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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Arewa Youth Assembly, a leading sociocultural and advocacy group for youths in Northern Nigeria, has commended the efforts and commitment of the nation’s security managers for the sustained onslaught against insurgents operating in parts of northern Nigeria.
The group noted the systematic decapitation of terror networks across various operational theatres; a feat it said had directly enabled the return of relative peace.
Among the high-profile targets reportedly neutralised are key ISWAP commanders, including Abubakar Sarki, Abu Umaymah and Mallam Ali Kwaya in the Lake Chad Tumbuns, alongside notorious Boko Haram commander, Tahir Baga, in the Sambisa Forest.
It further noted that a similar pattern of precision operations was replicated in the North West, where the once-feared Bello Turji has allegedly seen his network weakened, while figures such as Halilu Sububu, Dogo Gide and Ali Kachalla were reportedly eliminated, thereby dealing a major blow to banditry.
The group added that sustained kinetic operations in the North Central led to the neutralisation of notorious bandit leaders, including Alhaji Auta and Kachalla Rugga, while operations in the South East reportedly took out key Eastern Security Network (ESN) commanders, including Ikonso and a logistics kingpin known as “Pounds,” who were allegedly responsible for attacks on state institutions.
According to the group, the destruction of illegal refinery networks and militant camps in the South-South had also helped to curb economic sabotage and boost oil production.
The youths, specifically, praised the synergy among the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar; the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa; the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Olufemi Oluyede and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja yesterday, the Publicity Secretary of the Arewa Youth Assembly, Aliyu Muhammad Sanni, told journalists that many previously besieged communities in northern Nigeria were beginning to experience relative calm.
He said: “For over a decade, the sovereignty of Nigeria was violently challenged by a constellation of non-state actors, each presenting uniquely destructive threats to national stability across different geographical theatres.
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“The North East remained the epicentre of the Boko Haram/ISWAP insurgency, so entrenched that terrorists carved out a parallel state, hoisting flags and imposing a brutal regime on millions of citizens.
“Simultaneously, the North West was transformed into blood-soaked killing fields by marauding bandit groups led by infamous kingpins such as Bello Turji, Halilu Sububu, Dogo Gide, Ali Kachalla and the late Dankarami.
“In the North Central, communities groaned under the twin threats of Boko Haram spillover cells and armed militia clashes, with groups such as that of the late Terwase Akwaza, popularly known as Gana and ethno-religious militias, turning Plateau and Southern Kaduna into flashpoints of cyclical violence.
“The South East was crippled by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), which enforced deadly sit-at-home orders while attacking state infrastructure.
“Even the South-South and the South West felt the impact of insecurity, ranging from resurgent militancy disrupting oil production to ISWAP infiltration cells and violent herder-farmer clashes spreading into border communities.”
The group noted that under the previous dispensation, the morale of security personnel was at an all-time low, plagued by outdated equipment, poor inter-service cooperation and a reactive operational doctrine that ceded initiative to criminal elements on multiple fronts.
“It is against this backdrop of near hopelessness that the current achievements stand as a monumental testament to visionary leadership,” the group stated.
The Arewa Youth Assembly, however, maintained that although the war against insecurity is not yet over, the trajectory remains positive.
“We stand in total solidarity with the Armed Forces and call on citizens to provide actionable intelligence. We also urge the political class not to politicise the blood and sacrifice of our gallant troops,” the group added.
