EADER of the terrorist Islamic sect, Boko
Haram, Abubakar Shekau, has re-designated Gwoza town that was seized by
his men last Thursday as an Islamic caliphate.
Shekau announced the declaration that Gwoza had become an Islamic caliphate in a video obtained by the Agence France-Press on Sunday.
The terrorist also vowed that his group would not leave the town.
“Thanks be to Allah who gave victory to
our brethren in the town of Gwoza and made it part of the Islamic
caliphate. By the grace of Allah, we will not leave the town. We have
come to stay,” Shekau said in the 52-minute video.
In a July video, Shekau had voiced
support for the leader of the Islamic State militants, Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi, who in late June declared himself “the caliph” and “leader
of Muslims everywhere.”
The AFP report however said it was not
clear if Shekau was declaring himself to be a part of Baghdadi’s call or
if he was referring to a separate Nigerian caliphate.
In the 19th century, a Sokoto caliphate
was proclaimed across most of the modern day northern Nigeria and was
considered separate from other Islamic kingdoms, such as the Ottoman
Empire.
There was no indication that Shekau was
actually in Gwoza for the filming and his whereabouts remained unknown
but he vowed that his fighters would keep control of the area.
The United Nations humanitarian office had earlier in the month confirmed reports that Gwoza was under rebel control.
Boko Haram is also believed to be in
control of other areas near Gwoza in southern Borno, as well as large
swathes of territory in northern Borno and at least one town in
neighbouring Yobe State.
Experts have described Boko Haram’s gains
in recent weeks as unprecedented, saying the group was closer than ever
to achieving its goal of carving out a strict Islamic state across
northern Nigeria.
A major military offensive at the onset
of the emergency rule in May last year appeared to put the militants on
the defensive, flushing them out of their strongholds.
But critics say top brass failed to sustain the pressure and allowed the Islamists to retake some of the areas they had abandoned.
In an apparent mutiny, some troops rejected deployment in Gwoza last week because of lack of adequate weapons.
Show of power
After Shekau’s speech and in demonstrating their being in control of Gwoza, insurgents were seen, in the video, atop pick-up trucks firing rocket-propelled grenades and other heavily armed insurgents firing weapons as they walk calmly along the road.
The footage appears to show them taking
over a military base, stealing weapons and hundreds of rounds of
ammunition as well as fuel cans.
In one frame, a fighter stands on top of a tank, waving the Islamists’ black flag.
The AFP reports that the end of the video depicted scenes of grisly executions, similar to those released by IS in recent weeks.
In one scene, about 20 men in civilian
clothing are shown with their hands tied behind their backs and lying by
the roadside before they are shot at close range.
A second scene shows two men, whom Shekau
said disguised themselves as women to escape the town, beaten to death
with shovels. Two others similarly dressed are shot beside what appears
to be a trench full of bodies.
Military denies takeover
The military authorities meanwhile have
debunked the claim by Shekau that he had declared Gwoza the seat of a
new caliphate in the North-East.
The Director of Defence Information, Maj.
Gen Chris Olukolade, said in the Defence Headquarters Twitter handle
twitter.com/DefenceInfoNG that the military would not allow any part of
the country to be ceded to the insurgents.
Olukolade described the declaration by Shekau as empty, insisting that the territorial integrity of Nigeria was intact.
He said that a military operation to retake Gwoza was underway.
He said, “The claim is empty. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Nigerian state is still intact.
“Any group of terrorists laying claim to
any portion of the country will not be allowed to get away with the
expression of delusion and crime.
“Appropriate military operations to secure that area from the activities of the bandits are still ongoing.”
Insurgents seize 200 rifles
Meanwhile, investigations have revealed
that 200 AK 47 assault rifles belonging to the police were carted away
by the Boko Haram insurgents, who attacked the Police Academy in Gwoza last Wednesday.
About 159 of the guns were seized from
men of the three mobile police units— Mopol 50, Abuja; Mopol 38 and
Mopol 58 based in Akwanga, and Lafia respectively, who were undergoing
training at the academy.
It was learnt that the authorities resumed
the suspended training with the batch of 159 personnel from the Police
Mobile Force only for them to be attacked a week into the exercise.
