Thursday, 28th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

Boko Haram: Soldiers to thoroughly screen nursing mothers at checkpoints

By Karls Tsokar, Abuja
28 January 2017   |   4:22 am
In response to the new tactics adopted by female suicide bombers to avoid detection, a new directive from the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) will henceforth compel soldiers to meticulously screen pregnant........
Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar

Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar

In response to the new tactics adopted by female suicide bombers to avoid detection, a new directive from the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) will
henceforth compel soldiers to meticulously screen pregnant women at all checkpoints in the Northeast.

The Guardian gathered that hitherto, the directive was that pregnant women and nursing mothers should be compassionately treated and carefully screened, but not subjected to the rigours of exhaustive searching. But recent events have put paid to this empathetic decision, which was ordered in the first place to conciliate for the allegations of human rights violations in the Northeast.

The Director of Defence Information (DDI) Brig-Gen Rabe Abubakar, said the decision in this regard is consequent upon the two recent suicide bomb attacks in Adamawa State.

Recall that four days ago, one of the female suicide bombers that attacked Madagali town in Adamawa State had a baby strapped to her back. Thus DHQ said their attention has been drawn to this new strategy “adopted by female suicide bombers in the North East.”

In a statement issued yesterday in Abuja, Brig-Gen. Abubakar explained that, “female suicide bombers are now evading detection from security
operatives by carrying babies on their back, that ordinarily pass them for innocent nursing mothers.  The two recent suicide bomb attacks in Madagali, Adamawa State, are instructive in this regard.”

He, therefore, craved the understanding of the public who may be caught up at checkpoints, saying they should “be patient and cooperate with the military and other security agencies while carrying out thorough security search and checks, as the essence is to nip in the bud the murderous intention of the Boko Haram suicide bombers.

“The DHQ wishes to state further that the usual traffic “go-slow” at military and security check points as a result of rigorous security checks are not meant to cause public discomfort or a deliberate action to induce traffic disruptions on our roads, but an effort put in place towards protecting the lives and properties of our innocent citizens”, he stated.

He called on members of the public to always volunteer useful information to the security agencies, especially that which would assist in exposing the insurgents and their plots designed to cause havoc.

In this article

0 Comments