President Muhammadu Buhari charged Nigerians yesterday to expose the criminal elements threatening the country’s security.
Buhari said after Eid-el-Kabir prayers at his country home in Daura, Katsina State, that increased disclosure of unusual activities would expose bandits and terrorists, urging the security apparatus to eliminate threats throughout the country.
The president’s charge came as seven of the remaining 50 abducted victims of the March 28 Abuja-Kaduna train attack were released yesterday after being held captive for 102 days.
In addition, the Nasarawa State Police Command announced yesterday that it had apprehended one of the fleeing Boko Haram suspects, Hassan Hassan, who was among the inmates who escaped from the Kuje Maximum Custodial Centre in Abuja, just as the federal government announced that it had tightened security around the Kuje Correctional Facility and other parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the attack on the Kuje Correctional Facility, security forces meetings led by Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Lucky Irabor have been moved from weekly to daily.
President Buhari said all those who committed atrocities against innocent citizens should reflect on their actions, emphasising that they tainted their names and the reputations of their families.
“My advice is that people who are organising themselves and attacking institutions and communities; the people know who they are,” he says. Allow them to report them to security agencies.
“I hope they will reflect and ensure that their names and families are saved,” Buhari said.
“We are praying that the rainy season will be good for the production of the food we eat in the country,” the president said during this year’s rainy season.
He stated that Nigeria is now exporting rice after closing its borders for about two years.
The president also encouraged Nigerian youths to look beyond culture, ethnicity, and religion when interacting with one another, urging more travel, mixing, tolerance, and negotiations to appreciate the country’s rich diversity.
Buhari, who met with National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members serving in Daura, said regular interaction and a broader view of Nigeria as a whole would improve relationships, particularly among youths.
“Every time I meet former President Gen. Yakubu Gowon, I always thank him for the NYSC, which allows people to move around Nigeria.”
“Before the NYSC, there were people who had never left their neighbourhood,” he explained.
The president stated that the scheme broadened many people’s horizons over time and reduced tensions and misunderstandings between strangers.
According to the president, youths and all Nigerians must learn to coexist.
He later gave the corps members two bulls, ten rams, and N1,000,000 for the Sallah celebration.
Terrorists Free Seven of the Last 50 Train Passengers
Meanwhile, after 102 days in captivity, seven of the 50 remaining abducted victims of the March 28 Abuja-Kaduna train attack have been released.
The seven victims, including the son of Northern Elders Forum (NEF) Chairman Prof. Ango Abdullahi, were released yesterday after Tukur Mamu, a media consultant to an Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, mediated.
Following Mamu’s negotiations, the terrorists released 11 of their victims on June 11.
According to the report, those released were Bosede Olurotimi, Abubakar Zubairu, Alhassan Sule, Sadiq Ango Abdullahi, Muhammad Daiyabu Paki, Aliyu Usman, and Dr Muhammad Abuzar Afzal, a foreign national of Pakistani origin.
Those who were released were given to the military to be reunited with their families.
According to the report, Mamu also stated that no ransom was paid for the release of the seven victims.
Mamu was also quoted as saying that the release of seven of the victims validated Sheikh Gumi’s mediation power.
“I want to assure the nation that everything accomplished today was initiated and arranged solely by me, with the full support and prayers of my principal, Sheikh Gumi.”
That is why I continue to emphasise that the government has the ability to end the agony of these innocent victims in a single day.
Tukur said last night on ARISE NEWS Channel that Gumi has been working behind the scenes to bring peace to the country. He did, however, say that his efforts to meet with President Buhari were futile.
“This is just one person sacrificing his life and even his integrity. “There is no military solution to Nigeria’s current security crisis. “When you engage them sincerely, these guys, despite their wickedness and misguided religious beliefs, are listening,” he explained.
Mr Abdulfatai Jimoh, the coordinator of families of the abducted passengers of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack, confirmed the release of the seven victims.
In Nasarawa, police apprehend a fleeing Boko Haram suspect.
In another development, the Nasarawa State Police Command has apprehended Hassan Hassan, a fleeing Boko Haram suspect who escaped from the Kuje Maximum Custodial Centre.
DSP Ramhan Nansel, the Nasarawa State command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), confirmed this in a statement.
He added that the fleeing Boko Haram suspect was apprehended by eagle-eyed operatives of the state Police Command at Keffi, the headquarters of the state’s Keffi Local Government Area.
“Sequel to the attack on Kuje Maximum Custodial Centre and subsequent escape of inmates, on July 9th, 2022 at around 0130hrs, one Hassan Hassan ‘M’ whose name and picture was among the escaped inmates with Boko Haram/Terrorism case was recaptured by eagle-eyed Police operatives of the Nasarawa State Police Command at Keffi,” Nansel said.
“The Commissioner of Police, CP Adesina Soyemi, has directed that the suspect be transferred to a safer location while the intensive search for other escapees and the handing over of the arrested inmate continues.”
