Timothy Olanrewaju (Maiduguri) and Henry Okonkwo
Following the decision by the Federal Government to begin withdrawal of troops previously deployed to northern states to combat insurgency beginning from the first quarter of this year, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), a civil society organization, has lampooned the government’s move to deploy the police as replacement for military in the fight against insurgency.
Speaking on behalf of RULAAC in a chat with Sunday Sun, human rights activist and police reform advocate, Mr Okey Nwanguma, recalled that the order was first mooted by the government in 2019, but it was dropped after an assessment confirmed the unpreparedness of the police to combat the insurgents.
His words: “This is not the first time that the Federal Government would be mooting its intention to commence the withdrawal of the military from the Northeast. It first hinted on this in early 2019. Between January and February 2019, in response to that announcement, a team of independent experts was dispatched to Borno State to conduct an assessment of the preparedness of the police to take charge of internal security in the so-called liberated areas in the Northeast. I was in that team and we spoke to the military, the police, Civil Defence and other relevant security stakeholders.
“In summary, our finding was that nothing had changed with regards to the conditions of service of the police to prepare them for taking over security in the terror-stricken zone. Whether in terms of manpower or personnel strength, training, equipment or motivation, the situation of the police has been deteriorating rather than improving. The police officers deployed to the zone are themselves endangered species.”
Giving further explanation, Nwanguma described the shocking state of police stations in those areas and queried the rationale of sending ill-equipped policemen to replace the military.
“You would expect that considering the special security challenges which Borno State is confronted with, the Borno State Police Command would get additional or special funding to match the needs and demands of the problem.
“But we were shocked to find that Borno and other state commands confronted by insurgency still get the same level of budgetary funding as other state commands. In fact, many state commands, which don’t have the same level of security challenges as Borno are relatively better equipped and better manned. Police divisions in many localities in Borno had been attacked and dislodged. We found many displaced police officers from divisions that were attacked and dislodged taking refuge at the state command headquarters. At night, you see them lying on mats within the headquarters premises, battling with mosquitoes. The premises look more like a refugee camp than a Police headquarters. It was a pitiable sight to behold.
“We went to police barracks around Maiduguri and saw many police officers with various degrees of injuries and deformity from attacks by Boko Haram, who were left uncared for. They take full responsibility for their treatment. The families of those who died are abandoned to their tragic fate. No help from any quarters despite their outcries. We were told that many officers serving in Borno deserted while those newly posted refused to report or even resigned or went on AWOL. Is this the condition under which the police will take over from the military?
“Even for the military which is better equipped and provided with special funding to tackle insurgency, many of the personnel have been killed or injured with some resigning, voluntarily retiring or simply walking away. How much more the far less equipped police,” he said.
Nwanguma advised the government to first channel its efforts towards transforming the police to make it perform better.
His words: “Before the police can take over internal security in the Northeast, a lot of transformation needs to happen. Adequate number of police officers must be recruited; special and appropriate trainings on dealing with new security threats have to happen; the police need to be adequately equipped with modern crime-fighting equipment to match the sophistication of the violent criminals; the welfare conditions of the police must be improved to enhance morale and dedication. The police must be humanized and corruption tackled. Efforts must be made to restore or rebuild public trust and confidence. Without the community trusting and willing to cooperate with the police, the police cannot effectively deal with crime and social disorder. Timely and reliable intelligence is even more important than 100 armored personnel carriers and thousands of AK47 rifles.
“The military cannot continue to perform the statutory functions of the police. It is an anomaly that comes with dire consequences. The military’s training does not make them suitable to handle internal security. The police must be transformed, prepared and equipped to eventually assume primacy for internal security. But even when that happens, military withdrawal has to be gradual. Withdrawing the military and returning the police at this time would be like sending our police officers on a suicide mission. I see many of them resigning.
“The claim by the Federal Government that it has technically degraded Boko Haram is nothing more than a deluded, empty grandstanding. The answer to whether that claim is credible can be easily gleaned from the fact that there has been a spike in the activities and attacks by the insurgents and terrorists. The government’s woeful failure to rescue many victims of Boko Haram abduction, including Leah Sharibu and several social workers; the continued attacks even on military facilities, the beheading of 10 abductees in Nigeria on Christmas Day in retaliation for the killing of the ISIS leader in Syria; the fact that thousands of displaced persons are yet to return to their destroyed and yet to be liberated and rebuilt communities. We have heard as well as watched videos of aggrieved and disgruntled military officers complaining about their being shortchanged by their corrupt commanders who divert and convert funds meant to equip and pay them for the risky job of fighting dangerously armed terrorists. The increase in the daredevilry of the terrorists indicates either increase in their capabilities or decrease in military capabilities. Either way, the claim by the Federal Government is dishonest or downright stupid.”
Meanwhile, it has emerged that there are no signs, indications or plans to withdraw troops from Borno and Yobe, the two northeast states at the epicenter of the insurgency in the country.
Both Borno and Yobe are the worst hit by Boko Haram terror attacks, which have been going on for over a decade and had claimed over 30, 000 lives. The terror attacks have also displaced nearly three million people, according to the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) in Nigeria.
Military sources said the two states are not among areas considered for pulling out of troops as announced by the government recently, beginning from the first quarter of this year.
Troops were first deployed to Borno on June 12, 2011 for a special operation against Boko Haram at the early stage of insurgency in the area. The Joint Military Task Force (JTF), which was the first counter-insurgency operation against Boko Haram was led by Major General Jack Nwachukwu Nwaogbo with roughly over 2,000 troops.
Major operational strategies and logistics were handled at the Nigerian Army headquarters in Abuja, but the transformation of the insurgents group to a full-fledged terrorist organisation led to the movement of the command and control centre to Maiduguri, birthplace of Boko Haram and heartland of insurgency.
President Muhammadu Buhari had on May 29, 2015, on his swearing-in, announced the relocation of the military operation command centre to Borno.
This led to the renaming of the counter-Boko Haram war to Operation Lafiya Dole by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai in early June. Additional troops were deployed to the state known for its vast land, difficult terrain and weather condition.
Sunday Sun cannot independently verify the actual population of troops including personnel of the Army, Air Force and Navy fighting insurgents in the northeast. Military authorities are usually silent on the number of troops for “strategic operational reasons.”
It was gathered that deployment of troops to and out of the theatre in the Northeast has been a regular practice, but sources said no withdrawal of military personnel is taking place.
Two military officers confirmed to Sunday Sun that the authorities in Borno did not receive any directive to withdraw troops from the area. “The operation against Boko Haram in the Northeast is not affected,” a senior military told Sunday Sun on condition of anonymity. Many military officers would not want to speak on the matter, saying the issue of withdrawal was a policy matter by higher military hierarchy.”
Many residents of Damaturu who spoke with Sunday Sun reporter said that there was no indication of withdrawal of troops in Yobe State.
“All I can tell you is that soldiers are doing their work here. They are still at checkpoints and in the town,” Aminu Abdullahi said.
The counter-terrorism operation in the Northeast is considered the biggest among all military operations and security engagements in the country. Boko Haram has stepped up attacks in Borno and Yobe states in recent times, including ambush of the Theatre Commander, Maj.-Gen. Olusegun Adeniyi.
Army Operations Media Coordinator, Col. Aminu Illiyasu, declined to comment on the issue and urged the reporter to contact appropriate authorities.