The recent ransom paid to Boko Haram in exchange
for the release of some Chibok girls have contributed to the recent
upsurge in the killings and disappearances of soldiers engaged in the
fight against the insurgents, senior military sources have revealed.
The military men said that despite
denials by the Federal Government, money was paid to the sect to secure
the release of the abducted girls.
It was learnt that the insurgents
demanded for $50m for the release of the girls but about a quarter of
the sum was eventually paid.
It was also learnt that the Federal
Government paid the cash in two currencies – the naira and the CFA
Francs to the leaders of the sect to facilitate the release of the
girls.
But, the highly-ranked military men who
are engaged in the war, and who craved anonymity because they were not
authorised to speak for the military authorities, attributed the recent
upsurge in the activities of the insurgents to the huge ransom paid for
the release of the girls.
Prior to the current increase in the
attacks by the insurgents, it was learnt that the troops of Operation
Lafiya Dole, deployed in the North-East, had effectively cut off food
and logistics supply to the insurgents.
Some of the sources, who are also
commanders at the war front, said that the troops had effectively
defeated the Boko Haram members, who were on the run while a good number
of them had surrendered and taken to a rehabilitation camp established
by the Defence Headquarters in Yola.
In October, 83 soldiers were reported
missing days after they came under a Boko Haram attack. Though there
have been increasing reports of soldiers either missing or killed since
the Chibok girls were released, the military initially denied the
report, it later said that only 39 soldiers were missing.
Also, on November 4, seven military men,
including Lt.-Col. Muhammad Abu-Ali, were killed on their way to
reinforce troops at Mallam Fatori during a Boko Haram attack. Two days
later, one soldier was also killed while four others were wounded in the
line of duty.
In October, 21 of the over 200 girls
abducted from their school in Chibok, Borno State, in April 2014 were
released by the group.
However, the Federal Government denied exchanging insurgents for the abducted girls and paying a ransom to the sect.
But the military sources insisted that
Boko Haram did not release the girls without getting anything in return
and that the Federal Government indeed paid a ransom and released some
of the group’s strategists that were detainees.
One of the sources said it was sad that
the same government that was initially seen as tough enough to end
insurgency in the country failed to negotiate with Boko Haram from a
position of strength.
“It is unfortunate that in government’s
desperation to secure the release of the Chibok girls, it has put our
(soldiers’) lives in danger by yielding to the demands of the group to
collect a ransom and secure the release of its commanders.
“It is now obvious that the group has reinforced and bought more weapons to fight us.”
According to another source, left to the
military, the ransom and the exchange of Boko Haram members for Chibok
girls would not have taken place.
“Funds were given to Boko Haram and now
we can all see the result of that action; there have been renewed
attacks recently and many of our men have been killed in the process but
we will not relent, we will continue to do our best to secure this
nation.
“The military had reservations about the
arrangement but it was not in our hands; it was a political decision
that we had to abide with and it was the DSS that was directly in charge
of the operation,” the source added.
Another source, who is also active in
the war theatre, said, “They got the Chibok girls and suddenly the Boko
Haram that we had beaten and chased out of Sambisa are attacking and
killing men of quality.
“It is very obvious that they have used
the money they got from the deal to buy equipment and recruit men to
carry out their heinous acts.
“The group is still in Mallam Fatori,
theyhave infested the entire area and their strongest point into Chad is
Abadam. It is from there that they disperse their men to carry out
attacks.
“Another thing you must note is that the
towns around the borders are occupied by mercenaries from foreign
countries. Where did they get the money to fund that?”
Investigation revealed that Boko Haram
members, who were routed out of their dreaded Sambisa enclave by the
military, had regrouped at Abadam, and were still holding onto the
fringes of Mallam Fatori in the northern part of Borno State.
It was further gathered that the group
was engaging the services of mercenaries with their operational base in
Abadam in the far north, close to Chad.
The latest incidents contradict
President Muhammadu Buhari’s assertion on December 24, 2015 that Nigeria
had “technically” won the war against Boko Haram and that the militant
group could no longer mount conventional attacks against security forces
or population centres.
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