From Molly Kilete, Abuja
THERE is high alert among the military
and security agencies in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), following
intelligence report that the Boko Haram terrorists who have been
dislodged by the military from their bases were planning to carry out an
attack in Abuja.
Specifically, the terrorists plan to carry out
their first attack on Suleja, Niger State, near Abuja, Gwagwalada,
Garki, Central Business District, targeting public buildings and
installations among others.
But security sources say they are on
the look out for the terrorists who are penetrating Abuja, through the
Bwari/Kaduna, Abuja/Keffi, Abuja/Lokoja and Abuja/Kaduna axis.
Top
military source who confided in Daily Sun in Abuja, said the
terrorists who have been put on checks since their last attack at the
Nyanya bus terminal, have made several attempts to disrupt the relative
peace in the nation’s capital.
The source who would not want to
be named, told of how a number of the terrorists who tried to plant
Improvised Explosive Device (IED), during the National Economic Summit
were arrested and taken into custody.
According to the source,
but for the determination and combat readiness of the military, the
terrorists would have carried out at least 15 attacks on different parts
of the FCT, since April.
The terrorists who are not giving up on
the evil plans, according to sources, said their leaders are sending
in their foot soldiers to spy on the city and report back to them.
The
foot soldiers who reportedly take to street trading and other menial
jobs when they arrive Abuja, are also said to be taking shelters at
mosques, motor parks, markets and other public places at night.
To
this end, the security agencies are said to have held meetings with
managements of the outfits in the FCT, to alert them to the new trends
of the terrorists and advised them not to allow them use their
facilities as safe haven.
To effectively combat the activities
of the terrorists, the army high command in Abuja, is said to have
announced the redeployment of some rugged officers to head some units in
the FCT, even as more Rapid Response Squad (RRS) units, have been
established in virtually all the area councils in the nation’s capital
to curb the menace of the insurgents.
Security is now focussed on
the satellite towns where the insurgents usually take refuge on
arriving the city, while several snap security checkpoints have also
been established on all the entry and exit points to the FCT.
Similarly,
village heads and chiefs in villages around the FCT, have been urged to
be vigilant and strengthen their local security groups to look out for
strangers in their domain, just as the military has cleared traders and
hawkers along the ever busy Nyanya/ Mararaba road to reduce the traffic
gridlock on that road. All illegal trading and makeshift structures
along the road as well as in the market have been cleared to make room
for proper vigilance and monitoring of strange characters and
movements.
The military say the action was necessary to prevent the insurgents from taking advantage of the security lapses.
This
is even as continuous raiding of spots considered to be vulnerable in
the FCT, by the military and other security agencies in the city in
collaboration with the federal capital development authorities are
ongoing.
Similarly, plain clothes military and security
personnel have been dispatched to all the Internally Displaced Persons
(IDP) camps, to monitor movements of the terrorists who may want to
take advantage of the camp to carry out their strike, just as leaders
of all the IDPs camp have been put on alert to be on the look out for
strangers and people with ulterior motives.
A military officer who pleaded anonymity told Daily Sun yesterday that security agencies are on top of the matter.
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