- Buhari directs NSA to work out clear pathway to end banditry
A day after President Muhammadu Buhari ordered for an immediate response to rising cases of bandit attacks on communities in Zamfara State, Northwest region, Governor of Nasarawa State, Northcentral Nigeria, Abdulahi Sule, has raised alarm that Boko Haram terrorist group is regrouping in his State.
Nasarawa has witnessed serious security challenges recently including terrorists and bandits attacks and kidnapping.
Governor Sule told journalists on Friday after meeting with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, bemoaned the havoc Boko Haram has continued to cause in the State, saying that although they have been dislodged from Toto Local Government where they had camped, they have regrouped at the Nasarawa/Benue border from where they are now launching attacks on residents.
The Governor said the terrorists who are active in Nasarawa State belong to the Darussalam group that were dislodged from Niger State, adding that earlier, a joint security operations killed a lot of them while 900 were arrested.
Sule maintained that those arrested confirmed their membership of the Boko Haram insurgency group.
Governor Sule said his visit to “the leader of the nation and our father,” was to brief him “that we continue to have challenges with a team of Boko Haram who had settled at the border with the FCT. And we thank the security forces that they have been able to dislodge them.
“But now, they have gone back and gathered at our border with Benue. And they are causing a lot of havoc. Therefore, it was an opportunity as Mr President wanted to know and I briefed him. I strongly believe that just like decision was taken last time to take care of this issue, another decision will be taken.”
Asked how he knew that the terrorists are Boko Haram, Sule said: “First and foremost, it was easy for us to know who these people are. If you remember, they used to gather at a place called Utu in Toto Local Government Area (LGA).
“When I came here the last time, I appealed to Mr President. Then, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Police, the Air Force, and the Army had a joint operation and they were able to dislodge them.
“When they dislodged them, a lot of them were killed. Some of them ran away and left members of their families. We took hostage about 900 members of their families in Lafia, including children and wives.
“The Special Forces which we have in Doma, Nasarawa State, took the hostages. A lot of interrogations were done and most of them confirmed that they were indeed Boko Haram. In fact, they gave us the name of the person who used to be like the second-in-command to Shekau.
“So, during the interrogation, they confirmed themselves that they were indeed Boko Haram. Some of them said they were remnants of Darussalam group that were dislodged from Niger. They came, merged, and became Boko Haram. That is how we got our confirmation that they were indeed Boko Haram. They said it themselves.”
On the fate of Boko Haram members arrested in the state, the governor explained: “When we took the hostages, actually, we had to disperse them. A lot of them were families of different people in the country that were kidnapped. In most cases, when they kidnap women, they marry them off. We had a lot of kidnapped women that were married off. We released them back to their various States and families.
“We got people from about 17 States. A few of them were from Niger Republic. We handed over those from Niger Republic to DSS. We handed over those from States to their various governments through DSS offices in their domains.”
The governor, who said the group was part of the elements fueling the security challenges in the State, recalled that the terrorists had been dislodged from their camp in Toto before regrouping at the Nasarawa/Benue border from where they are now launching attacks on residents.
Engr. Sule, who said some of the Boko Haram elements active in Nasarawa State belong to the Darussalam group that had been dislodged from Niger State, disclosed that a lot of them were hitherto killed while 900 were arrested after a joint security operation.
He said their membership of the Boko Haram insurgency group was confirmed by those arrested, expressing confidence that action will be taken to curtail the menace, having briefed the President on the situation.
On Thursday, President Buhari directed the National Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno (Rtd), to work out a clear pathway to ending the resurgent banditry that has continued to cost lives and the displacement of thousands of families from their towns and villages.
Recently, Speaker of Zamfara State House of Assembly, Nasir Magarya, wrote a letter in which he appealed to President Buhari to intervene and stop the incessant killings by bandits in the State.