Fifty-three policemen were drafted from
each of the three mobile police formations, thereby bringing the total
number to 159 aside from those on the ground.
Before the attack on the police academy,
the riot policemen, investigations further revealed, had been instructed
to keep all their arms in the armoury hence the insurgents did not
encounter any strong resistance.
The policemen reportedly fled for their lives in view of no arm to confront the terrorists.
A security source said that the arms and
ammunition, which the mobile policemen submitted at the armoury included
AK 47 assault rifles.
Missing policemen
A Unit Commander, an Assistant
Superintendent of Police, who is from the South-South zone (name
withheld, was said to be among the policemen missing after the attack on
Gwoza.
The missing commander was part of the Mopol 58 team from Lafia.
The source said, “A total of 159
personnel were taken to the training academy for this exercise, which
had been put on hold for a long time.
“Surprisingly, they were attacked on Wednesday, about a week after their resumption for the training in Gwoza.
“The policemen were taken from Mopol 50, Abuja, Mopol 38, Akwanga and Mopol 58, Lafia, Nasarawa State.
“On that Wednesday, when they were
attacked, the training was going on and they were directed to keep all
their guns at the armoury.
“It was during this period that the insurgents came from different directions, cut the men off from the Armoury.
“Under that circumstance, what do you expect the boys to do? They had to flee the academy to save their lives.
“As of today, we have not seen one of our
units; also the Commander of one of the unit is still missing. He is an
Assistant Superintendent of Police.”
One of our correspondents learnt that the insurgents were still in firm control of the Police Academy as of Sunday.
Investigations revealed that Special Forces were being mobilised to retake the police academy on Sunday.
A security source said that troops were already on their way to Gwoza to address the issue.
Tension in Nasarawa
There was anxiety in Nasarawa State on Sunday over the missing policemen of Mopol 58, Lafia; and Mopol 38, Akwanga.
Some of the survivors of the attack on
Gwoza, who found their way back to the state, said a few of their
colleagues fled to Chad, Cameroon and the Niger Republic.
When one of our correspondents got to
Mopol 58, along Lafia-Makurdi Road and 38 Squadron in Akwanga Local
Government Area at 4pm on Saturday, he saw a police van that brought
some policemen who escaped.
Some policemen were also seen in groups
in the barracks and at the gate of Mopol 58 discussing the fate of their
colleagues at Gwoza.
The attack at Gwoza, some of them said,
invoked the memory of the Alakio episode in the Lafia Local Government
Area where over 120 security operatives were murdered by suspected
Ombatse militia cult.
One of the survivors, who spoke to The PUNCH and pleaded for anonymity, said they saw hell in the hands of the Boko Haram insurgents.
He said, “When we got to Gwoza, we were
asked to drop our guns and go into the hall. When all of us were in the
hall, Boko Haram came from nowhere and opened fire on us. I and others
ran into the bush. We saw hell, I don’t know how I managed to escape.”
he narrated.
Confirming the incident to The PUNCH on
the telephone, the Commissioner of Police in Nasarawa State Command,
Ibrahim Idris, said the policemen went for training in Borno State but
that he did not have the knowledge of what actually took place in Gwoza.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ojukwu, could not confirm the number of missing rifles.
He, however, noted that investigation to unearth the circumstances surrounding the attack was underway.
When asked if it was standard procedure
for trainee policemen at the academy to be asked to drop their weapons,
Ojukwu said he did not know if the riot policemen were ordered to drop
their weapons.
He said that all standard procedures must have been complied with by the management of the academy.
I don’t know if the trainees were asked
to drop their weapons, but I know that all standard procedures must have
been complied with. But like I said, we have launched an investigation
into the attack, so I don’t have much information in the situation right
now,” he said.
Meanwhile, the police have denied that it planned to ask the military to secure its facilities.
They added that they were only collaborating with them to fight the insurgency in parts of the country.
Ojukwu said, “It is correct that the
police are collaborating with other security agencies to provide
adequate protection for our formations in the troubled parts of the
Northeast sub-region.
“We are well able to discharge our
constitutional and statutory responsibilities, and deliver quality
service to the good people of Nigeria. The Nigeria Police is your helper
and friend. Let us work together to reclaim the glory of our land.”
