By Johnbosco Agbakwuru, Abuja A research group, Nextier SPD, has raised the alarm that the Jihadists terrorism that started with Bok...
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru, Abuja
A research group, Nextier SPD, has raised the alarm that the
Jihadists terrorism that started with Boko Haram twelve years ago in Northern
Nigeria is steadily spreading to Southern Nigeria through the North-Central
zone, which demarcates the North and South.
Nextier SPD in a research conducted by its experts, Dr. Iro
Aghedo, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of
Benin, Edo State and Dr. Ndu Nwokolo, Managing Partner and Chief Executive at
Nextier SPD, submitted that the availability of ungoverned forest spaces, easy
access to deadly weapons and deployment of the poor military strategy of
hit-and-run has aided the growth.
To arrest the ugly development, the group said, “One way to
stop the weaponisation of these forests is for the federal and state
governments to cultivate and use them for large-scale agriculture. Security
forces need to rely on state-of-the-art intelligence to identify the sources
and channels of illegal weapons. Rather than a hit-and-run approach, security agencies
must deploy an extermination strategy to stamp out terrorism.”
It further said, “All these factors aiding the spread of
terrorism need to be urgently addressed if the state is to gain the upper hand
against the jihadists.”
“Slowly but steadily, non-state violence is spreading across
the length and breadth of Nigeria, and the state is largely unable to halt it.
The agitation by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which started in 2012,
has gained enormous dominance in South-Eastern Nigeria and is fast spreading to
other parts of Southern Nigeria.
“Similarly, the rural banditry which erupted in Zamfara
State in 2011 has engulfed most of the North-Western zone and large swathes of
the North-Central today. Even more worrisome is the mobility of the Boko Haram
insurgency. Since the Ansaru broke away from Boko Haram in 2012, followed by
the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in 2015, jihadist violence has
spread rapidly across Northern Nigeria and neighbouring countries, including
Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
“However, the spread of jihadist violence towards Southern
Nigeria has been slow and subtle. Still, it has gained unprecedented momentum
in the last couple of years, especially since the execution of Boko Haram
leader Abubakar Shekau by ISWAP forces in 2021.
“The North-Central zone, especially Niger, Benue, Plateau
and Kogi states, have been a significant attraction to jihadists in their push
towards the South. Nextier SPD weekly examines the growing attraction of the
North-Central zone to terrorists and how the deadly push towards the South can
be addressed.”
According to the report, in recent years, Niger, Benue and
Plateau states have been the hotspots of violent attacks in the North-Central
zone and the three states accounted for most attacks, deaths and displacements
in the region.
It said, “Of the three states, Niger State has been the
worst hit in the last three years, recording 1,100 deaths, 942 kidnaps, and 150
incidents between January 1, 2020, and January 12, 2023. In the second position,
Benue State recorded 616 deaths, 25 kidnaps, and 116 incidents for the period
under review.
“In the third position is Plateau State which recorded 470
deaths, 65 kidnaps and 110 incidents for the period under review. Indeed,
following the establishment of Ansaru and ISWAP cells around the New
Bussa-Babanna axis of Niger State, many communities have become vulnerable to
terrorist attacks.
“The worst hit communities include Beni, Kuchi, Hudawa, and
Kusasu in Shiroro LGA, Kaore, Rafi, Muya, Mariga, Kotangora and Lapai, which
shares a common boundary with Abaji in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
After taking advantage of the ungoverned spaces of vast forests, terrorists
began to unleash their campaign of violence on the communities.
“Even though terrorists have hibernated in Niger State for
several years, their presence was officially heralded in April 2021 when a
terrorist leader with links to Boko Haram hoisted their flag in Kaure village
in Shiroro area.
“In recent months, the terrorist cells have launched attacks
in the areas, including the one on a mining site at Ajala-Aboko community in
Shiroro on June 30, 2022, in which 43 persons, including 37 security personnel,
were allegedly killed by suspected ISWAP members.
