BY Ebunoluwa Olafusi
No Nigerian territory is currently under the control of Boko Haram, according to a report by the Centre for Conflict Resolution and Management.
The centre made this disclosure after an on-the-spot assessment of Baga town in Kukuwa local government area of Borno state and others parts of north-east.
The centre said this in the wake of the reports of take over of the town by Boko Haram insurgents.
Presenting the report on Wednesday, Betty Aku, executive director of the centre, said the group has evidence that no town in the country is being controlled by the sect.
The report reads:
Baga’s reputation and by volume of economic activity is a major economic hub in Borno State. The town is also located within the epicentre of the political insurgency in North-eastern Nigeria. By 2009, Doron Baga had become significantly affected by the activities of the insurgents, with the community experiencing frequent violent attacks and even long periods of territorial occupation by the insurgents.
The palpable insecurity in the Lake Chad region occasioned by armed banditry, arms trafficking and border intrusion along Nigeria’s border with Chad, Cameroon, and Niger necessitated the establishment of a Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in 1998 with Baga town in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State as the Headquarters. The initial mandate of the Task Force was to conduct military operations in the Lake Chad Region, checkmate banditry activities and to facilitate free movement of the member states of the Lake Chad Basin Commission across their shared border. The actions of Boko Haram in Baga as the epicentre of strategic activities in terms of arms procurement, planning for attacks and reception centre for foreign insurgents or mercenaries (due to its proximity to porous borders) obligated and justified the expansion of the Task Force’s mandate in April, 2012 to include the fight against terrorism. The MNJTF in Baga is in charge of Lake Chad region and is administratively and operationally independent.
As in this case, it is evident that Baga has remained a battleground for the Nigerian Military and the Boko Haram insurgents for factors such as its proximity to the neighbouring francophone countries, its economic potentials, and activities evident in farming, livestock rearing, and fishing. Even before the Boko Haram conflict in the area, phenomena’s such as ambush, human trafficking, kidnapping, and robbery have been prevalent in the Lake Chad basin and specifically near the borders.
Data analysis and interviews were used to answer critical research questions. Primary source materials constituted a significant aspect of the research work. The strength of this report was in the extensive use of such sources, including oral interviews with residents of the communities.
After an analysis of the findings of the researchers, the following were arrived at:
Baga town and its environs are not under the control of Boko Haram Insurgents.
Baga Town witnessed an attempted takeover by heavily armed Boko Haram Insurgents, but the attack was successfully repelled by the combined grand and air forces of the Armed Forces
Baga and its environs are accessible to all commuters. The rumoured takeover of Baga and other communities are aspects of propaganda in warfare. The resurgence of attacks by Boko Haram Insurgents has not decimated the claims that the sect has been technically defeated. The Nigerian troops were in high spirit throughout the festive season The neighbouring communities in Baga are as safe as well.There is no section of the state under the control of Boko Haram Insurgents.
The second attempt lasted several hours until the military deployed air support to the ground troops.
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