Terrorism: Army To Kick Civilians Out Of Barracks
THE
military has commenced the mass eviction of civilians from barracks across the
country, Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, said on Thursday.
The
eviction of non-soldiers from barracks is coming on the heels of two
successful attacks by suspected terrorists in the first two days of this
week.
Two
car bombers had on Sunday struck at the St. Andrew Military Protestant Church
inside the prestigious Armed Forces Command and Staff College, in Jaji,
near Kaduna. The college houses the officers and men of the Infantry
Centre and School as well as the Nigerian Army Peace Keeping Centre .
Also
on Monday, gunmen, numbering 40, launched an attack on the office of the
Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Abuja, where suspects were being held. Two
policemen and one of the gunmen were killed in the incident.
Ihejirika
said at the closing of the Chief of Army Staff Annual Conference in Asaba,
Delta State, that he had already issued a directive to commanders in charge of
military formations to take immediate action in ridding the military formations
of illegal occupants.
The
COAS also warned that the leadership of the Army would ensure that reported
lapses were treated decisively.
He
said, “That one (purging the barracks of illegal occupants) is obvious. I have
already informed the commanders and they know. The commanders would not wait
for the Chief of Army Staff before taking action. Rather, from next week, I
want to see action in respect of illegal squatters and similar things.”
The
Commander in charge of Army Engineering, Maj. Gen. Olaniyi, who took the last
presentation at the conference, had called attention to the fact that barracks
being rehabilitated were accommodating a large number of civilians in places
like the Ikeja Cantonment and Asaba.
Olaniyi,
who said that the Ojo Cantonment had become haven for criminals, warned that
unless decisive steps were taken, even foreigners would be more than soldiers
in some rehabilitated barracks.
He
had said that the number of civilians living in the cantonment was even more
than that of soldiers.
Ihejirika
insisted that the bombing at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College was
avoidable, stressing that absence a perimeter fence did not offer any commander
an excuse to allow such an incident to happen.
He
said that about 80 of the barracks in the country had not been fenced and urged
the commanders to put in their best in the area of intelligence gathering and
security maintenance.
Meanwhile,
Ihejirika has promised Nigerians “a more comprehensive action by the military
and all the security agencies” in 2013.
He
said that the military would be decisive in 2013, stressing that it was part of
the decision of the conference that unit commanders must pay more
attention to effective liaison, supervision and monitoring of personnel under
them.
The
COAS said, “Nigerians should expect more comprehensive action by the military
and all the security agencies. Part of the decisions arrived at is that unit
commanders should liaise more and they should supervise and monitor their
personnel more closely than they had done in the past. So 2013 would be
decisive.”
He
said that the Nigerian Army had been collaborating with other security
agencies, including the Nigerian Police, the Nigerian Intelligence Agency and
foreign bodies to enhance intelligence gathering and dissemination.
He
said the conference also agreed on the need for “national intelligence fusion”
to enhance intelligence gathering.
He
said, “The conference also emphasised the need for national intelligence
fusion. What it means is that all the various measures are going to be fast
tracked to ensure that intelligence is further enhanced.
“And
you should know that it is a running battle because the people you are fighting
are people within the country. So they know what measures you are even taking.
They know that. So that is why I also drew the attention of commanders to
devise new tactics in dealing with the problem.
“Certain
groups are going to be set up too to monitor the commanders in the field and,
no mistake about it, command responsibility is one area we will emphasise more
next year.”
Ihejirika
also ordered the painting of all operational vehicles of the Nigerian Army
donated by state governments, corporate bodies, in Army colour.
He
also said that the different uniforms of the Army should be used only for
authorised specified activities.
Also
on Thursday, the Agence
France Presse reported that Boko Haram
leader, Abubakar Shekau, had expressed solidarity with global jihadists, saying
the United States and Britain “should witness that we are with our mujahedeen
brothers.”
Shekau,
in the 39-minute video posted on jihadists forum, was quoted to have said
in Arabic that,”The world should witness, and America, Britain, Nigeria and
other crusaders, meaning America and Britain, should witness, and the Jews of
Israel who are killing the Muslims in Palestine should witness… that we are
with our mujahedeen brothers in the cause of Allah everywhere.”
Source:
Punch
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