The National Security Adviser, General Andrew Owoye Azazi, has revealed that Boko Haram fighters, who have wreaked havoc in the North-East and North-West of the country got very professional training, and have links with militant organisations abroad.
General Azazi disclosed this in an interview published in the Financial Times of London at the weekend.
The Security Adviser disclosed that security forces had recovered training manuals written in Arabic, training videos and “martyr videos” recorded by Boko Haram suicide bombers.
He said, “I watched videos of their weapons training, which is very professional. They are also innovative in making IEDS [improvised explosive devices],” he said.
“I want to believe very strongly that there is outside assistance. We are thinking of al-Qaeda in the Maghreb.”
Explaining why it had been difficult for security forces to tackle the fighters, General Azazi said, “Crimes we were used to are armed robbery and car snatching. But Boko Haram has suicide bombers with explosives.”
He added that because of the porous borders of the country, the fighters could slip in and out of Nigeria with ease. He, however, foreclosed any dialogue with the group because he said Boko Haram is still faceless.
The State Security Service (SSS) last Friday announced the re-arrest of Kabiru Sokoto, the suspected bomber of the St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla in Niger State. It had earlier claimed to have arrested Abu Qaqa, a spokesman of the Boko Haram, but the controversial sect has continued to carry out attacks of police stations and offices of other security agencies. (Read more on Page 5).
Meanwhile, a former military governor of Kaduna State, Colonel Dangiwa Umar has debunked the allegation that some northern politicians are behind the activities of the Boko Haram sect, saying that it goes against common sense to believe such theory.
The colonel, who spoke with our correspondent on phone yesterday, maintained that it cannot be true that politicians who generally are out to gain public acceptance will engage in such acts that will jeopardize the interest of the same public.
According to him, 90% of human casualties in the various attacks by the sect are northerners, adding that the majority of the attacks were carried out in northern parts of the country, including Kano, Maiduguri, Borno, Bauchi and Yobe, among others.
He also pointed out that Kano state is an industrial and commercial nerve centre of the north, but that the activities of the sect have caused great havoc on the economy of the state.
“The economy of Kano has come to a standstill, so if Boko Haram is supported by northern politicians, it means northerners will be the first to identify, fish them out and attack them because they are the most affected victims. So I don’t think there is any politician who will, by this act, want to lose political popularity by using the Boko Haram to cause havoc in the north,” he said.
Col Umar stressed that there is need to look beyond the theory that some northern politicians are behind activities of Boko Haram.
On the issue of using empty cans to make explosives, he said that if can foods and drinks are banned as a way of stopping mischief makers from using them, the terrorists will find another means of carrying out their evil acts.
“If you ban cans, they will use bottles, if you ban bottles, they will look for another container,” he said.
He called on all security agencies and the general public to always be on the alert.
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