SECURITY INTERVENTIONS OF THE BUHARI LED ADMINISTRATION

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SECURITY INTERVENTIONS OF THE BUHARI LED ADMINISTRATION

Northeast

Revitalization of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), aimed at combating trans-border crime and the Boko Haram insurgency.

El-Kanemi Warriors Football Club returned to their home base in Maiduguri in April 2016, two years after relocating to Katsina State because of the insurgency.

Emirs of Askira and Uba returned home in May 2016, two years after fleeing their Palaces on account of the Boko Haram insurgency.

Public Secondary Schools resumed in Borno State on Monday, September 26, 2016, after two years of closure.

Maiduguri-Gubio and Maiduguri-Monguno Roads reopened in December 2016, after being closed for three years.

Capture of BokoHaram’s operational and spiritual headquarters, “Camp Zero”, in Sambisa Forest, in December 2016. Following this, the Nigerian Army conducted its Small Arms Championship from 26th to 31st March 2017, a measure aimed at enabling the Armed forces to dominate the area, and avoid regrouping by the terrorists.

Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Borno State Chapter declared the 2017 Easter Celebrations as the best and safest since 2009.

Arik Air resumed flights to Maiduguri in May 2017, three years after suspending operations to the city.

Nigerian Military reopened Maiduguri-Bama-Banki Road in March 2018, four years after it was seized by Boko Haram.

More than 13,000 Boko Haram hostages have been freed from Boko Haram captivity, including 106 of the Chibok Girls abducted in April 2014, and 105 of the Dapchi Girls abducted in February 2018.

Establishment of a Naval Outpost in the Lake Chad Basin.

North Central

More than a million displaced persons have returned to their homes and communities across the Northeast, since 2015.

Transfer, in 2016, of two AW 101 Helicopters from the Presidential Air Fleet to the Nigerian Air Force, for deployment in support of Operation Lafiya Dole in the North East.

Also transferred to the Nigerian Air Force: three Airbus Helicopters H135 and three AS365 Dauphin helicopters, from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Establishment of the 8 Task Force Division in Monguno to further strengthen military presence in the North East.

Deployment of a Joint Military Intervention Force (JMIF), comprising Regular and Special Forces personnel from the Army, Air Force and Navy, and working in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Security (DSS), and Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC). The JMIF is commanded by Major General MutiuYekini.

On Monday 14th May, 2018, Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen. Tukur Buratai, flagged-off the Army’s newly-established 2 Battalion Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Kanfanin Doka Village, Birnin-Gwari, Kaduna State.

Establishment of a new Area Command and two additional Divisional Police Headquarters in the Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

Successful Military Operations across the country:

Operation Lafiya Dole, and Operation Last Hold, to defeat Boko Haram, in the Northeast.

Operation Whirl Stroke, operating in Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba and Zamfara states, to tackle the menace of armed herdsmen, cattle rustlers, communal militias, kidnappers and other bandits.

Exercise Crocodile Smile I (September 2016) and II (October 2017) to curtail the menace of militant activities in the Niger Delta:

• Exercise Obangame, a multinational operation aimed at securing and protecting the Gulf of Guinea.
• Operation Awatse, a joint operation between the Military and the Police, in South West Nigeria, to flush out militants and pipeline vandals. Commenced July 2016, and still ongoing.
• Exercise Python Dance I (November 2016) and
  II (September 2017) in the South East, to tackle kidnappers and militant elements.

In May 2018, the JMIF kicked off ‘Operation Whirl Stroke’, to counter armed herdsmen and militia groups operating in and around Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba and Zamfara States.

Establishment by Nigerian Air Force of Quick Response Wings (QRW) in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba States, and deployment of Special Forces to these QRWs.

The Nigeria Police Force has recently inaugurated a new Mobile Squadron in Takum, Taraba State.

At the end of April 2018, the Nigerian Air Force took delivery of a second batch of 2 brand new Mi-35M helicopter gunships to boost internal security.

MAJOR ARRESTS / CRIME SYNDICATES DISMANTLED

Arrest in July and August 2015 of 20 Boko Haram terrorists (including bomb experts) by the DSS in Lagos, Kano,

Plateau, Enugu and Gombe States. Among the arrested were those responsible for coordinating and executing suicide attacks in Potiskum, Kano, Zaria and Jos: Usman Shuaibu (aka Money), Ahmed Mohammed, Adamu

Abdullahi (aka Babpa), Ibrahim Isa, and Muttaqa Yusuf (aka Mohammed Sani).

Arrest in April 2016 of Usman Mohammed, aka Khalid Al- Barnawi, leader of the Ansaru terrorist group and one of the most wanted terrorists in the world, with a US$6m United States bounty on his head. He’s currently being prosecuted alongside his accomplices.

Arrest in March 2017 of Amodu Omale Salifu, leader of an ISIS affiliate group active in North Central Nigeria, plotting to bomb foreign embassies.

The arrest of two suspected Ansaru leaders, Ahmed Momoh and Al-amin Mohammed Jamin, in April 2017 at Igarra in Edo State. The two were confirmed associates of Abu Uwais, a prominent Ansaru kingpin terrorising residents in Kogi and Edo states.

