The killing of over 40 farmers in Dumba, Kukama LGA of Borno State has raised concerns about the fresh insurgency. Borno has become a battleground of insurgency since 2009, resulting in the death of an estimated 350,000 people while 2.4 million have been displaced.
Over the past two years, the state government through a resettlement programme has been closing Internally Displaced Persons Camps (IDPs) and relocating civilians to their ancestral homes, signalling a recovery phase.
The development, the Borno State Police said is a step to restoring the state’s dignity. It, however, admitted that it is part of the reasons for the pocket of attacks on residents.
“The major reason for such incidents and others is the result of the ongoing resettlement model by the state government, targeted at returning displaced persons in the state to their ancestral homes.
“Often, the terrorists also want to maintain dominance in some of the hinterlands through occasional attacks and levies for their safety,” the spokesperson of Borno Police Command, Daso Nahum told NewsNGR.
“It is not a shock to me,” he added. The offensive operations by the Nigerian Armed Forces in Borno and the Lake Chad border areas, Nahum said, have caused discomfort to the terrorists hence revenge on civilians.
International Crisis Group described the “hasty process” of returning the IDPs as “aggressive,” and capable of endangering their lives and exposing them to the fight and hardship.
“By exposing civilians to hardship, the government risks giving jihadist groups an opportunity to forge ties with relocated communities and draw benefits from their economic activities,” the group said.
Quest For Survival
The massacre of farmers last Sunday seemingly pictures these concerns.
Civilians back to their communities need to survive, however, they are at the mercy of terror groups who demand levies to issue temporary permission to farm, fish, log and carry out other beneficial activities.
One such scenario led the farmers to go into an alleged financial agreement with a faction of the Islamic West Africa Province (ISWAP) to permit farming away from security corridors.
Counter-insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama, described this move by the civilians as a “perilous and ultimately fatal decision” which creates a fragile illusion of security.
Makama told NewsNGR that the arrangement was executed without the knowledge or approval of security agencies, who had established safe perimeters for farmers to operate under military protection.
Dumba, in the Kukama local government area of the state, is located about eight kilometres into ISWAP-dominated territories, and within a heavily forested and waterlogged terrorist enclave which renders any form of rescue impossible.
He said “Despite the agreement, ISWAP operatives betrayed the farmers, orchestrating a brutal attack that resulted in 40 deaths.
“The attack coincided with inter-rival clashes between Boko Haram and ISWAP factions, as the terrorists likely suspected that the farmers had compromised their presence.”
While the number of casualties was estimated at 40, the terrorists captured others alive.
A joint rescue operation involving soldiers, members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), and local volunteers attempted to recover the bodies of the slain farmers but encountered another ambush from ISWAP fighters.
The team managed to bury 43 bodies before being compelled to abandon their mission under heavy fire, resulting in injuries for two soldiers and one CJTF member, Makama revealed in an independent post shared via his X handle on Wednesday.
Opportunistic Criminals
Security and risk assessment analyst, Adekoya Onyekachi, however, described the present situation in some parts of Borno as the act of “Organised Armed Groups interfering in the livelihood of civilians”.
In an interview with NewsNGR, the CEO of PR24, a risk assessment organisation gave reasons for such attacks on civilians. According to him, OAGs make an effort to shield their activities from the prying eyes of security agencies, particularly when they suspect collaboration, sometimes they carry out reprisal attacks on civilians.
The question, however, is, is the current situation in Borno a resurgence?
Onyekachi said, “It doesn’t mean there is a resurgence. It just means that the operatives have been boxed into a corner and there is increased interaction between the resettled civilians and the terrorists.
‘Some of these attacks are crimes of opportunities because the insurgency has been largely dealt with and the government security forces may also have tamed out a bit — drawing down on forces and equipment, But this does not in any way suggest a resurgence on the part of ISWAP.
“This is just a criminal act of terrorism, bordering on impairing livelihood activities happening within these resettled communities.
The security expert further expressed hopes in the operations of the Armed Forces, saying that criminals “are in the last days of their reign of terror in that area”, adding that the simultaneous offensives from Nigeria and Lake Chad would yield the needed results.
Recommendation
Onyekachi recommended more police presence in the sensitive terrain of the state. He also advised for systematic approach to tackling the situation, because it was a war between the Nigerian Army and OAGs who thrive on guerilla tactics.
“It takes time to deal with some of these issues so, the Nigerian Army has to be systematic.
“They should continue to put pressure because, it is the pressure that the military is putting on them that is causing the military, the civilian population, government in the BAY areas (Borno, Adamawa and Yobe) to resettle the civilians.
“Unfortunately, it comes at a cost of human lives. So, the Nigerian Army has to increase collaboration with the Chad Army and continue to avail resources to the Army.
“There is no magic to solving the situation. There is no immediate fix to it, it is just to sustain the momentum to deplete them as much as we can and just hope for the best.”
On his part, Makama said the security agencies must intensify efforts to educate communities about the risks of dealing with terrorist groups and the importance of adhering to designated safe zones.
“A focused effort is needed to disrupt the financial networks of ISWAP and Boko Haram, including the levies collected from farmers and fishermen.
“The MNJTF and other security forces must reassess and expand their presence to protect vulnerable populations and prevent incursions into terrorist-controlled areas.”