The ‘boast’ of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Hafiz Ringim, that he would wipe out the dreaded Boko Haram sect from Nigeria within 10 days, beginning from last Tuesday, may have necessitated last Thursday’s attack on the Force Headquarters in Abuja by the Islamic fundamentalist group, Sunday Sun has learnt.

The group has therefore demanded not only an apology from the police boss but also his resignation.“I think the IGP should offer a public apology to Nigerians and thereafter resign his position because he caused the Abuja blast. He has also failed in his responsibility,” a Boko Haram source said.
The IGP had last Tuesday in Maiduguri while receiving vehicles, including 10 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) donated to it by the Borno State government, boasted that the sect’s days were numbered.

He had hardly left the state when the sect issued a statement that apparently drew the battle line between it and the IGP in particular and security operatives in the country in general, with the group threatening to extend its attacks to Abuja.

The source confided in Sunday Sun that the IGP was actually the target of the attack.
Said the source: “He (Ringim) was just lucky. Before the new Borno government came on board, the governor mooted the idea of a dialogue. When he was sworn in, he did not deviate. He was consistent.
“The President also talked about ‘stick and carrot’ approach. They were already considering all those options. If you remember, the first person who mooted the idea of amnesty for Boko Haram members was a former federal lawmaker from Borno, Dr Haruna Yerima. And these options were being considered.

“Now, the IGP has rubbished all the gains by his utterance. He knows the police do not have the kind of weapons these people have. Yet he was making all kinds of boast. So why didn’t he stop the Abuja blast?
“Look, Boko Haram’s intelligence is even more sophisticated than that of the police. You can imagine! He (Ringim) spoke on Tuesday and they struck on Thursday, just within 48 hours.

“I think government should continue on the path of dialogue with these people (Boko Haram) because if they (government) say they want to face them fire-for-fire, innocent souls will be lost. These people employ both conventional and unconventional war tactics, so it will be difficult to subdue them.”

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/june/19/national-19-06-2011-001.html