Nothing puts greater timbre on the parlous state of security
in the country than the denudation of the virtual hedges and moats around the
Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and the disarray of the phalanx of boots in
the city. Abuja was once assumed to be impregnable and residents lived with a
false sense of security. But the terrorist blitzes in the national’s capital in
2013 and 2014 jolted many out of the reverie.
With the dawning of the Buhari administration, the bombing
in the city petered out. The security forces also appeared to have nicked the
insecurity in the north-east to subsidence at the time. I recall that in 2016,
Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, in a fit of showmanship presented a flag
reportedly retrieved from the last frontier of the insurgents to President
Muhammadu Buhari. But a few months after the “big show”, the insurgency metastasised.
What really happened?
As a matter of fact, the FCT enjoyed a bit of calm from
terrorism but with flickers of other crimes like armed robbery, one-chance
operations, rape and car-jacking. However, as the Buhari administration lost
its compass by sleight of abominable incompetence, the entire security bearing
of the city and the country caved in – from Borno, Kano, Katsina, Zamfara to
Niger, Kogi, and Nasarawa bandits expropriated pieces of earth.
While some of us in Abuja had looked on the devastation of
insurgency and banditry in other parts of the country from a ‘’safe’’ distance
and with a smirk of privilege, “the doom” comes right at our doors. Really, the
Buhari administration has failed spectacularly to secure Nigerians everywhere
and anywhere. The government has also failed to secure the very corners from
where it sits to preside over the country. What an extravagant failure!
Abuja is home to the headquarters of the DSS, the police, the army, the air force, the navy, the NIA, the DIA, and other security and paramilitary agencies. But right under the lenses of this octopus of agencies, bandits are attacking communities within the territory and on the fringes of the city. What a phenomenal shame! If they cannot secure their base and the areas around it with diligence, can they secure anywhere else in the country?
The DSS and the police, in particular, appear to be very
dutiful in combating civil protests and in arresting dissenters. This is while
the nation is taken up in galling insecurity. The expertise of these agencies
is demonstrable on the civilian population, not on those who have picked up
arms against the state.
Just a few days ago, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS)
issued an anticipatory warning to its officers, saying Boko Haram insurgents
had set up hotbeds in Abuja and that they were oiling their cannons to launch
attacks on five locations across the nation’s capital.
In an internal memo, H.A. Sabo, comptroller of enforcement
at the customs headquarters, asked officers to be on the alert. He spelt out
the locations in Abuja, Kogi and Nasarawa where the nurseries of these
terrorists are bubbling.
“Information reaching the comptroller-general of customs
(CGC) reveals the existence of Boko Haram terrorist (BHTs) camps in and around
the Federal Capital Territory,” the memo read.
“Further reports have it that they are planning to attack
some selected targets within the territory. They are reported to have set up
their camps in the following identified enclaves: Kunyam Bush along airport
road, off DIA Staff Quarters – Abuja; Robochi/Gwagwalada forest; Kwaku forest,
Kuje, Abuja; Unaisha forest in Toto local government of Nasarawa state and Gegu
forest, close to Idu town in Kogi state.
“Consequently, you are to be at alert and security conscious of your environment at all times.’’
What is most disconcerting in the memo is the tone of
helplessness by the customs – “consequently, you are to be at alert and
security conscious of your environment at all times”. What could be more
dispiriting? If an agency in the security network is gripped by trepidation,
then it is a serious cause for alarm. We should all be worried.
On Thursday, bandits pushing violence in the Gwagwalada axis
of the FCT struck at Tunga Maje, a suburb of Abuja, reportedly kidnapping 20
people after a vehemence of brutality on the community. The community has
become a select victim of the invaders who attacked the area some weeks ago.
What is telling about the recent attack is that it happened just days after the
customs’ memo was reported. There is no reprieve from torment for the residents
of Tunga Maje who have to endure intolerable trauma. The government has failed
them just as it has failed other Nigerians in states under the reign of bandits
and insurgents.
Also, there have been coordinated attacks by bandits in
other parts of the FCT – in Kuje where a traditional ruler was kidnapped and in
Pegi where nine people including a 12-year-old were abducted. And with every
successful onslaught, these gunmen are revivified and excited to inch into the
city centre. There have been three reported attacks on a road in Life Camp so
far.
Insecurity anywhere should concern us all. First, the
security crisis was localised in Borno, then it mushroomed in Yobe, Bauchi and
Adamawa; it took the form of banditry in the north-west, and now it is
metastasising in the north-central — with Abuja as a trophy target. We must not
discount insecurity anywhere. We are all potential victims.
One thing stands out: The Buhari administration has failed
on security in all axes – even in its house!
Fredrick Nwabufo is a writer and journalist
Twitter @FredrickNwabufo
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