NSCDC Issues Warnings About Potential Attacks on Schools, Churches, and Others
In another recent development, the FCT Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps discovered plans by members of the ISWAP terrorist group to launch coordinated and spontaneous attacks on soft and hard targets in the FCT (NSCDC).
In a restricted memo dated Friday, July 8, 2022, the NSCDC FCT Commandant, Mr Peter Maigari, issued the Red Alert, saying: “Certified intelligence reveals that members of the decimated terrorist group, Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), have concluded plan to launch more coordinated and spontaneous attacks on selected targets within the FCT and have declared war against Christians in Nigeria.”
“Intelligence abounds that the ISWAP terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the Tuesday, July 5, 2022 attack on Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre, releasing their adherent members,” according to a copy of the Red Alert addressed to the Permanent Secretary, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
“The foregoing is to allow them to hibernate in targeted communities and re-strategize for future terrorist activities, particularly on soft targets, in order to keep the group’s agenda alive to the public.”
The leaked memo also warned that the recent attack on Kuje Prison in Abuja, which lasted “good two – hours without any security resistance,” indicates their readiness to carry out more coordinated attacks in selected cities/towns, security formations, schools and worship centres in FCT, thus the release of their members for a more formidable squad to carry out the dastardly act.
As a result, Maigari has called for a review of the nation’s capital’s existing security measures in order to thwart the terrorists’ plans.
When contacted to confirm the authenticity or otherwise of the alert, Mr Shola Odumosu, spokesman for the NSCDC’s National Headquarters, said the alert came from the agency’s FCT Command, not the headquarters.
He promised to contact the command and respond, but he was unable to do so at the time of publication. Comfort Okomanyi, the corps’s FCT Command spokesperson, could not be reached.
The Federal Government vows to track down all escapees and tightens security in Abuja.
Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja, the federal government has increased security around the facility and throughout the FCT.
Haliru Nababa, Controller-General of the Nigeria Correctional Services (NCoS), stated that the service would spare no effort or resources in tracking down all escapees from the Kuje facility.
According to reports, new security measures were put in place to prevent a repeat occurrence.
As part of the new security measures, the meetings of security forces led by the CDS, Gen. Irabor, have been moved from a weekly to a daily schedule.
The investigation also revealed that new security checkpoints were installed at the Kuje Area Council’s entry and exit points, while similar deployments encircled the prison facility and the area council.
According to Nababa, the security agencies’ integrated strategies were producing positive results.
The NCoS also stated that there were no cases of missing funds in both local and foreign currencies belonging to inmates at the facility following the botched attack.
The ongoing attacks on FCT suburbs, as well as the recent attack on the Kuje facility, have heightened tensions among residents in the nation’s capital, prompting those in the city centre to begin erecting new fences around their homes.
According to reports, the Brigade of Guards, which is in charge of the president’s and his family’s security, has also reinforced troop deployments at the city’s entry and exit points, particularly the Nyanya-Karu and Maraba-Keffi axes, as well as Gwagwalada-Zuba and Kubwa on the territory’s northern flank.
In a statement issued Friday night, the FCT Police Command said it had put in place watertight security around Abuja.
“The CP (Babaji Sunday) further noted that the command would intensify robust stop and search operations, high-level visibility policing patrols and surveillance of places of worship, parks, recreational centres, and residential areas, and prompt response to any distress calls from across the FCT,” according to the statement.
Given Abuja’s security situation, the command also advised Muslim worshippers not to park their vehicles within 200 metres of the praying grounds.
“To ensure orderliness and proper traffic management, worshippers are advised to pray inside and avoid praying on the expressway.”
“At all other praying grounds in the FCT, no vehicle will be permitted to park within 200 metres of the praying grounds.” Worshippers and residents are therefore advised to cooperate with police officers who are only there to enforce the law,” the statement continued.
In a related development, the NCoS stated that there were no cases of missing funds in both local and foreign currencies belonging to inmates at the facility following the botched attack.
In a statement, the service’s Public Relations Officer, Umar Danlami Abubakar, confirmed that the cash belonging to inmates deposited in the custody of the custodial centre’s authorities is intact and safe.
He reiterated an existing directive from the Controller General of Corrections, Nadaba, that all officers supervising custodial centres not keep large sums of money in the facility.
How a Former Boko Haram Fighter Became a Prison Official
In a related development, new information has emerged about how an ex-Boko Haram fighter became an NCoS official.
According to reports, on February 18 of this year, an alarm was raised at a correctional facility in Adamawa State.
Wilberforce Yohanna, a former Boko Haram fighter, has been hired as a staff member at the Yola New Custodial Centre in the state.
According to the report, leaked internal documents on the security situation at the prison facility revealed that Mr Yohanna’s Boko Haram background was discovered due to the dexterity he demonstrated with gun handling during training.
“While on training, he was discovered to be more versatile in the use and operations of firearms,” according to leaked documents obtained by Premium Times.
“Following further interrogation and collaborative findings, he confessed to being abducted and held hostage by Boko Haram members for two years.”
According to the documents, the new prison official also admitted to receiving heavy weapon handling training from a Boko Haram base before fleeing their custody.
