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| Members of JTF Operation Pulo Shield |
By: Innocent Anaba,
Ikechukwu Nnochiri & Ndahi Marama
MAIDUGURI— Joint Task Force, JTF, weekend, killed no fewer
than 50 suspected terrorists in Zabarmari Ward of Jere Local Government Area of
Borno State, Maiduguri metropolis.
Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, has
issued a report, accusing the JTF and
the Jama’atu ahlus sunnah lid da’awati wal jihad, JALISWAJ, otherwise known as
Boko Haram, of complicity in the massacre that recently took place at Baga, a
community in Borno State.
Also, three suspected terrorists who were on their way to
Jigawa State and other areas in the North with the aim of unleashing terror
were arrested at the Borno Express Motor park on Saturday by volunteer youths
a.k.a Civilian JTF.
Speaking on the suspected terrorists killed by men of the
JTF, a security source said: “Over the weekend, we received an intelligence
report that several Boko Haram terrorists have regrouped and were residing or
hiding in Zabarmari Ward. We then mobilized our troops to the area, and on
reaching the place, the suspected terrorists upon noticing our presence, began
to shout ‘Allahu Akbar’ (Allah is Great) and started shooting at the JTF
troops. We had no option than to repel the attacks while we succeeded in
killing about 10 of the suspects.
“We decided not to take away any of their corpses as we left
them in the area, but the following day when we mobilized our men to the area,
we found out that hundreds of the terrorists were at one of the grave yards
burying their dead members, and when we approached, some of them started
shooting at our troops which led to the exchange of gun fire. We succeeded in
killing over 40 of them.
“As I am talking to you now, our men are still in Zabarmari
hunting for any suspected terrorists who might have escaped the deadly
encounter”.
On the arrest of three suspected Boko Haram members who were
on a suicide mission to Jigawa and other states in the North, the source said:
“The men of the JTF are highly delighted with the zeal/effort being put in
place by the vigilante youths popularly called Civilian JTF. Just yesterday,
they were able to arrest three suspected Boko Haram suspects at the Borno
Express motor park.
“They later handed them over to the JTF unit, and after
torture, one of them who is now dead, said, they were from Bama Local
Government Area on a suicide mission to Jigawa and other states in the North.
In fact, the deceased before his death told us that, already, all their weapons
of massive destruction have been transported to the target areas awaiting their
arrival before they ran out of luck.”
The source added that though one of the arrested suspects
was unconscious after the torture, the other suspect who seemed to be in stable
condition promised to take JTF members to Bama to show them some of their
members’ hideout.
Due to the total shut down of GSM network services in Borno
State for almost two months, the JTF Spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa
and the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Gideon Jubrin could not be reached
for confirmation.
Baga killings: NHRC indicts JTF, Boko Haram
Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, has
accused JTF and the Boko Haram sect, of
complicity in the massacre that recently took place at Baga.
In an interim assessment report on the Baga incident of
April 16 and the situation in the North-East region, the commission warned
about a looming humanitarian crisis in the area.
Besides, NHRC said it has established that it was members of
the Boko Haram sect that initially carried out multi-faceted attacks on law
enforcement agents.
According to the report, “In addition to systematic attacks
on law enforcement and internal security assets; JALISWAJ, is also credibly
alleged to have attacked communities, churches and places of worship.
“Victims reported the shooting of family members by young men
who spoke the local Kanuri language. In
many communities, women were reportedly prevented from going to the farms. Some
who ventured were attacked or abducted.”
The commission also said that it found incidents of forced
marriage perpetrated by members of the sect and spoke with witnesses whose
family members were abducted and forced into marriage.
On the part of the JTF, the commission, said it received
several credibly attested allegations of gross violations by officials of the
JTF, including allegations of summary executions, torture, arbitrary detention
amounting to internment and outrages against the dignity of civilians, as well
as rape.
“In particular, we have received persistent and credibly
attested allegations of indiscriminate disposal of dead human remains by
personnel of both JTF and the Borno State Environmental Protection Agency
(BOSEPA).”
NHRC accused the JTF of indiscriminately detaining people,
thus abridging their constitutionally guaranteed rights.
“Detainees are allegedly held in un-gazetted places of
detention, with no or inadequate documentation and outside the safeguards
provided for under applicable laws, including the Constitution of Nigeria and
the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
“They are not allowed access to family, counsel or medical
personnel,” the commission alleged.
It explained that most of the allegations against JTF
related to the question of proportionality of the use of force vis-à-vis
standards applicable to the conduct of the armed forces in internal security
operations.
However, the commission urged the federal government to
constantly ensure the rotation and renewal of troops deployed in the north-east
with a view to allowing members of such troops to have enough rest and
recuperate.
The report noted that the farming communities of Borno State
lost the 2013 planting season due to fear of Boko Haram attacks.
“The consequences of this are far-reaching. The immediate
result is the likelihood of a food security and nutritional crises in Borno and
surrounding states that dependent on the. Agricultural output from its Lake
Chad Basis,” the report added.
It called on the federal government to urgently deploy
mitigation mechanisms in order to avert a food security and nutritional crisis
in the area.
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