Army Arrests Boko Haram Members In Ondo, Edo, Kwara •Oyo, Osun, Others Under Surveillance

THE General Officer Commanding (GOC) 2 Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Ahmed Tijani Jibrin, has disclosed how Boko Haram members were arrested by his men in Ondo, Edo and Kwara states.
In an exclusive interview with Saturday Tribune’s OLUWATOYIN MALIK, General Jibrin said that a family of Boko Haram members was arrested in Akure Ondo State, two in Kainji, Kwara State and in Benin, Edo State, an unspecified number of the sect members were arrested. He, however, said the job is better done with the support of the media and the public. Excerpts of the interview:

What is the level of preparedness by the 2 Division towards putting security measures in place in the South West, in the face of infiltration of Boko Haram insurgents into that geo-political zone of Nigeria?
First of all, even before the major operations in the North East started, that is, after the declaration of state of emergency in some states, there was already awareness that some of them (Boko Haram members) were finding their way to the South, particularly the South West. Since then, efforts have been made to alert all our brigades in these entry points, like 22 Brigade around Ilorin, 32 Brigade around Akure and 4 Brigade around Benin. All these are access routes to the South-West. We have alerted them to the possibility of entry through their areas of responsibility, and we have advised them on the measures to put in place.
Already, we have some state outfits which we generally call Operation Mesa. The outfits are being funded by the state governments and they comprise all the security agencies. Their major role is to do urban patrol. They patrol the nooks and crannies of urban areas so as not to allow criminalities to take place.

They have been advised on what to look out for and how to go about it. In addition to that, the Chief of Army Staff approved what we call Quick Response groups for our areas of responsibility and he approved four. My area of responsibility as the General Officer Commanding, 2 Division, is beyond Oyo State. I also cover Ondo, Osun,Ekiti, Kwara, Edo and Delta states. They are seven states in all. Coincidentally, all these states are access states, through which you can come to the South-West, particularly Ibadan, which is the nerve centre and quick access to Lagos.
The Quick Response groups are operating in fast-moving vehicles and are well composed in terms of men and equipment to be able to rapidly assemble, come down, form quick checkpoints, conduct their checks and quickly assemble again and move forward. They are equipped with communication equipment to enable them communicate with others operating in their general area. They have been in place and have made successes, only that we did not make noise about it.

Even before Lagos made the latest arrests, we made some arrests in Akure. They were even a family and they confessed that they were Boko Haram members and were running away from the North-East. Also, at Kainji, two of them were arrested in May. We de-briefed them and handed them over to the Department of State Services (DSS) since they are civilians and we didn’t want to keep them with us for too long. In Benin too, they were arrested in numbers in July. But, you know, there are certain things you would not want to mention in relation to our operational tactics.
We are not alone. We are working with organisations based where this problem is coming from in Maiduguri. They are helping to give information about those who are wanted or those who are escaping. Information comes from many sources which we will not like to disclose.

What are the security measures being put in place?
I assure you, a lot of deliberate measures are being put in place to ensure that, at least, we detect their movements as much as possible, except they sneak in alone without anything and will not stay in a place where they will need to collaborate with their colleagues. If they stay individually, it may be difficult but if they are escaping with others and are linking up, anywhere they go, we have already developed the awareness and the mechanisms to monitor them right from there.
And we are in touch with the people that are making these arrests in Benin and Lagos. Some of them are already saying some things that will help us to track down those ones that are coming our way and those that are already here and how to arrest them.

Again, at the Oyo State level, the state governor is doing a lot. He has already tasked the state security
council at the last meeting that we have to come up with practical measures that will ensure that any entry into the state by these people will be quickly detected and arrests made. We are going to make submissions to him later in the month, but the effort is a concerted one. Everybody is putting his hand on deck to make sure that this thing does not become a problem in this part of the country.

The fact that they are being arrested elsewhere shows that we are putting measures as directed by the army headquarters; and that they are yielding results in other places means that the measures are potent. We only need to sharpen them and make sure that anybody that is arrested is sorted out and handed over to the relevant agencies that will continue with investigation. If you investigate and arrest, you get to know many others. That was what helped the Lagos situation and that of Benin. We assure you that a lot of measures are in place.

