TheCable

The Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism (CATE) has saluted the Nigerian army for averting what it described as “Black Monday” by successfully repelling multiple attacks in several parts of the country.

Recall that the gallant Nigerian troops had overpowered and decimated some insurgents in Adamawa, Yobe and Benue states.

CATE in a statement through its president, Gabriel Onoja, lauded the military for the dedication, commitment and the sense of sacrifice that inspired them to take down the terrorists while putting others in flight with varying degrees of bullet wounds.

His statement reads below:

These locations include Shuwa town in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State, where Boko Haram terrorists where given a taste of the powers of a sovereign state and in Kanama, Yunusari Local Government Area of Yobe state, where an invasion by Boko Haram rather left several of the terrorists dead when troops intercepted them. In Tomatar community in Guma Local Government Area of Benue, three militant herdsmen were gunned down by the Army after they tried to stage a surprise attack on the community.These multiple attacks happening on the same day indicated that they were meant to plunge the nation into a sense of grief and insecurity even as the General Elections are a matter of days away.

The attacks call to mind the series of alarms that have been raised by different stakeholders that there are people that have commissioned and paid terrorists to carry out such attacks so that Nigeria’s democracy can be aborted and an interim government illegally put in place.

The Army has averted what was apparently planned to be a Black Monday of sorrow and terror on account of the number of Nigerians that would have been massacred had these terrorists not stopped in their track. This success recorded by the Army is a demonstration of the positive results that can be had when citizens trust the military enough to collaborate with them and provide vital information.

The successful thwarting of the terrorists in all the instances has affirmed that the decision the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, to launch Operation Python Dance nationwide was the right call for which he should be commended. It has turned out to be a proactive approach to the nation’s security challenges since it is now apparent that there are really those that are embittered that the country is on the way to having peaceful elections, which has made them even more desperate to destroy Nigeria’s democracy.

We also praise the troops that brought down these terrorists. The troops have remained committed to Nigeria and obedient to the military leadership even when disgruntled politicians have tried all manners of gimmicks to manipulate them into allowing terrorists gain the upper hand in the days preceding the elections. Nigerians cannot thank them enough for the valour they have shown in dealing the common enemy, which politicised terrorism.

However, it is apparent that there will be more of these kinds of attacks spread over wide geographical areas. This is because the sponsors of these attacks will adapt the “whack-a-mole” strategy, in which they will randomly chose to launch attacks in different geographical locations that are spatially incongruous in a bid to wear down the Army and to make it impossible for troops to deploy to all such locations at short notice. The desperation of those that want Nigeria to fail is such.

We therefore urge that the Army increases its collaboration with other agencies to improve on intelligence gathering with a view to nabbing some of the brains behind these attacks at the planning stage before they have time to cause their desired carnage in any part of the country. This must be closely followed by ensuring that anyone found to be complicit in planning or financing attacks against Nigeria is made to face the law without delay to serve as deterrence to others with similar plans.