Last week, the Department of State Services confirmed the obvious with the arrest of 20 suspected Boko Haram commanders in Lagos and Enugu (South), Plateau, Kano and Gombe states (North). The DSS claims that it has arrested 12 Boko Haram operatives in Lagos since July, and executed sundry arrests in Enugu. It says that the spread of Boko Haram’s activities is the result of increased pressure from the military in the North-East, Boko Haram’s operational base.

“The sudden influx of Boko Haram members into Lagos State points is due to the determination of the sect to extend its nefarious terrorist activities to the state and, in fact, to other parts of the country,” the DSS said. An ideal response to this danger should entail a highly coordinated strategy involving local, state, and federal forces.

Boko Haram belongs to an all-destroying religious sect with an amazing capacity to mutate and change tactics.Since March, the Nigerian military have been taking the battle to Boko Haram, liberating the territories the terrorists occupied in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states since mid-2014. After a lull, the military have redoubled their efforts, conducting major ground and aerial operations in Sambisa Forest in Borno State, used as base by the insurgents to terrorise the North-East.

As a result, the radical Salafist Boko Haram elements are fleeing the theatre of war so as to spread their evil sphere of influence. With inter-state transportation left to little official scrutiny and regulation, coupled with Nigeria’s advancing communication network, the extremists, just like their al-Shabab, al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Syria and Levant counterparts, are moving across local and international borders with seamless ease.

And even when they are on the move, their goal remains supreme. Battle-hardened and well-trained under adverse conditions, their faith in their ability to cause mayhem is undiminished. “They are willing to strike targets outside their immediate area. This underscores the nature of contemporary terrorism,” says John Moore, a former terrorism analyst with America’s State Department. They will stop at nothing until they achieve this mistaken mission, which is to re-establish the Muslim State throughout the world. A giant step towards this is to wreak havoc on Southern Nigeria, especially Lagos.

The latest inroads by these soldiers of jihad are a reminder of the previous attempts by Boko Haram to gain a foothold in the South. In February 2013, DSS operatives arrested one terror suspect, Abdullahi Berende, who hails from Kwara State, in Lagos. He and his accomplice were spying on American and Israeli targets in Lagos for Iran. A month later, DSS and military officers arrested two others, including a Chadian, at the Ijora area of Lagos. The agents discovered a bomb, AK-47 rifles, cartridges and daggers in the ceiling of their apartment.

Acting on a tip-off, the police in Ogun State arrested a self-confessed Boko Haram insurgent, Giraima Suri, 22, in Kara, an Ogun border community with Lagos State, in July 2014. But the real panic came in June 2014 when the police, with the help of a vigilant private security man, uncovered bombs at the premises of Winners’ Chapel in Owerri, capital of Imo State. The bombs had been primed to detonate at the peak of that morning church service before they were defused. In neighbouring Abia State, the military apprehended 486 Boko Haram suspects in the same month. But politics took over and the matter was swept under the carpet. The trial of most terror suspects go on for far too long.

But how long can we sustain this hit-and-run method of crushing these perverts who take pleasure in unleashing horrific attacks in the name of religion? The ability of the Federal Government to prevent, deter, defeat and respond decisively to Boko Haram terrorist attacks against our citizens is one of the most challenging priorities facing the country today.
According to the US State Department, there were 9,707 terrorist attacks worldwide in 2013, causing 17,800 deaths, more than 32,500 injuries, with 2,990 hostages taken. Though there are more than 50 known terror groups in the world, only three jihadist organisations – Taliban, ISIS and Boko Haram – were responsible for 5,665 of the deaths.

There must be a concerted effort by a number of federal departments and agencies to achieve this goal. Chad, our northern neighbour, bared its fangs against the jihadists when it executed 10 Boko Haram convicts by firing squad, just two months after they carried out twin terror attacks on N’djamena, the country’s capital, in June. Cameroon has also been moving swiftly against Boko Haram anytime it crosses into its territory from Nigeria.

The Nigerian authorities should, therefore, employ the same promptness in dealing with terrorists. The Nigerian state must decide on what to do with religious sects that preach hate and terror. Intelligence sharing is vital. The Federal Government should work with all appropriate elements, including state governments and other non-state actors to ensure integrated and effective counter-terrorism efforts throughout the country. Boko Haram terrorism leaves us with no choice but to face it headlong.

http://www.punchng.com/editorials/boko-haram-at-southern-nigerias-doorstep/

The Lord is my shepherd

Really

Tell them there is no hiding place for them here in the south.