It was learnt that some of the Boko Haram members are found around trailer parks where they can mingle easily with people of the same ethnic group without being detected. In addition, they are said to be taking to the business of okada riding as a cover-up. How true is this?
It is all part of their activities to be part of what ordinary people do, so that you cannot detect them or single them out. We have also identified that as a major area where they can easily disappear without being noticed. Because of that, in collaboration with other security agencies, we are having a regular patrol and surveillance is being mounted by plain-clothed military, police and SSS. Like I told you, the state security council in Oyo State is very vibrant. The security agencies are being tasked daily on these issues. Recently, we were able to convince the state to spread its security outfit, Operation Burst to other parts of the state and the governor magnanimously agreed. If you check now, Operation Burst is in Iseyin, Saki, Eruwa and Ogbomoso. These are areas where there are large communities of people from the North and when these people come in, they will not go to where they will be the only people, they will go to where their people are staying.

Apart from the local security arrangement like the police, SSS, etc, there is no potent force with arms and equipment to support in case of any major operation. That was why the state government sent these people to those places. Those places are where the major parks are and they are enroute Ibadan. In Ibadan, there are parks but not as vibrant as that in Ogbomoso where there are big parks where people spend days. Serious efforts are being made both at state and local levels. At the military level, we are playing our role according to the dictates of our operational procedure to ensure that all the areas where these people are likely to be are properly combed and then surveillance is maintained 24-7. And it is yielding result in the sense that in all the places so far visited, we are getting positive response because of the support of the people; the stakeholders at the motor parks, like the NURTW, trailer drivers, okada union, tanker drivers, etc. The police and the State Security Service (SSS) are in collaboration with their leadership so that if they see some new comers, especially from the North East of the country, they should report, even if they don’t exhibit any sign of violence.

We also need the media to draw the attention of the public to the fact that no matter how good the intelligence outfits are, no matter how well widespread they are, they are not as widespread as the people on ground. The public will help by giving us information about the arrival of people from that part of the country, or people who are having like minds with them. Members of the public can reach us through the following lines: 08075490290, 08075490243, 08075490370, 08075490533. We will soon come up with e-mail addresses through which the public can also reach us. A lot of information is with the public but they are afraid to pass it across. They are afraid to make physical contact with the security agencies. Once we get information, we are not going to waste time. Landlords are very important. If you see your tenant bringing in people of questionable character or that you highly suspect, you help us so that we monitor and effect arrests immediately. There are also raids. Raids are military operations that are carried out if we suspect a place of being harboured by these kinds of criminal elements. We are also intensifying that.

So far, there have not been any major arrests with weapon because we are working on some indicators. But it is good that we carry out such raids to show them that we are always ready to pounce on any group trying to create problem. And we are in touch with the local community leaders, especially ones from the North, and they are helping us, so, that if there is a newcomer from the northern part of the country, he is put under surveillance for some time and if he tries to create any problem, we pick him up immediately.

This is what we have been doing but we know that there is no perfect system. That is why we need the support of the public. Without information, there is nothing we can do. Even the National Security Adviser has given his number so that he could be reached. That shows you that information is very important. It is only when you know that you can act. Our effort is towards ensuring that we do not allow any attack to take place in the South West. So far, nobody is being arrested with weapons, just the people, except the one that happened in Lagos around March.

That shows that they find it difficult to move with their arms and ammunition because of the checkpoints. But the mere fact that such large numbers are being arrested in Benin, which is our own area of responsibility; Lagos, which is our neighbour; in Akure; in Kainji tells you that they are coming. But also, our machinery is working.

Even the Akure jailbreak, we are suspecting them to be Boko Haram and not armed robbers. This is because the inmates they made efforts to release were those with the description of Boko Haram. We have some evidences that they are the ones, and not armed robbers. You must note that they are also armed robbers. They attack banks and kidnap to get money.

So, it is real, especially with the state of emergency and intensive operation in the northeastern part of the country. They are on the run and definitely, this is the likely area they will come because of the large number of Northerners in this side of the country. They can easily enter and disappear but all hands are on deck. Let the media also support us.

What assurance can you give residents of Oyo State and other South West states under your division?
We are doing everything to make sure that we detect their movements and arrest them. The result is positive so far because there are many being arrested but we are not making so much noise about the arrests. After screening, we hand them over to relevant security agencies.