• Boko Haram still thrives on money and drugs
Two events happened in the past week to highlight the state of the war on terror. The first was the explosion in the nation’s capital, Abuja. The second was the arrest of a financier of the Boko Haram sect. The financier, whose name was given as Mohammed Maina, possessed the sum of one million Naira as well as stimulants in his possession.
The two developments indicate both a reinforcement of old tactics and a tweaking of it. The war on terror has recorded a significant success in the area of dislodging the militants as standing army; and a horde of rampaging young goons dispatching town after town and hoisting flags. That aspect of their pride has bowed to the sort the world witnessed last week in Abuja.
The attack on Abuja was not only unexpected, it reflected a lax in the security infrastructure in Nigeria’s iconic city. The last time such a sanguinary moment struck the city was about a year ago, and the happy lull in between betrayed a military that had not only swept the place clean of the vermin but also had to focus elsewhere. It seems the shift of the centre of gravity to the northeast had left a lacuna and opportunity for the criminals.
They struck two populated areas of the capital city, namely Kuje and Nyanya, on the night of October 4 and left at least 18 persons dead and several others wounded. A few days after the country marked its 55th birthday, we crouched with sorrow and funeral wreaths.
Female partisans detonated the bombs in both places. They used their accustomed improvised explosive device, which shows that they have access to scraps of materials they assemble into the lethal device. They had used this with great impact since they inaugurated terror in the North, and it seems they have seen this as a potent, if sometimes unassailable, strategy to kill and maim Nigerians as well as frustrate the army. If it speaks to their acumen in the technology of war, we cannot deny their attribute as a cohesive and well-organised group with potential to inflict more tragedies in the coming months.
In his inaugural speech to the nation as President, Muhammadu Buhari announced to national cheer the decision to shift the command centre to the Northeast where Boko Haram held sway and crippled Nigeria’s military strength. But the Abuja tragedies only remind us of their amoebic capacity for slaughter.
The arrest of the financier shows that sympathisers still litter the Northeast. The financier, according the military, had travelled around the region to amass contributions.
A war of such sustained malevolence and swath cannot thrive without local backing. This is a call to improved intelligence work. The army had accused some of the elders of not cooperating with them in flushing out the brigands. Where evidence is adduced, such persons should be prosecuted.
The money flows that energise the sect can be stemmed with greater vigilance by locals who support the war on terror. The recent arrest can help the war if the army follows Maina’s trails and fishes out his collaborators.
The financier also possessed stimulants, especially cola nuts. The narrative of stimulants has been a constant in the lives of the militants. It keeps them alert. Our army intelligence should monitor and shut down the arteries of stimulants trade and trafficking all over the North. Success in that area will disable the activities of men like Maina.
The army is working towards ending the war in December. They do not have much time.