Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) of the Nigerian Army has expressed concerns over the growing use of armed drones by the Boko Haram terrorists in the North East, warning that such tactics are difficult to detect using conventional radar systems.
Amid the rising insecurity in the country, the Nigeria Youth Forum (NYF) rejected the security summit being planned by the Senate and passed a no confidence vote in the National Assembly.
Relatedly, the Coalition of Arewa Civil Society Organisations (CSO) called on Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State to take decisive action in addressing the insecurity bedevilling the state.
The Theatre Commander of OPHK, Maj-Gen Abdulsalam Abubakar, disclosed this, yesterday, during a briefing in Maiduguri, Borno State. He explained that some of the drones being deployed by the insurgents were similar to the ones used by Israel and Ukraine.
According to Abubakar, while the military has recorded significant successes in recent weeks, terrorist groups have also evolved in their strategies, taking advantage of regional instability and technological access.
The situation in Nigeria, he added, is closely linked with the broader instability in the Sahel region.
He said: “However, what is happening in Nigeria is not unconnected to the situation in the greater Sahel region whereby our neighbouring countries are being ransacked and weapons carted away. These weapons find their way into Nigeria, into our large cross-border areas, thereby re-energising the fight.
“Two years ago, we were ready to say the conflict was over, but the deterioration in security among the Sahel states has affected us. Despite this progress, the terrorists have also adapted.” Abubakar reported significant progress in the region, noting that over 20,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned to their ancestral homes due to the positive results from the troops’ operations.
While accusing the lawmakers of playing politics while Nigeria bled, the forum lamented that the country was drifting dangerously towards anarchy, as killings, abductions and terrorist activities continued unabated.
The Senate had resolved to hold a two-day national security summit to brainstorm on the rising wave of killings and other forms of insecurity in the country.
The decision followed a motion sponsored by Sen Jimoh Ibrahim (APC, Ondo South) during the plenary session.
But the forum’s National President, Toriah Filani, in a statement, yesterday, rejected the security summit, dismissing it as a repetitive and ineffective measure that never produced meaningful results. Filani described the killings in Benue, Zamfara, Katsina, Borno and Plateau states, and emerging terror-linked groups in Kwara State, as a coordinated assault on national stability.
He stated: “We have no confidence whatsoever in the National Assembly’s proposed security summit. It will amount to another round of talk shows and hollow communiqués. If the President had sacked just one General Officer Commanding (GOC) or Commissioner of Police (CP) over the atrocities in these states, others would have sat up by now.”
CONVENER of the coalition, Aminu Arabi, during a briefing at Arewa House in Kaduna, told Governor Lawal to focus on improving the gains of the previous administration, rather than engaging in a blame game.
According to Arabi, as a coalition of more than 65 civil society organisations in Northern Nigeria, we have a duty to our society to address issues that border on the region’s development, be it political, social or religious.
He said: “We have observed that, since the assumption of office, Governor Lawal, a man who contested elections with a clear manifesto and blueprint, has suddenly become noisy, and overtly obsessed with the administration of his predecessor without anything tangible to show for the huge allocations coming into the state.”
THE GUARDIAN