In December 2017, the following notorious kidnappers were killed in Kogi State: Ahmadu Sulaiman (aka Oga), Shumo Haruna (aka Halilu Aliyu) and Abdullahi Abdulkadir aka Maijaki. They were responsible for high-profile killings and kidnappings in/around Ajaokuta.

Militant, Don Waney, responsible for several murders in Rivers State, killed by the military in January 2018.

Badoo ritualists’ gang, dismantled in Lagos State. Kingpin and herbalist, Fatai Adebayo, was arrested by the Police in January 2018.

In January 2018, four suspects notorious for robbing and/or kidnapping commuters in Kogi State and itsenvirons, were arrested by the DSS in Otokiti, Adavi LGA of Kogi State:

Mohammed Kabir (aka Master and Nicko), Muhammed Musa (aka World Best), Audu Emmanuel (aka Sneider) and Jallo Yunusa.

On 17th February 2018, at Irrua, Edo State, DSS operatives arrested a gang of high profile kidnappers who dominated the Kogi and Edo corridors: Umar Abubakar (aka Small), Abubakar Ahmadu (aka Sarkin Yaki), Aliyu Abubakar (aka Koroko), Aliyu Mohammed (aka Chogo) and Abubakar Umaru (aka Bokolori).

Cattle Rustling kingpin, Tsoho Buhari, aka Buharin Daji, killed in Zamfara State in March 2018. Several members of his gang have also been killed or arrested by security forces.

On 14th December, 2017, Umar Abubakar (aka Yellow), one of his top associates, was shot and killed by DSS in a gun battle in Adavi LGA, Kogi State.

Arrest in May 2018 of 56 suspected criminals / kidnappers / gunrunners in and around Birnin-Gwari, Kaduna State, by the Nigeria Police Force Major masterminds of the Offa Robbery, in Kwara State.

OTHER INVENTIONS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

JANUARY 2018

Massive Police deployment to Benue State, coupled with a fact-finding team led by the Minister of Interior, and deployment of Special Forces of the military.

Nigerian Army launched a special operation, Karamin Goro (Small Kolanut), in collaboration with the Air Force, Police, Department of State Services, and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC.

FEBRUARY 2018

Army commenced Exercise Ayem Akpatuma covering Benue, Taraba, Kogi, Nasarawa, Kaduna and Niger States.

The Nigerian Air Force inducted its first indigenous operational Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Tsaigumi.

The Nigerian Air Force established a total of 10 new Units as NAF had concluded plans to set up Quick Response Wings (QRWs) across Nasarawa State, in a bid to tackle the herders/farmers clashes.

 MARCH 2018

President Buhari began sympathy visits to states that had experienced wanton killings in the country.

The Nigerian Army extended Exercise Ayem Akpatuma in Taraba State by two months.

The committee set up by the National Economic Council on farmers/herdsmen clashes submits report, making far-reaching recommendations for peace, including ranching in five states.

APRIL 2018

The Nigerian Air Force took delivery of a second batch of 2 brand new Mi-35N helicopter gunships to boost internal security.

The Nigerian Air Force established a total of 10 new Units as NAF had concluded plans to set up Quick Response Wings (QRWs) across Nasarawa State, in a bid to tackle the herders/farmers clashes.

MAY 2018 

The Nigerian Police Force inaugurated a Mobile Squadron in Takum, Taraba State.

The Nigerian Air Force established 3 new Quick Response Wings (QRW) in Taraba, Nasarawa and Benue States respectively, and deployed Special Forces personnel to these new bases.

Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim Idris ordered the deployment of 200 policemen, and 10 patrol vehicles to Birnin Gwari (Kaduna-Zamfara axis) to tackle armed banditry in the area.

The Defence Headquarters assembled a Special Military Intervention Force comprising more than 1,000 personnel, from Army, Air Force, Navy, Police, DSS and NSCDC to respond to the security challenges in the North Central & North West.

On May 8, 2018, the Force launched Operation WHIRL STROKE, to completely restore law, order and stability in the affected communities.

President Buhari approved the establishment of a new Battalion of the Nigerian Army, and a new Police Area Command, in Birnin Gwari LGA of Kaduna State, as part of measures to scale up the security response to the banditry affecting the area.

Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen. Tukur Buratai, has since flagged off the new Battalion (2 Battalion Forward Operating Base, FOB) in Kanfanin Doka Village, Birnin-Gwari, Kaduna State.

Chief of Army Staff inducted a mix of 49 Toyota Land Cruisers and Innoson gun trucks, at the HQ of the 133 Special Forces Battalion of the Nigerian Army at Azare, to support the ongoing OPERATION LAST HOLD in Northern Borno.

NAF launched newly-constructed accommodation for the 205 Combat Search and Rescue Group (CSARG) — established in 2017 to provide aid and operational assistance to wounded and distressed troops serving in combat units — in Kerang, Plateau State.

The Air Task Force of NAF commenced Operation THUNDER STRIKE to attack selected locations of Boko Haram Terrorists in the North-East.

The Nigerian Army commissioned its new Forward Operating Base in Epe, Lagos State.

JUNE 2018 

NAF deployed combat helicopter to its 207 Quick Response Group (QRG) in Gusau, Zamfara State to support the fight against armed banditry in the town and its environs.