Up until last month, not less than 200 people have lost their lives during the attacks by the Boko Haram insurgents in the Northeast. This renewed spate of attacks has raised doubt in the minds of Nigerians about the true picture of the state of security in the area.

The situation is even more complicated as the government calls on the indigenes to return to their homes, that their worst fears are over, whereas the people, who had lived in these communities, insist that the insurgents are still in control of their communities.

The renewed guerrilla attacks and the confession by Senator Babakaka Garbai that more than 20 communities are still under the control of the insurgents indicate that there is much more the military need to do.

This development may have informed the decision of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai to probe the activities of Troops of the Operation Lafiya Dole through the establishment of a Special Court Martial.

The establishment, according to the Nigerian Army authorities, will seek to unravel why the attacks are coming now, with massive destruction of lives and properties, despite field reports that the insurgents have been reasonably decapitated. It will also investigate allegations of indiscipline, human rights abuse and unprofessional conduct, brought against the soldiers.

Recall that the rights group, Amnesty International, has been putting pressure on the government to investigate the Nigeria Army for possible war crimes and human rights abuses in the course of the Operation Lafiya Dole campaign in the northeast. The most recent pressure was mounted on the President Muhammadu Buhari before he visited the United Kingdom (UK) last week. Amnesty
International has called on the UK Prime Minister to tell his Nigerian visitor to “stop side-stepping justice and start independent investigations into war crimes and possible crimes against humanity by the Nigerian military.” 

The campaign to have the Army tried has continued in spite of their effort to debunk the claim. The military has challenged the rights group to produce evidence of the allegation, also asking the group to draw a line between the rights of the Nigerian citizens displaced, maimed or killed by the insurgents and that of the perpetrators of this evidential crime against the people.
The concern of the Army however, seems to be pointed at the resumed attacks on communities, supposedly freed from the shackles of the terrorists, as was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the Acting Director Army Public Relations (Ag.DAPR) Colonel Sani Usman.

It reads in part, “The recent unfortunate attacks by Boko Haram terrorists on communities close to Maiduguri, despite our successes calls for concern. To this end, the Nigerian Army has already commenced investigation into the attacks. All those found wanting will be dealt with in accordance with the Armed Forces Act.

“A standing Special Court Martial in the North East has already been established by the Nigerian Army.  All cases of indiscipline and related acts of misconduct including human rights abuse in the operations will be tried by the Special Court Martial.”

The recent attacks by the Boko Haram insurgents left much to be desired, going by the Army statement, hence the probe. A source at the Army Headquarters told The Guardian on the condition of anonymity that, it would be unsavoury if the suspicion of the army leadership is anything to go by, because it seems there are still some deviant in the Army, who seem not to know where the current leadership is going. 

“We suspect that some soldiers deliberately left their duty posts, when the terrorists attacked. Because in all the attacks, the Boko Haram sect members would invade the targeted community, take what they want to take and then burn down what they feel like burning down and leave the place, unchallenged. 

“So the question is where were the soldiers posted to these places at the time of the incidents, they would have to explain. If they had run away when the insurgents came or they simply abnegate duty. This is one of the important things the special court martial, which has been on ground for sometime now, would seek to unravel,” he said.

On the doubts raised in people’s minds by the statement credited to the federal lawmaker that many of the communities are under the control of the insurgents, the military source said, the presence of the sect members and attempts to make some “noise” cannot be wished away. “The fact that they find it more convenient to choose an area, attack it and then flee into hiding, shows that they do not have the capacity to face the troops, but this too shall pass away soon”.

The claim of the Nigerian Army is that most of the communities have been liberated from Boko Haram insurgents. But President Buhari told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) last week that “all I know is that out of the 14 local government areas in Borno State where they used to hold and hoist their flag, they are no longer in charge of any of them again. But they can still regroup and go after attacking soft targets.”

Senator Garbai’s statement on Sunday nonetheless raised some questions as to whether the President is properly briefed.
When The Guardian spoke to an official of the New Kuchingoro Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Camp in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), who said he, like majority of the people in the camp, is originally from Gwoza local government area in Borno State, he disclosed there is a local government area that military presence is zero.

“Precisely in Bayan Dutse, where I come from, it is a very large community with a high population, but the Boko Haram terrorists are still very much in control. The soldiers stay in Gwoza town and I can tell you, have never been there, that is the community close to Cameroon border.

“We also want to go home, but we cannot go back now, because the terrorists are still there. We have some of our people up there, with whom we still communicate. If the army clear our community in Bayan Dutse, we’ll return to our village,” said the official.
Another IDP also corroborated the claim, affirming that the insurgents are still in control of some communities. “That is where they come from to attack some of the people still remaining. The recent attack that claimed the many lives and the destruction of houses in Mairi, just a few kilometres from Maiduguri, is an indication that the group is still capable of causing mayhem even in the city centre”.

The Senator representing Borno South Senatorial Zone, Ali Ndume, said the recent attacks by the insurgents is an act of desperation to have a access to food stuff as their supply links have been cut off by the military. He however admitted that staying in the villages might expose the locals to attack, he advised that they stay in the city instead, but “you can go to see your house occasionally and go back until when things normalise.”.

In the meantime, the military may need to up their game and also correct the impression given to the President about the level of success they have recorded in the fight against terror.