Leader of the Boko Haram sect Imam Abubakar Shekau hails from Niger
Republic, according to the report of a Senate joint committee that investigated
the deadly violence in Baga town of Borno State in April.
Shekau is widely believed to be from Shekau village of Yobe State, but
the Senate committee in its report submitted yesterday said Borno State
Governor Kashim Shettima told visiting senators that the man was actually from
the neighbouring Republic of Niger.
The report, a copy obtained by Daily Trust, said senators were told that
“although the Boko Haram sect members have some Chadians and Cameroonians
within their midst about 80 per cent of them are of Kanuri tribe, adding that
the leader of the sect Abubakar Shekau is a Kanuri from Niger Republic.”
Shekau became leader of the group in 2009 following the death in police
custody of erstwhile leader Mohammed Yusuf.
He is believed to have spearheaded the regrouping of the sect, which
quickly graduated from conducting targeted drive-by shootings in Maiduguri to
launching massive bomb assaults in Abuja, Kano, Kaduna and other places in the
North.
Although he has not been seen in public since July 2009, Shekau has
released occasional internet videos in which he makes claims of responsibility
of attacks and taunts the Federal Government.
‘Exaggerated’
The Senate on April 23 mandated its committees on Defense and Army,
Police Affairs, and National Security and Intelligence to investigate the Baga
violence in which local leaders accused soldiers of killing 185 people and
destroying more than 2,000 homes.
Military authorities had denied conducting indiscriminate killings,
saying only 37 people died in a gun battle between soldiers from the
Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) and Boko Haram fighters.
In its report, the Senate committee disputed the Baga death toll given
by both sides but failed to provide a specific figure.
“The death toll of 185 was exaggerated but there may be more than 37
deaths. This is possible as there is no documentary evidence from either the natives
or the military to ascertain figure quoted,” the report said.
The report also tried to exonerate the military, saying the incident was
caused by Boko Haram who pulled out an army officer from a bus and killed him
on March 29, and also killed another soldier on April 16. It said MNJF troops
sent 70 soldiers to repel the Boko Haram fighters in Baga on the night of April
16, resulting in a shootout that caused “some deaths.”
But the report said the military carried out a hasty operation and this
might have contributed to the level of destruction.
“The operation to flush out the Boko Haram members between 20:30HRS and
2100HRS on April 16, 2013 was carried out hastily. The MNJTF should have
cordoned the area till day break and carry out house to house check; this would
have reduced number of casualties and damages,” the report said.
On the destruction of houses, the report also said the “quantum of
destruction of houses, vehicles and motorbikes were exaggerated. There was
actual physical count of 155 houses burnt as against the figure of 2000 given
by Governor Shettima and 3,059 given by the district head.”
Shettima, the report said, classified Boko Haram into three categories:
“criminal elements that send text messages to individuals to extort money,
political Boko Haram who sought to advance their political interstate and the
real Boko Haram which are made up of moderates that are prepared to dialogue
with government and the crazy religious elements who are die hard and are not
ready for compromise.”
In its recommendations, the 28-member Senate panel urged troops on
internal security operations to adhere to the provisions of the Geneva
Convention, Code of Conduct and Rules of Engagement in order to minimise
casualties.
The committee called on President Goodluck Jonathan to direct the armed
forces to carry out urgent recruitment of soldiers and officers as insurgency
has overstretched the military.
0 comments:
Post a Comment