“Another attack happened on July 23, 2022, when 50 persons
from Kuchi in Munya LGA were abducted by an unnamed terrorist group which
launched a house-to-house operation.
“Two days after this incident, the Shadadi community in
Mariga LGA was attacked on July 25, 2022. Over 15 persons, primarily women and
children, were kidnapped. Another set of three women was kidnapped on August 8,
2022, and some fuel tankers were set ablaze at Saminaka community in Lapai LGA.
“Similarly, in the last decade, many communities in Benue
and Plateau states have been under incessant Fulani herders’ attacks.
Pastoralists, in the quest for water and pasture for their herds, have
subjected farming communities to violent attacks for denying them access to
land-based resources.
“Over the years, several people have been killed in Benue
State, leading to the enactment of anti-grazing law to regulate the activities
of the herders. In the same vein, there have been deadly clashes between Fulani
herders and farming communities in Plateau State over land ownership, grazing
routes, and crop destruction.
“In recent years, Kogi State has witnessed deadly terrorist
attacks, especially in Okene, Eyima, Okehi, and Adavi in Kogi Central
Senatorial District, where Ansaru, ISWAP, and Boko Haram have set up local
cells.
“The presence of Ansaru in the state was made known in 2016
when one of its leaders, Khalid al-Barnawi, was arrested in Lokoja after many
security breaches. One of the widely reported terrorist activities in the state
was the attack on a Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kabba on September 13,
2021, in which over 200 inmates were set free and two security personnel were
killed.
“On June 5, 2022, terrorists allegedly linked to the ISWAP
cell in Kogi State bombed a Catholic Church at Owo in Ondo State and killed 40
worshippers. The terrorists were said to have invaded the South-Western town of
Owo through the Okpella, Uzebba, and Ekperi forests between Kogi and Ondo
states. Thus, the Owo massacre marked the beginning of jihadist terrorism in
Southern Nigeria.”
On how to address terrorism mobility in the country, the
group said certain factors aid the mobility of terrorists and that for it to be
reduced drastically, the drivers need to be addressed.
One of the drivers it noted is opening up ungoverned forest
spaces: “The vast availability of ungoverned forestlands has provided cover for
terrorist groups to incubate and fester. From the Sambisa forest in the
Northeast, Boko Haram, Ansaru and ISWAP jihadists have been weaponising forests
in their movement towards Southern Nigeria. Besides serving as their abode and
camps, the forests are also used as training grounds to stockpile deadly
weapons.
“In Kogi State, the forests through Bassa, Dekina, and
Omalla, after River Niger and Benue, have been used by terrorists operating
from the flank of Abuja and Nasarawa State to build their cells and unleash
terror on Kogi State.
“The Allawa and Gawu forests in Niger State have links to
Sarkin Pawa, Kuduru, Kamuku, and Kuyanbana forests in Kaduna State and Dansadau
forest in Zamfara State have also been exploited by terrorists operating in
Shiroro Local Government Area in Niger State.
“Thus, one way to stop the weaponisation of these forests is
for the federal and state governments concerned to cultivate and use them for
large-scale agriculture, thereby aiding food security.”
Another driver is the tracking availability of deadly
weapons as terrorists can unleash mayhem on communities; and bomb churches and
prison facilities in their advance toward Southern Nigeria because of their
access to deadly weapons, including explosives used in bomb-making.
“To address this, the security forces need to rely on
state-of-the-art intelligence to identify the sources and channels of illegal
weapons,” it said.
It said changing the hit-and-run military strategy will help
as terrorists have grown in leaps and bounds because of poor military response.
“Like the Boko Haram terrorism, banditry in recent times
started with a lone criminal gang in 2011 and grew from a single cell operating
mainly in Zamfara State. As of 2021, there were over 120 gangs across six
states in North-Western Nigeria. The hit-and-run military strategy only scares
the terrorists away from one place to another and thus promoting their spread.
Rather than a hit-and-run approach, security agencies need to deploy an
extermination strategy to stamp out terrorism.”
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