Tag: intelligence

•Boko Haram attacks on informants is bad for intelligence gathering; it should be checked

Since the declaration of a state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states by the Federal Government on May 14 as part of efforts to curb the activities of the Boko Haram sect, the insurgents routed in those places appear to be fighting like wounded lions. But, just as one could be thinking that the military onslaught against them has considerably disorganised the sect’s members and weakened their capacity to unleash violence, the attacks, last weekend, in which about 60 persons were killed and which also led to scores of others being injured, in Ngom, Maisarmari and Mailari in Konduga and Mafa local government areas of Borno State are sufficient cause for concern.

These latest attacks followed the ones on August 4, on some military formations, including the Mobile Police Base and Bama town in the state. At least 35 persons were said to have been killed in the attacks, according to the figures released by the joint task force. The terrorists had threatened to launch massive attacks as part of their own peculiar way of marking the end of Ramadan. Lt-Col Sagir Musa, the task force’s spokesman said ‘troops have successfully repelled Boko Haram terrorists attack on Mobile Police Base and Bama town. Terrorists using sophisticated weapons and Improvised Explosive Devices launched attacks at about 6:45am on 4th August, 2013’.

These attacks are worrisome, especially considering the fact that the state of emergency imposed on the states, designed to last for six months in the first instance, is already three months old. We urge the security agents to be persistent with the pressure mounted on the Boko Haram because nothing short of its total defeat will do. Intelligence is key here. This explains why the last attacks on the Borno communities are particularly disturbing. The terrorists reportedly attacked the hapless villagers because some of them had been giving out information to the military that had led to the casualties within the Islamist group.

It cannot be denied that such information has been of immense benefit to the military in the campaign against the insurgents. We are afraid of what will happen when such a useful source of information dries up as it is bound to when people realise that they cannot rely on the government cover for their safety and security. The United States shut 20 of its diplomatic missions around the world on August 4 on the strength of intelligence report of possible terror attacks on US facilities on that day by Al-Qaeda. The point is that insurgents’ capacity for destruction is weakened when their actions are pre-empted.

However, as we have always counselled on the Boko Haram insurgency, force alone cannot solve the problem. Certain factors begot the phenomenon, just as some factors are nurturing it; it is important to isolate these and find solutions to them. There are economic challenges to face, particularly in the north and central parts of the country where the activities of the sect are felt most. Governments at the federal and state levels have to come up with job-creation strategies that will take many of the jobless youths away from the unemployment queues. When they are productively engaged, those looking for idle hands to recruit for terror purposes will have to look elsewhere for foot soldiers.

In the same vein, the governments must take another look at the state of education, again in that part of the country, with a view to further expanding the scope to capture more idle youths who should be in school but are not, for whatever reason. The bottom-line is getting these idle hands productively engaged. Three months may not be enough to rein in Boko Haram; it should at least be seen to be crippling the sect and weakening its capacity to wreak havoc.