By Vincent Ikuomola, Okodili Ndidi, Abuja and Lucas Ajanaku The Army has raised the alarm that many repentant Boko Haram fighters ar...
By Vincent Ikuomola,
Okodili Ndidi, Abuja and Lucas Ajanaku
The Army has raised the alarm that many repentant Boko Haram
fighters are backsliding and subverting the war against the insurgents and
bandits.
The Theatre Commander of ‘Operation Hadin Kai’, Maj.-Gen.
Christopher Musa, disclosed that ‘repentant’ sect members, who have surrendered
to troops have ulterior motive.
Also, the Federal Government has expressed worry over the
activities of terrorists, bandits and other non-state actors using the
country’s non-commercial radio frequency spectrum without licence and payment
of appropriate fees.
Miffed by the increasing activities of terrorists in the
sub-region, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said the
worsening insecurity could undermine regional integration and stability.
It was also learnt that foreign donors are sustaining the
Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Maj.-Gen. Musa, disclosed that 20,000 insurgents have laid
down arms in the Northeast. The cpmmander, who spoke on the sidelines of the
Chief of Army Staff Conference in Abuja, said the new challenge is what to do
with the repented terrorists.
He said: “We have over 20,000 combatants and their families
surrendered. This tells you there is something we are doing right. What we do
with them after surrendering is our next focus. The expectation is that after
all have surrendered, then, everything will fizzle out. But, that is not the
case.
“Frankly speaking, for us, this is a good development.
“A lot of people have
been thinking and also expressing mixed feelings, if at all the news is true.
Of course, there are some insurgents who truly wish to surrender, but we cannot
jettison the fact that some of them do have ulterior motives.
“Like I said, to us, this is good and if we follow it
through in the right way, then, we may begin to see the end of this insurgency
sooner than we actually think.”
Gen. Musa explained why the terror group has remained lethal
after the death of its leader, Abubakar Shekau.
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