In May 2013, President Goodluck Jonathan declared a State of Emergency
in northeastern Nigeria. The states affected were Borno, Adamawa and
Yobe, with the aim of using the military to eliminate the Boko Haram
safe havens and disrupt their intent for attacks.
The operation, to some extent, is very successful though with some
discomfort to the civilians, whose movement have been restricted and
the cut off of mobile phones. The military operation is under the
Joint Task Force, which comprises the military, police and other
security agencies, with the main objective of defeating the cruel
Islamist insurgency.
Since the beginning of the operation, the JTF has succeeded in chasing
the insurgents out of their strongholds, including Sambisa forest and
in Marte and other parts of northern Borno State. Large number of
insurgents were either killed or arrested by the Special Forces that
bombed their camps. Some top Boko Haram fighters as well as their
commanders were captured. Those who escape take refuge in neighboring
countries, while others are said to have hidden in their family homes.
Realizing the difficulties of identifying the Boko Haram members from
the populace, local vigilante and youths have mobilized themselves to
identify with the smooth operation by establishing what is now known
as the ‘Civilian JTF’.
The Civilian-JTF is comprised of mostly Muslim youths, including
women, street thugs, card vendors and Okada riders, who are fed up
with the criminalities of Boko Haram members. The story so far is the
recognition and acknowledgement of the Civilian-JTF by the security
officers in the affected areas. The local group has assisted the
authorities to uproot the bloody sect from the capital by moving round
the city wards, capturing the escaped sect members, apprehending them
and handing them over to the military-led JTF.
The Civilian JTF’s restless effort is receiving more attention as they
are now referred to as a “new National Heroes” by those in government.
Even among their people, their actions are well preferred, because
unlike the Military JTF that has been accused of Human Rights
Violations, the Civilian JTF’s actions were justified as they are seen
as integral part of the society.
While there have been some reservation on the activities of the
civilian-JTF, with members untrained and largely uneducated on basic
security drill, their emergence is a welcome development.
In view of their desire to contribute to security of their
communities, the authority should provide all necessary assistance for
their training and funding so that they become active volunteers in
the supports of military intervention to eliminate militants in their
communities. The government should not dismantle them, but rather
encourage the youths to observe the human right ethics.
Aliyu AbdulHameed is of the University of Ilorin and wrote through
funxey@yahoo.com.
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