President Goodluck Jonathan appears set to
boost the strength of the military in the
insurgency infested North-east after
indications emerged that about 8,000 troops
are being sent there. The troops, according to security sources, will
form the nucleus of an army division to be
established in Maiduguri, Borno State capital. Sunday Vanguard was made to understand at
the weekend that the need to establish the
new army division in the stronghold of the
Boko Haram Islamist group is to firm up the
successes recorded by special forces of the
Joint Task Force (JTF) which have reportedly dislodged the insurgents from the forests and
mountains of the North-east.
The move came to light barely 48 hours after
the United States (US) said security efforts
were necessary to protect innocent Nigerians,
prevent Boko Haram’s acts of violence, capture
and prosecute its leaders. The US Under Secretary of State, Wendy
Sherman, who gave the recipe to ending the
insurgency challenge in Nigeria on behalf of
her home government, spoke in Abuja at the
opening session of the US-Nigeria Bi-national
Commission’s Regional Security Cooperation Working Group on Thursday. Also yesterday, the Chairman of Police Service
Commission (PSC), Mr Mike Okiro, advocated
the establishment of a civil force to
complement the efforts of security agencies
at the grassroots to curb terrorism and other
crimes. Sunday Vanguard learnt that the new army
division to be domiciled in Maiduguri is tagged
7th Infantry Division and may have one General
Etnan as the General Officer Commanding
(GOC). The 8,000 troops to be deployed there,
according to sources, are made up of 7,000
troops from army headquarters brigade in Yola,
Adamawa State, the army headquarters brigade
(Mongonu) in Maiduguri, the battalion in Yobe
and the army headquarters brigade in Sokoto as well as the about 1,000 troops recalled from
operations in Mali. Sunday Vanguard was told that the new army
division will take over operations of securing
the entire North-east and seal off the border
axis between Nigeria and Niger, Chad and
Cameroon where intelligence has shown that
terrorists get their training and launch bombing attacks on Nigeria. Before the establishment of the division which
Sunday Vanguard gathered was on the
recommendation of the Chief of the Army
Staff, Lt. General Oyeabor Azubuike Ihejirika,
parts of the Area of Responsibility (AOR) were
under the 1st Infantry Division of the army in Kaduna, which has Major General Garba Wahab
as GOC and 3rd Armoured Division in Jos which
has Major General Awala as GOC. Asked about the fate of the Major General
Ewansiha led JTF in Maiduguri, with the
establishment of the new division, a source
said the JTF will work hand in hand with the new
division, adding, however, that it (JTF) is an
interim force which most likely will be scaled down after the first phase (6 months) of the
state of emergency had achieved its
objectives. Meanwhile, Sunday Vanguard gathered, also at
the weekend, that the Nigerian Airforce Strike
Group with headquarters in Yola, Adamawa
State, where some attack aircraft of the
Tactical Air Command are stationed, is to be
upgraded with the injection of more fighter and patrol aircraft as well as helicopter
gunships. The upgrade became necessary, according to
sources, to provide air cover and patrols over
the vast and dense forests of the North-east
where Boko Haram insurgents held sway for
months, hoisting their flags, claiming
territories and collecting taxes from Nigerians. Towards this end, it was gathered that the
Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Alex Sabundu
Badeh, has directed the relocation of some
patrol and surveillance aircraft from the 81 Air
Maritime Command in Benin, and the Special
Operations Group in Port Harcourt to Yola. Some Alpha jets will also leave Kainji for Yola. The PSC Chairman, Okiro, advocating the
establishment of a civil force to complement
the operations of security agencies, yesterday,
believes the force, under the supervision of
the police, will curtail terrorism and other
criminal activities at the grassroots. The former Inspector General of Police (IGP)
spoke at the Corporate Council on Africa in
Washington, US. The Corporate Council, which
has on its membership Nigerians in diaspora,
had invited him to deliver a lecture during a
round table discussion on civil security in Nigeria. Citing the civilian JTF in Borno State, he noted
that “the positive impact of the youth civilian
volunteer group in Borno State justifies such
reasoning.” Okiro based his belief on the principle of the
American Homeland Security, stressing that
the operation of the civil security force should
be in line with Bahama and Sri-Lanka models,
which are under the command of the police.
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