Over 100 troops from the Nigerian peacekeeping contingent that were involved in the United Nations-backed war effort in Northern Mali arrived the country Wednesday for onward deployment to Borno State to enforce emergency rule in the state and other parts of the north-east.
Their deployment to the state may not be unconnected with the request by the Borno State Government for more troops to be sent to the state to see off the threat of the terrorist sect, Boko Haram.
Since the declaration of emergency rule and increased military onslaught on members of the sect, most of them have been forced to flee the Borno State capital, Maiduguri, to other parts of the state.
THISDAY also learnt that the decision to deploy more troops in some states in the north-east, where the special forces of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) have been dislodging the Boko Haram insurgents, is in line with the stated reason of the federal government for withdrawing some of its troops from Mali.
A military source told THISDAY that the troops have landed in their bases in Kaduna and Borno for internal security operations.
The source also disclosed that more troops of over 1,000 military personnel deployed in Mali are expected to arrive next week to join the operations back home in Nigeria.
"The arrival of troops only begins today (Wednesday) with over 100 soldiers, and have landed in Kaduna and other parts of the north-east for the State of Emergency Operation BOYONA going on there. They will continue arriving till next week.
"You remember there was a plan to shore up the troops to continue with the mop up operation and sustain the onslaught against the terrorists," the source said.
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) had confirmed two weeks ago that Nigeria had requested that some of its troops be withdrawn from Malian operations because of the internal security challenges back home.
Accordingly, the Director of Defence Information (DDI), Brig-Gen. Chris Olukolade, on Tuesday announced that DHQ would from yesterday (Wednesday) commence the withdrawal of some Nigerian troops from the Peace Support Operations in Mali.
Olukolade said the troops were mainly those not accommodated in the structures of the newly formed United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).
"They are to join the ongoing internal security operations in the country. This followed the takeover of the mission from the African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA) by the UN. Some of the soldiers will be redeployed immediately," he said.
He however clarified that Nigeria's commitment and contribution to the Mali operations would be sustained in other forms.
The DDI explained that this would involve input of sizeable men and materials to continue with the UN mission.
According to him, Nigeria would be providing a full-fledged Level 2 military hospital with a full complement of staff, a signal squadron, as well as staff officers in the force headquarters.
"A troop of the mobile police force will also remain with the mission," he revealed.
Meanwhile, the Borno State Government Wednesday made a request for the deployment of more troops to the state to see off the threat of the Boko Haram sect.
Speaking while receiving the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Zone 12, Mr. Edgar Tam Nanakumo, in his office yesterday, the Borno State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Zanna Umar Mustapha, said Bama and two other local government areas were still infested with members of the sect.
He told the AIG that more policemen should be deployed in the state to flush out the remnants of the sect in the three local government areas where they still terrorise people.
He particularly appealed to the police to deploy more troops in some volatile local government areas like Bama and Kaga where the insurgents were still operating.
He assured the AIG that the government would collaborate with the police to ensure that peace returns to the state.
He also said lack of perimetre fencing had made many police stations and formations in Borno susceptible to Boko Haram attacks, noting that the police could have recorded fewer casualties during attacks on them if they had fenced facilities.
Earlier, the AIG had said he was in the state to familiarise with the area, government, people and personnel of the Nigeria Police Force.
He said he was also using the visit to condole the government and families of the policemen who were killed in Bama and other attacks by the Boko Haram.
In another development, the Borno State government yesterday inaugurated a 12-man committee to oversee the training of youths on behavioural changes, empowerment and employment.
According to the deputy governor of the state, this has become pertinent as some of the youths need a new orientation and must embrace the tenets of peaceful coexistence.
According to the deputy governor, the orientation programme, which would cost the state government N29.5 million, would take off with about 800 youths in the first month and 1,500 in subsequent months with the aim of training about 20,000 youths in a year.
However, as the military and state governments in the north-east step up efforts to wipe out insurgency in the region, gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram stormed a construction site in the Bara area of Yobe State, carting off 125 kilogrammes of dynamite and hundreds of detonators, two security sources informed Reuters Wednesday.
The militants were said to have struck Bara at around 2am on Monday, the two security sources in Yobe told Reuters, but no shots were heard. One of the sources said the men arrived on four motorcycles, beating and overpowering the site's private security guards.
The police and military both declined to comment. Officials from the company, a Nigerian firm called Ric Rock, were not immediately available for comment. Videos shown to Reuters by a counter-terrorism official on Sunday showed Boko Haram militants giving detailed instructions on how to make bombs, including a suicide vest and a car bomb in Hausa language, filming how it is done.
With Agency Report
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