but added that he was yet to get the exact figure of those presently hospitalised.
The state’s Commissioner for Higher Education, Alhaji Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, also confirmed that 25 students including two staff of the Adamawa State Polytechnic Yola, Jambutu Campus were involved in the bomb blast.
He added that out of the 25 casualties, four students died and 21 were injured including two staff of the Polytechnic where the new mosque was built.
The commissioner said the new mosque was built by the members of the Polytechnic community and unfortunately on the day of its commissioning suicide bomber struck leading to the killing of several people and many injured. He said with the collaboration of the security operatives, they had beefed up security in the affected areas.