We wish to commend the officers and men of the Department of State Services (DSS) for their success in thwarting the plots to unleash terrorist attacks in the country during the last Eid-el-Kabir festival. By their prompt and vigilant actions, the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and the states of Kaduna, Kano, Yobe, Niger, Bauchi, and Borno, have been spared the horrors of terrorist bombings and gunfire.
DSS spokesman, Tony Opuiyo, has explained that the terrorist group under the umbrella of the Islamic State of West Africa (ISWA), a splinter of Boko Haram, which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Syria and the Levante (ISIL), had planned to cause mayhem and destruction that would have disrupted the just concluded September 1-4 Sallah festivities. The plan was to conduct gun attacks and suicide bombings on selected targets.
Not only were the bombings aborted, the terrorists’ leaders, bomb makers and high value terrorists were also apprehended, including the mastermind of the operation, Husseini Mai-Tangaran, who is said to be a well-known ISWA commander who has for years been under the watch of both the DSS and the Nigerian Army for his nefarious activities. On January 20, 2012, he reportedly led the armed attacks on the office of the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Zone 1, Abuja. A mass killer, Husseini Mai-Tangaran, was also responsible for many sensational deadly attacks, including the bombing at the Kano Central Mosque and an attack on a military formation in Yobe State in 2015 which claimed hundreds of lives. He is an expert on improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and has been “prepping and priming others” for the perpetration of suicide bombing attacks within the North East region.
Mai-Tangaran’s arrest on August 31 yielded the arrest of one of his comrades in crime, Abdulkadir Umar Mohammed, on September 2 and one Muhammad Ali described as a financial courier, one of the conduits through which funds and other material logistics are channeled to the group from foreign extremist elements. On the whole, the DSS stated that it had in its net nine individuals connected with high crimes not only in the North East but also in the North Central region.
We commend the DSS for its efforts and we hope this is not just a chance, accidental, fortune but a systematic effort to gather actionable intelligence on Habib Al-Barnawi group. We have always argued that unless our security agencies begin to understand the inner workings of the terrorists, the hopes of ending their existence would remain a forlorn hope. The more high valued terrorists are taken off the battle field, the less motivation the groups would have to continue their bestial struggle. The more bomb makers are put in jail, the less suicide bombers we have to contend with.
It is remarkable that one of the captured terrorists, Abdulkarim Mohammed also known as Baba Maigiwa, has been described as a spy and double agent, who was passing information to the terrorists in the Sambisa Forest while also pretending to be working for the security forces. That is why we think that intelligence is at the heart of the anti-terrorism fight. Until that aspect of the fight is straightened out, a long and difficult struggle lies ahead. This is not to discount the splendid efforts of the Army and the Air Force which have helped to degrade the self-confidence of the terrorists.
The war against the terrorists is certainly not over. Therefore, this is not the time for the security agencies to rest on their oars. Indeed, the recent successes should serve as an incentive to do more. They should enlist all the assistance which modern technology can provide, including the installation and operation of the close-circuit television cameras in Abuja and Maiduguri and ensure that they are closely monitored. The security situation in the country deserves utmost sensitivity and vigilance. All hands must be on deck to provide security for all Nigerians.