The religious mayhem that erupted in Maiduguri and other towns across Borno State in the past week could have been averted if security agencies in the state had not been negligent about information at their disposal, a source in the state told NEXT.
The source, a senior police officer, said, as at Friday, July 24, 2009, it was clear in Maiduguri, the state capital, that members of the muslim sect were going to strike. The officer, who was in the state on a private visit to his family, said he observed that attendance at Jumaat services in most mosques throughout Maiduguri that day was scanty. He said, on enquiry, he was told that members of the Boko Haram sect had widely circulated leaflets that they were going to attack certain personalities and places.
“The people said they were afraid that the group might attack some mosques during Jumaat prayers. I have it on good authority that the governor, the director of the State Security Service and other security agencies in the state had this information. Yet nothing was done to nip the attacks on the bud,” he said.
Another source said, that same day, members of Operation Flush, the anti-robbery agency in the state, rushed four badly-wounded people to the emergency ward of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital for treatment. An explosive in the custody of the victims was said to have gone off suddenly, injuring them severely. “I overheard the policemen explaining to hospital officials that the people were not trained in the use of explosives; yet they were in possession of the device.
One of the policemen even suggested that the victims were members of the hardline sect.” The source said it was unlikely that the state governor, the commissioner of police and heads of the other security agencies were not informed of the development. “So, why was action not taken? Government needs to investigate that,” he said.
Close to power
The top police officer also faulted the Borno State Commissioner of Police, Christopher Dega, for addressing the press on the matter in mufti. “What happened was a very serious matter. For the commissioner to be on TV talking about the matter (in mufti) shows lack of seriousness on the part of the police. He should have been in uniform which would have indicated combat readiness,” he said.
He also blamed the security agencies for failing to gather intelligence that members of the sect were bringing arms and ammunition into the state. “I am told that the militants had rocket launchers, machine guns and all sorts of arms and ammunition. Operation Flush is supposed to conduct stop-and-search, but they were not doing their job.
Instead of doing their job, they were busy harassing Okada riders and innocent pedestrians. So, they were not able to detect that the sect was bringing in arms.” The source said there were indications that the leader of the sect in Borno State, Mohammed Yusuf, was close to many politicians in the state, including the governor, Ali Modu Sherrif.