BANDITS, ISWAP, BOKO HARAM ALLIANCE: A TRAGEDY (WEEKLY SECURITY DASHBOARD FOR THE PERIOD NOVEMBER 8 – 12, 2021)
On October 31, notorious Bandits leader, Dogo Gide was shot dead through the collaborative efforts with other notorious bandits’ groups.
Intelligence sources state that Dogo Gide was killed by his close aides after his men went into alliance with another terror group, led by the late Damina.
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The death was received with great relief as the name Dogo Gide evoked terror, fear and trauma within Zamfara, Niger, Kaduna, Kebbi and the Katsina States. Many saw the death from the angle of disagreement between different factions of the terror group, hence, a welcome development.
However, the consequences of the link of a strategic alliance of one terror group with another were conspicuously missed in the euphoria of the celebration of the death of the notorious bandits’ leader.
Recall that a deadly strategic alliance of Boko Haram and Bandits as earlier reported resulted in a bomb blast that shattered a section of the Abuja-Kaduna rail line on Wednesday, October 19 and the subsequent attack on passengers on Thursday morning which could have been averted if security operatives had acted promptly on available information.
According to an Intelligence report dated October 19 on the planned Kaduna-Abuja attack, Baffa informed Bala that members of Darussalam (Boko Haram) in collaboration with bandits led by Danlami and Lawan planted a bomb on the rail line with the intention to kidnap a train full of passengers.
The said intel, dated October 19, 2021, and titled “PLANNED ATTACK ON TRAIN AROUND RIJANA, KADUNA STATE”, stated in clear terms how the mission was planned and executed by the Darul Salam terrorists.
According to the report, Baffa informed Bala that members of Darussalam, (Boko Haram) in collaboration with bandits led by Danlami and Lawan were on their way to plant a bomb at a bridge on the railway in Rijana with the motive of hijacking and kidnapping a train-filled with passengers.
Thereafter the attack, the presence of IEDs at unsuspecting locations has become the order of the day.
On November 2, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Command in Borno State discovered explosives confirmed to be Improvised Explosives Device (IED) on a farm in Auno village, Konduga LGA of Borno State.
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Undeterred by the foiled Abuja-Kaduna rail incidents and other repelled attacks, different arms of the ISWAP group have recently reshuffled its cabinet in a strategic move to attack identified locations. Intelligence sources reported on November 1, ISIS sent an envoy of 3 Arab emissaries for a three-day meeting that was held from October 29 – 31 where among other things, leadership culminating in the appointment of the new Wali of ISWAP in Nigeria topped the agenda. The lack of financial sustenance of the terror group may also be connected to the move by the terror group to join forces in the planned attack of several strategic locations, especially in Borno State.
Borno State has become the bedrock of mutation of insurgency attacks, where if care is not taken, every security apparatus deployed to secure the state may fail. This is evident with the daily attacks witnessed within and around the state.
Hence, tendencies have become rife for the team of security personnel to continuously reinforce and deploy troops to these identified locations. However, the possibility of these attacks constituting moves by these insurgents to derail the attention of the security personnel from strategic underground plans and possible surprise incidents may not be far-fetched.
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Surveillance missions by the military-backed up with continuous aerial and land offensive operatives have been yielding massive results in repel of several attacks. However, the recent increase in the spate of ambush attacks culminating in deaths of security personnel indicates the dire need for proactive strategies to be deployed and actions are taken to guide against the “unholy alliance of ISWAP and Boko Haram with Bandits and other terror groups”, as the colossal tragedy that may result would make other reported and even the worst kidnapping incidents ever recorded, a child’s play.
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