Chat 212 - News Summary...
- Five Hilux vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft guns conveying terrorists and one 18-seater bus with foodstuff belonging to the Boko Haram was intercepted By Army.
Chat 212 - Newsmail Report...
The Army yesterday intercepted five Hilux vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft guns conveying terrorists and one 18-seater bus with foodstuff belonging to the Boko Haram Islamic sect in Izza village, Borno State. The food items were destroyed while about 30 suspected terrorists, including one of the prominent leaders (Amir) of the sect were killed in an encounter with the soldiers.
The troops of the 7 Division, Nigerian Army, Maiduguri, stated yesterday that they launched attacks on Boko Haram enclaves at Ajigi, Kafa and Izza villages of Bama and Damboa local government areas of the state.
In a statement signed by the spokesman of the Army formation, Capt. Aliyu Danja, and made available to journalists yesterday, the operation, which involved air strikes and ground attacks, were successfully conducted following intelligence report that the terrorists were planning to attack Bama and other towns in the state.
Danja said: “Our troops launched separate attacks on Boko Haram enclaves in different parts of Borno State where we killed 30 of them in Ajigi and Kafa villages of Damboa Local Government Area. Those killed were suspected to be the group of terrorists who fled Damboa town following encounter with the security forces last Sunday.
“Also, in a pre-emptive attack on Boko Haram concentration at Izza town of Borno State in the afternoon on October 6 (Sunday), the operation led to the killing of unspecified number of the sect members who were on a deadly mission with five Hilux vehicles mounted with antiair craft guns.”
The General Officer Commanding, GOC, Maj.- Gen. Obidah Ethan, stated that the division was currently conducting aggressive operations on terrorists’ locations along Maiduguri-Damaturu road and others hitherto disrupted with several attacks on passengers and motorists. Meanwhile, terrorists on Sunday night laid ambush on police officers in Kaduna metropolis. A police officer was confirmed dead in the attack.
A resident, who did want his name mentioned, said the incident happened along Western By-pass, Unguwan Muazu, a suburb of Kaduna, when some gunmen on motorbikes attacked some police officers who were on their way to night duty. Kaduna State Police Command Commissioner, Mr. Olufemi Adenaike, confirmed the incident. “The police officer was killed by hoodlums in the area. They took away his gun and ammunition.
We are investigating the incident,” Adenaike told National Mirror on the phone. In Abuja, former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, on Monday called for the involvement of the civil populace in the efforts to address the current security challenges in the country. Abubakar made the suggestion while delivering the inauguration lecture of the National Defence College Course 22 in Abuja, entitled: “A comprehensive approach to national security management in Nigeria.” He noted that the nature and pattern of outbreak of new and emerging threats in the country indicated that security could no longer be achieved through reliance on security agencies alone.
“These threats show that the attainment and preservation of security should and must be everybody’s business. The public is, therefore, expected to play a vital role to assist the conventional bodies, especially in the area of intelligence gathering by volunteering information on the activities of criminal elements,” he said.
The former head of state said that management of national security in the country should be concerned with restoring security, governance and development through inter- agency and inter-ministerial framework.
He said: “It is a structure that involves the use of political, diplomatic, security, economic and development interventions, governed by the rule of law in pursuit of sustainable security in the society. “The need for this approach in the management of national security challenges in Nigeria is made even more urgent by the fact that threats to security in Nigeria have evolved over time. “As the 2015 general elections draw nearer, there is need for a comprehensive approach to national security management.”
Abubakar advised that lessons be learnt from the crisis that engulfed some northern states shortly after the presidential elections of 2011. He also noted that trends in international security environment had become very complex and was associated with risks and threats spanning terrorism, transnational organised crimes, natural and humanitarian disasters. He said such risks and threats could no longer be addressed by military means alone.
“This, therefore, calls for a more robust and comprehensive approach to security management in ways that bring all the stakeholders on board to ensure better service delivery,” he said. Abubakar called for the establishment of a comprehensive National Security Strategy and Joint Information Centre in the country.
