Boko Haram talks tough •We’ll continue fighting until... •Denies losing members in Baga market incident

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Boko Haram talks tough •We’ll continue fighting until... •Denies losing members in Baga market incident

Written by Chris Agbambu, James Bwala and Isaac Shobayo Wednesday, 22 February 2012

FOLLOWING the attack on Baga Fish Market in Maiduguri on Monday by suspected members of the Boko Haram sect, spokesman for the sect, Abul Qaqa has said the sect would continue to fight until its demand are met.

He told newsmen in a telephone interview on Tuesday that the claims of the JTF spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Hassan Mohammed, that his men succeeded in killing eight of the sect members in the gun battle at the market was not true, as the military was only trying to hide its weaknesses in the face of truth.

He added that none of its members was killed in the clash, but that the sect succeeded in killing its targets.

According to Qaqa, the sect was growing stronger by the day despite the arrest of some of its top shots by the security agencies recently.

He noted that the group was also disappointed with the men of the State Security Service (SSS), who are currently interrogating the sect’s arrested kingpins, Abul Dardaa and Kabiru Sokoto. He claimed that some of the revelations by the SSS that one of the arrested members revealed that the group was factionalised following a disagreement on sharing N41 million was totally untrue, as it was aimed at tarnishing the image of the sect.

Qaqa said his group was strong and its members would remain as one family with common goal to Islamise Nigeria based on Allah’s guidance and protection and, as such, it would continue to regroup and fight until victory was certain.

Qaqa also denied the claim which was widely publicised, of an “ongoing secret dialogue between its group and the Federal Government” to end the terror unleashed on the people in its quest to Islamise the northern part of the country.

He said the group was not into negotiation with any government to end its violence as claimed by Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima, who granted an interview to an international medium last week.

He maintained that for the group to engage in dialogue with government, all its earlier demands which hinge on the immediate release of all its members in custody of the security agencies, among others, must be granted without further delay, as, according to him, anything short of that would amount to more terror as the country would continue to witness threats and attacks from the sect.

In another development, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin, on Tuesday, disclosed that the military justice system might be deployed in arresting the current threats to national security by the Boko Haram sect and other militant groups in the country.

Petinrin said the Armed Forces were taking measures to address the scepticism that tainted the court-martial system of the military, vis-a-vis the civil criminal justice administrative system.

Petinrin, represented by the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ola Ibrahim, stated this in Abuja at the opening of a four-day seminar on Military Law and Development of Commander/Legal Officer Relationship.

He said court–martial decisions in the nation were condemned as a result of the perceived unlawful command influence and other sundry irregularities.

“As a result of these, most of the cases are nullified by the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court in most cases.

“In line with the transformation agenda of the Armed Forces, however, the services are taking proactive measures to ensure that court martial enjoys desired independence and impartiality during proceedings,” he said.

The CDS also explained that efforts were being stepped up to ensure that other rights of the accused were not violated during trial.
He noted that the subject matter of the seminar related directly to the current theme and global developments in the military justice system.

“In the unlikely event that Nigeria would engage in inter-state conflicts in the foreseeable future, efforts are now being channelled towards the development of capacities for dealing with evolving challenges such as terrorism menace, militancy, human trafficking and other gender/culture-based cross –border crimes.

He said the country’s involvement in several peace support operations across the globe required that service personnel should be abreast of the demands of military discipline during such operations.

According to him, this would stem the tide of violations that often characterised deployment of troops in crisis areas.

In his address, Rear Admiral Dele Ezeoba, the Chief of Administration at the Defence Headquarters, said law had been universally recognised and ideal for any community, society or organisation, as it provided a flag for enthronement of due process and the enthronement of justice within the polity.

Ezeoba noted that it was, therefore, imperative to affirm that the relationship between law and the citizens was clearly defined and established with obedience to extant rules and regulations.

He said it was within this context that the issue in discourse at the seminar would be premised on the establishment of a relationship between law as a concept and the authority that presided over contending issues.

In another development, the outgoing General Officer Commanding (GOC), 3 Armoured Division, Jos, Major-General Adamu Buba Marwa, has attributed his inability to spend more time with officers and soldiers of the Division during his tenure to the menace of Boko Haram and charged them to be security conscious.

Marwa, who stated this while addressing officers and men of the Division at the Maxwell Khobe Cantonment, Jos, said the menace of the sect forced him to relocate the headquarters of the Division to Gombe State with the aim of combating the sect.

He said this and other matters necessitated him to move the headquarters of the Division to Gombe for the national assignment to restore peace and security.

“Because of the activities of the Boko Haram sect, I had cause to move the headquarters to Gombe and I must also add that I am very proud of command officers and soldiers of their quality and calibre.”

He reminded officers and men of the division to always be at alert and security conscious, adding that this became necessary because of the activities of those who did not mean well for the country.

The outgoing GOC also stressed that the problem of the 3 Division areas was mainly that of threat to security.

“Anytime you wake up in the morning, you must also make sure that this barracks is secured. I do not want to bore you with any long speech. I am here to bid you farewell,” he said.

After addressing, officers and men of the Division at the Octopus Cinema, Marwa moved to the Administration Block of the Division where the handing and taking over ceremony took place.

He disclosed that he had known the new GOC, Major-General Jack Okechukwu Nwaogbo, for a very long time and urged officers and men of the Division to give the new GOC the necessary support.

He urged the new GOC to assume the role of a father in the Division in dealing with the officers and soldiers.

Responding, the new GOC, Nwaogbo, told the officers at the handing over that he became very close to the outgoing GOC in 1999 when he took over from him as the Assistant Director, Training, at the Defence Headquarters.

He pointed out that apart from the fact that Marwa was his senior in the Academy, he enjoyed tremendous and cordial relationship with him.

Nwaogbo stated that they found themselves in the same corps and had since worked together without any problem, adding that he had learnt a lot from him.

He described the taking over as a son stepping into his father’s shoes, congratulating him on his successful tenure as the GOC.

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