The Nigerian Government has described Thursday’s rocket attacks in Maiduguri by the Islamic State of West Africa Province, ahead of President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to the City as worrisome.
Hours before the visit of the President to Maiduguri, Borno State, on Thursday, multiple explosions rocked the capital with rockets landing on several houses around Ngomari, Bulumkutu and Ayafe, near the airport; where President Buhari was scheduled to address troops.
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The attacks were reportedly followed by a massive deployment of troops to battle with ISWAP elements and to foil the attack by the terrorists.
Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, while fielding questions from State House Correspondents at the end of an emergency security council meeting chaired by president Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Friday said the terrorists were however unable to achieve their objectives with the rocket attacks.
He also assured Nigerians that there is no cause for alarm over the alleged leaked memo where security intelligence revealed that terrorists have planned to attack the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, during the Yuletide.
He also revealed that the nature of criminality in the Southeast is responsible for the high presence of Police personnel on the roads.
The IGP who was in the company of the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, said, “They are launching it in major towns, they are launching it in Maiduguri. It is a concern. And it has been seriously checkmated. There are efforts to continuously checkmate it.
“What they have done yesterday (Thursday), yes, they have done it, but to a large extent, they have not achieved what they have intended to achieve because of the situation the security agencies particularly the military put in place.”
Asked whether the security agencies have traced the origins of the rockets, the IGP said it had been done before and after the firing incident occurred.
He said, “Yes, it had been done before and even after. Some of those who must have planned and thrown those rockets have been taken out.”
The IGP said that the security agencies are trying to improve on what they are already doing “to ensure there is peace, law and order during the Yuletide period and beyond.”
He reiterated the President marching orders to security agencies, which he said are always the same.
Baba explained that: “The marching orders are always the same, you have even told Nigerians the marching orders of the President. It has always been the same. There is no space, there is no tolerance to any threat to security. There is no sparing of any terrorists and there must be an intelligence gathering, there must be proactive prevention of crime and there must be checkmating of all those that are involved in criminal activities, whether it be terrorism, banditry or armed robbery or whatever and that is what we are trying to do to the best of our knowledge and ability.”
He also explained the heavy deployment of security personnel in the southeast saying that the deployment of security agents depends on the nature of the destination society.
He said the heavy police presence in the Southeast amidst rising cases of banditry in some parts of the North was as a result of the dense population of the region.
He said: “Where there are more people you have a problem of policing than where you don’t have. What we have in some of the states is a big landmass without actually having too many people.
“In some spaces, we have too many people in a small place. That means there is human interaction and you need to have policing there much more than what you have where you don’t have that number of people.”
The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, who led the briefing on the outcome of the security meeting, assured Nigerians that there is no threat to safety and security in the Federal Capital Territory.
Quizzed about the leaked memo of planned terrorist attacks, Aregbesola said: “Abuja is secure and very safe. If there was a leak, as you mentioned, it could just be an operational alert that does not require any worry or concern. The Council has mandated us to assure Nigerians of their safety, their security and enduring peace for the period of the festivities.”
The minister said the council had asked them to assure Nigerians that measures are in place to ensure their safety during the Christmas season and beyond.
He said, “The message of the Security Council, through you to Nigerians, is that all measures for the safety and security of the Nigerian people and Nigeria are in place for a successful and happy celebration of the yuletide and the New Year.”
Editor: Ebuwa Omo-Osagie
