INSECURITY IN NIGERIA: AMERICA PERSPECTIVE

 

The United States (US) Monday expressed concern over the rising spate of killings and bombings in different parts of the country, especially in the north, which has been under sustained terror attacks by extremist Islamic sects like Boko Haram and Ansaru.

The US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Terence P. McCulley, was said to have conveyed his feelings during a closed-door meeting he had in Abuja with the Minister of State for Defence, Mrs. Olusola Obada, and service chiefs.

The meeting took place on a day the presidency cautioned canvassers of amnesty for members of Boko Haram against the politicisation of the amnesty campaign for the insurgents.

The insurgents went on the rampage yesterday in Yobe State during which they launched multiple attacks on a Divisional Police Station in Bara, which culminated in the destruction of telecommunications masts and the death of a policeman.

Although McCulley’s meeting with Obada and the service chiefs was meant to be covered by journalists, it was later closed to the press after the ambassador expressed reservations over the arrangement.

Based on this, Obada ushered him to her inner office with the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, and Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Alex Sabundu Badeh, among other top dignitaries, where they had their deliberations.

Sources told THISDAY that at the meeting, the ambassador conveyed the concern of his country over the heightened state of insecurity in Nigeria and urged more action from the federal government to end the terror campaign in the country.

He was particular about the recent Kano bombings, the re-emergence of ethnic killings in Plateau State, prison attacks and jailbreaks in Warri, Delta State, Borno and Ganye in Adamawa State.

A source said that the ambassador expressed the US’ willingness to assist Nigeria in fighting terror, while urging the security chiefs to do more in containing the menace.

The source said: “The US ambassador told the minister and the service chiefs that his country was not happy with the rise in terrorist attacks and made a particular reference to the Kano incident where two luxury buses scheduled to travel to Lagos were bombed, leading to the death of about 60 people.

“He called for more intelligence gathering to prevent such attacks and disclosed the preparedness of his government to assist.

“The minister was able to convince the ambassador on the success recorded by the military to contain Boko Haram, which she informed him included the arraignment of the Christmas Day bomber, Kabiru Sokoto, last week, the military’s consistent arrest of members of the sect, and discovery of their hideouts in the country.”

On their part, the service chiefs were said to have attributed the military assault on Islamic extremists in Mali by AFISMA as the factor responsible for the upsurge in the terrorist attacks in Nigeria and they vowed to contain the terrorists.

Obada, after the meeting, told reporters that the meeting was a routine US-Nigeria bilateral relations discussions, especially on military support, cooperation and other areas of mutual benefit.

She said: “We had a beautiful meeting with the ambassador to further deepen the cooperation between Nigeria and the United States and we discussed a lot of issues that are beneficial to both countries.

“The United States of America and Nigeria have come a very long way together in terms of military cooperation, in terms of training and so many other things. We intend to keep our relationship with them to ensure that the two countries enjoy each other’s confidence.”

The minister also noted that the presence of the service chiefs at the meeting was to hold discussions on military training, adding, “It was imperative to have them around.”

She said the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Admiral Ola Sa’ad, was away to Cote d’Ivoire attending the ECOWAS Chief of Defence Staff meeting, while the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba, was on an official tour to Delta State.

On whether the meeting discussed the recent state pardon granted former Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, which has elicited a protest from the US, she said no.

“The meeting had nothing to do with the state pardon recently granted DSP Alamieyeseigha. We did not discuss that. This is the Ministry of Defence and we only discussed issues affecting the ministry,” she said.

Against the rising clamour for amnesty for the terrorists, the presidency yesterday cautioned its proponents against the politicisation of the amnesty campaign for members of the sect.

It urged them to emulate how the amnesty programme in the Niger Delta was brokered by initiating contacts with the leadership of the sect and convincing them to come out into the open and negotiate with the federal government.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, in a statement he personally signed, said President Goodluck Jonathan had nothing to gain from prolonging the wanton destruction of lives and property by members of the sect.
He added that it was in the interest of the Jonathan administration for the reign of terror in the north to end quickly and the president expects influential northerners to prevail on the Boko Haram leadership to embrace dialogue like the militants in the Niger Delta did before the amnesty was granted.

