COAS Lagbaja and Army’s ‘New Onslaught’ Against IPOB Terrorists
By MUKHTAR Ya’u Madobi
He was not oblivious knowing that his job had already been cut out for him the very moment he got appointed as Nigeria’s 23rd Chief of Army Staff (COAS). As a result, Major General Taoreed Lagbaja did not waste time to take it upon himself to rid the country of its security debacles.
Prior to getting the Senate’s confirmation of the service chiefs’ appointment, Maj. Gen. Lagbaja hit the ground running by beginning to work out modalities on how to surmount security challenges in the country.
For example he held a series of meetings with Governors of Plateau, Zamfara, and Kaduna States, among others, which were aimed at outlining strategies on how to arrest disorders within those environs.
After a session with Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara, Lagbaja kicked against amnesty programmes for bandits and terrorists in the country, noting that it has failed to achieve its purpose in many states where it was instituted.
This is evident because, rather than repent, beneficiaries of such programmes see the programme as an avenue to regroup and attack innocent citizens.
The Army Chief also went ahead to meet with other relevant stakeholders in the security sectors on how to strengthen counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations across the the various war theaters in the country.
Another giant strides by the newly decorated Army boss is how he gave marching orders of military raid on identified enclaves of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) militants in the entire southeast region.
This standing order by the Lagbaja was timely and necessary as the lawlessness and miscreant activities of this proscribed group is continuously deteriorating the socio-economic, physical and emotional well-being of the southeastern region.
Recalled that the so-called secessionist group – IPOB, in recent years has been waging war against the Nigerian government, calling for the secession of the southeastern region from Nigeria to an independent nation, known as Biafra.
It is unfortunate that the group has been violent in the cause of their agitations, thereby killing security operatives, assassination of political leaders, business moguls and traditional leaders, burning down public properties, just to mention but few.
The group has also been adopting the act of enforcing sit-at-home order to residents across the northeastern region on specific days which is occasioned by closing down of schools, markets, businesses, banks and to some extent to include public offices. In fact, the situation is being accompanied by the entire closure of commercial activities on the affected days.
Now that Nnamdi Kanu is in detention, it is worrisome to learn that the so-called sit-at-home order is now being issued by another violent Pro-Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, at his comfort zone far away from Nigeria- Finland.
Ekpa, who is the self acclaimed Prime Minister of Biafra Republic Government In-Exile (BRGIE), has orchestrated the killing and maiming of innocent lives as well as destruction of public properties in the region through series of issuance and enforcement of sit-at-home orders.
The rough miscreant was also on the news last week as he tried to unleash another mayhem by issuing another two week long duration sit-at-home order- starting from 31 July, 2023 to 14 August, 2023.
In a swift move to contain this threat, the COAS Lagbaja quickly ordered troops to seize control of areas where the IPOB enforce their sit-at-home order throughout the South-East states.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, said that the troops of the 82 Division had been given an order to work with other security agencies to ensure citizens go about their businesses freely.
Onyema said, “The renewed threat by IPOB to compel the people in southeastern Nigeria to sit at home is not only appalling but a violation of the fundamental rights of southeastern Nigerians and, therefore, unlawful. This will never be condoned.”
As ordered by COAS Lagbaja the Nigerian Army should operate in synergy with other security agencies to ensure robust patrols to dominate all flashpoints and employ measures to ensure citizens are free to go about their legitimate businesses.
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A lot of promising lives were sent to their early graves by these lawless group all in the name of enforcing sit-at-home order which they believe is enough reason to intimidate and force the federal government to unconditionally release the leader of the proscribed group- Nnamdi Kanu who was detained and charged with terrorism, incitement of public disorders and felony among others.
Meanwhile, the militant wing of the group, known as the Eastern Security Network (ESN) were in the habit of going round the cities to enforce the order while at the same time harassing and even killing law-abiding civilians who came out to attend to their various places to earn their livelihoods.
It will surely interest the readers to know that even the majority of inhabitants of the southeastern region are against the activities of this outlawed group. This is due to its economic implications as statistics revealed how their rampant activity is becoming a motivating factor for crippling the economy of the five states belonging to the region for many years.
Because, data released by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, SMEDAN, and National Bureau of Statistics, NBS showed that, of the 10 states in Nigeria with the highest number of registered business enterprises, none of any southeastern states was able to make the list. Lagos ranked first followed by Rivers, Kano while FCT clinched the 10th position with 38,003 registered businesses.
Not only that, in terms of revenue generation, none of the five southeast states was among the top 10 states with highest Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in 2021- data released by NBS revealed.
And in terms of geopolitical zones spread, further analysis by TheCable Index showed that southeast region came second to the last- 5th position by generating the sum of N103.7bn during the period under review.
According to estimations, the annual revenue lost due to the 52 Mondays of sit-at-home actions is estimated at N4.618 trillion ($10.495 billion).This staggering amount represents the economic impact and the challenges faced by micro-businesses, which suffer the most from the prolonged closure.
Notwithstanding, it is heartwarming now that the Nigerian Army under the able leadership of Lagbaja has renewed its commitment to fighting these IPOB terrorists who have been holding the region to ransom while at the same time threatening the continuous existence of Nigeria as a corporate entity.
Even with that, in order for the military to succeed in this cause, there is need for a whole-of-society approach in order to end IPOB group activities in the region. While the military is shouldering both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies in one end, the residents and stakeholders including, traditional, religious and political leaders must complement their efforts at the other hand.
Specifically , there must be a collective political will by the entire Governors in the region to end IPOB restiveness by blocking all their sources of oxygen- of which finance is critical by synergizing with related agencies on that matter.
Also, they should support the military operations by providing them with logistics such as patrol vehicles which will go a long way in boosting their morale and entrenching their commitment to fight these criminals.
For example, the Senator representing Anambra South Senatorial District, Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah has demonstrated his willingness to end IPOB activities in the region by supporting security agencies with operational materials.
Senator Ubah had in February 2023 donated 6,000 Streetlights fitted with surveillance cameras, 1,000 walkie talkies and trained personnel to the Anambra State Government to strengthen security in the state.
He also donated no fewer than 14 Toyota Sienna vehicles, 40 motorcycles, over 100 walkie-talkies and other security gadgets to vigilance groups and neighborhood security watch in Nnewi, Anambra State. This is in addition to N500million he donated to Anambra State, to support the fight against insecurity.
More politicians and other public office holders should follow this suit in the region in order to finally put a halt to this wanton killings and destruction by IPOB militants.
In the long run, the government, National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other security institutions should work tirelessly to control drug and substance trafficking in the region. Because, findings have shown that drug abuse has been a motivating factor for criminals in perpetrating their heinous activities.
Furthermore, residents should support the effort of security agencies by supplying them with credible information that will lead to uncovering and dismantling terrorists’ syndicates in the region.
With Maj Gen Lagbaja as Army Chief, it is hoped that the end of terrorism and terrorist activities in southeast and Nigeria at large is surely feasible.
MUKHTAR is the author of a book on “National Security Strategy” and is a staff writer with the Emergency Digest.
