INSECURITY: A troubling week: Buhari’s convoy, prison, others attacked

The insecurity in Nigeria assumed a troubling dimension last week (July 3-9) as terrorists launched daring attacks on different government institutions and officials including officials working with President Muhammadu Buhari.

A daring attack on an advance presidential convoy led to at least two injuries, according to the official narrative. Apart from the attack on the presidential convoy, there were attacks on Nigeria’s ‘most fortified’ prison, police officers, a Chinese expatriate and others.

Although there was no recorded death in the incident involving the presidential convoy, at least 27 people were reported killed in other attacks across the country.

The figure represents a decrease when compared to the previous week when at least 50 persons were killed with the majority being security officials.

Of the 27 casualties last week, four were police officers, one was an officer of the civil defence while the remaining 22 were civilians.

There was a total of nine incidents which took place across five geopolitical zones. Only the North-east recorded no incident.

The most prominent of the incidents was the invasion of the Kuje custodial centre by armed members of the Islamic State West Africa (ISWAP) who freed more than 60 of their members and hundreds of others.

Below are the recorded incidents:

South-east
In Abia state, three suspected armed robbers were set ablaze in Aba Local Government Area on Sunday. It was gathered that the suspects have been terrorising Point of Sale (POS) operators at Abayi, along Aba-Owerri Road in Aba.

Similarly, an angry mob, on Monday, set two suspected ritualists ablaze for allegedly raping and killing a 10-year-old girl in Ede-Oballa, Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State.

A witness from the community told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the incident threw the community into mourning.

South-west
Gunmen shot dead a security guard identified as Sunday who manned a filling station at Igoba community in the Akure-North Local Government Area of Ondo State, on Monday.

After killing the guard, the gunmen also reportedly set the filling station on fire.

North-central
At least 12 people reportedly died in a violent clash between bandits and vigilantes in Plateau State.

Local sources said that the bandits stormed Zak, a community in the Wase Local Government Area on a mission to sack the community.

In Kwara State, the police confirmed the killing of its inspector, Adebayo Adeforiti, and the abduction of a Chinese national by some gunmen at the CGC construction company along the Shao/Oloru Expressway.

The incident occurred on Sunday, according to a statement issued by the Kwara police spokesman, Okasanmi Ajayi, in Ilorin.

In the FCT, a civil defence officer was killed in an encounter with terrorists who stormed the Kuje Prison to break out some of their members. Four prison inmates were also killed in the attack.

The incident took place on Tuesday and has since attracted global attention to Nigeria.

The interior minister, Rauf Aregbesola, who like other officials condemned the attack, said the Kuje prison was the ‘most fortified’ in Nigeria.

North-west
Armed persons killed the area commander of the Dutsin Ma Police Area command, Aminu Umar, in an ambush on Tuesday morning.

Mr Umar, an assistant police commissioner, was killed alongside one other officer.

South-south
In Rivers, a yet-to-be-identified policeman was shot dead, while the All Progressives Congress deputy governorship candidate in Rivers State, Innocent Barikor, escaped death at the GRA axis of Port Harcourt on Tuesday night.

The incident took place in front of a club in the high-brow city centre when the assailants opened fire on the cop in what is suspected to be an assassination attempt on Mr Barikor’s life.

Following the attack on Kuje prison comity, President Muhammadu Buhari expressed disappointment in Nigeria’s intelligence gathering and security architecture.

In his usual tone, Buhari condemned the attack after his visit to the scene on Wednesday. He questioned the competence of Nigeria’s security operatives.

The president, who departed for Dakar, Senegal, shortly after his visit, expressed shock at the courage of the attackers and raised questions about the ease at which the attack succeeded.

In a statement signed by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, on Wednesday, Mr Buhari called for a comprehensive report on the shocking development.

“How did the defences at the prison fail to prevent the attack? How many inmates were in the facility? How many of them can you account for? How many personnel did you have on duty? How many of them were armed? Were there guards on the watchtower? What did they do? Does the CCTV work?

“I am disappointed with the intelligence system. How can terrorists organise, have weapons, attack a security installation and get away with it?” the president said.