Okupe warned against politicising the issue of amnesty and using it to blackmail the president whose overriding desire is the peaceful and harmonious coexistence of all Nigerians irrespective of their social, religious and political leanings.

“There is therefore no need for the politicisation of the demand for amnesty, nor to blackmail the president for taking strong, patriotic but contrary views to those of some of our respected elders.

“Such, sometimes, is the nature of statecraft and in many parts of the civilised world, situations like this are handled with equanimity and further deepening of consultations, certainly not acrimonious misunderstanding or open hatred.

“The true expectation is that our respected leaders will go back to the drawing board and increase internal consultations and networking with the aim of reaching out to the leadership of the insurgents and convincing them to do the needful and step out to be counted,” he said.

He explained that there was no basis for comparison between the amnesty granted Niger Delta militants and the refusal of Jonathan to grant amnesty to Boko Haram members.

According to him, the amnesty granted to the Niger Delta militants was facilitated by the cooperation the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua administration received from  prominent leaders from the region such as former Information Minister, Chief Edwin Clark,  Alamieyeseigha, former Minister of Culture, Chief Graham Douglas and a few others who visited the militants’ camps to persuade them to lay down their arms and allow government address their grievances in a civilised manner.
“This was the way and manner a successful amnesty programme was hatched and effected. Many local leaders and stakeholders bought into the government’s amnesty programme.

“It was carefully planned, properly structured and effectively implemented with cooperation and the willing support of elders, stakeholders and well known and nationally acknowledged open leadership of the militants,” he added.

Meanwhile, about 12 out of 124 prison inmates who were freed during last Friday’s attack on Ganye Prison in Adamawa State by gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram have been recaptured.

Special Adviser (Media) to the Minister of Interior, Mr. George Udo, confirmed their re-arrest yesterday to THISDAY while responding to enquiries on the government's response to the upsurge in prison attacks and jailbreaks across the country.

Udoh said security had been beefed up in Adamawa State, particularly in Ganye town and an inspection team led by the Deputy Controller of Prisons (DCP), Nigerian Prison Headquarters, Mr. Olusegun Bewaji, was assessing the situation.

The attack on the prison drew condemnation yesterday from the Adamawa State Governor, Admiral Murtala Nyako, who described the spate of killings as barbaric and demonic.

He lamented that innocent people were killed for no cause, saying   the matter would be discussed at the next governors’ forum meeting since he (Nyako) is the chairman on security matters at the forum.

The state police command has confirmed that 25 were killed in the Friday attack on Ganye, while the Prison Service in the state has also confirmed the killing of the deputy comptroller in charge of the prison, Mallam Baba Musa, and the release of 124 inmates.
The police spokesman, Mohammed Ibrahim, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said 25 people, including a policeman, were killed in the attacks.
Also, gunmen, believed to be members of the Boko Haram sect, yesterday attacked Bara in Yobe State, killing a policeman and destroying telecommunications masts in the town.

The attack on Bara, a distance of about 160 kilometres from Damaturu, the capital of Yobe, according to residents, forced the policemen on duty to flee into the surrounding bushes.

The residents said the latest attack on the town happened at about 6.30 am when over 20 men armed with assault rifles and explosives, raided the town and fired sporadic shots in different directions, before heading to the police station.

“The gunmen stormed the town, firing sporadically into the police station and engaged the policemen on duty in a gun duel, killing a police corporal on the spot, while others fled after being overpowered by the rampaging invaders,” a resident told journalists on the phone.

Residents of the town revealed that the onslaught lasted for over two hours and that after the security personnel had been chased away, the gunmen bombed the police station, before heading to destroy nearby telecommunications masts belonging to MTN and the Globacom.

The state Commissioner of Police, Sanusi Rufai, who confirmed the incident to journalists, said though the hoodlums succeeded in burning the police post by using a rocket propelled launcher (RPG), but the attack was repelled.

The hoodlums, according to the commissioner, destroyed the MTN and the Glo telecoms masts and made away with three vehicles belonging to the local council.

He said no arrest had been made in connection with the attack but the police have launched a manhunt for the attackers.

culled from www.thisdaylive.com