The Federal Government has placed some states in the North on a comprehensive security surveillance following intelligence reports that some members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect may avenge the death of their leader, Abubakar Shekau.
Also, National Mirror learnt last night that the action became necessary to forestall any breach of the peace by hoodlums who might want to perpetrate violent crimes in the name of the sect.
“As I speak to you now, our men have been placed on the alert. Some states considered as flashpoints are also under strict surveillance because we know that some of the fleeing insurgents may want to launch more vicious attacks in order to restate their relevance,” said a senior operative of the State Security Service, SSS, who would not want his name mentioned.
The Joint Task Force, JTF, in Maiduguri had on Monday said that Shekau might have died due to fatal injuries he sustained in a clash with government forces.
Some of the states that are currently under renewed surveillance are those in the North-East and others, includingKano, Sokoto, Kaduna and Niger. Curiously, Kogi also made the list.
There has been no official confirmation of the emergency security measures as the police said such measures would be covert.
Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, had in an earlier chat with journalists in Abuja stated that those strategies would not be disclosed.
Apart from series of ongoing undercover operations involving most of the security agencies, there would also be an increased deployment of troops in the states under focus, “as their presence is likely to deter crime”.