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The Boko Haram Kingpin They Can’t Arrest

By newswatchngr.com 07/10/2011 22:15:00

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Ali Tishau, a leader of Boko Haram, has not only eluded security agencies, they are even afraid to openly declare him wanted

The popular saying that truth is the first casualty in any warfare is playing out in the ugly war the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, a.k.a Boko Haram sect has declared on the country. Since the beginning of the Boko Haram insurgence in 2010, nowhere has the truth been sacrificed than in the simulated cold war between the police and the Defence Intelligence Agency, DIA, over the disappearance of Aliyu Tishau, a Boko Haram kingpin.

On the surface, both the police and the DIA are trading blames over whose actions and inaction led to the escape of the elusive Tishau who had hitherto been in the custody of the security agencies before the dramatic interview he granted to African Independent Television, AIT, a fortnight ago. In that interview, Tishau squealed a flurry of tales about the origin of Boko Haram and its violent activities in the country and those behind it. But the reactions of the security agencies since the Tishau episode, shows a grand design by them to either obliterate the truth, misinform or spread disinformation to the gullible masses, who are at the same time bemused as to how such a prime suspect could disappear into thin air without the security agencies having a hand in it.

This is also the point that Frank Odita, retired police commissioner, now a principal consultant, Frankcom Consultant, a security company, made when he said that: “If he (Tishau) is really a missing person and he is wanted by any of these agencies, he won’t be going about freely in this country. Wherever he is granting interview is a security environment. I am sure if he grants press interview in a TV station or a newspaper house, there will be policemen on guard of those institutions. So, the fact is that we are yet to know the truth.”

The implication of having such a suspect at large is unfortunate and very risky for Nigeria at this point in time; on the eve of the country’s 51st independence. “I do not want to believe anyway that the suspect is missing. I don’t want to believe that such suspect can be missing between the police and the DIA,” Odita said.

However, Olusola Amore, a deputy commissioner of police, and Force public relations officer, September 23, said: “The suspect, Mr. Ali Tishau, had been requested on June 27, 2011, and was released on July 7, 2011, to a sister organisation for information in the spirit of information and intelligence sharing. To date, he has not been returned.”

Newswatch learnt that Tishau has been secretly declared “wanted dead or alive” by the Police hierarchy in Abuja. The Police hierarchy unofficially passed the instruction to members of a special squad drawn from selected police formations in the Federal Capital Territory to co-ordinate “Operation Re-capture Tishau.” The police is said to be feeling humiliated at the scandal following the release of Tishau and the revelations made by the Boko Haram leader when he spoke to AIT and that he must have made further startling revelations to the high command of Defence Intelligence Agency, DIA, after he was transferred to DIA from the Police where he was detained for 10 months.

Tishau, who belongs to the conservative wing of the Boko Haram group, said his faction was opposed to terrorism as witnessed in the recent bombing of Police Headquarters and UN building in Abuja. He was detained at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, CID, of the Police at Area 10, in Abuja, for 10 months and was thereafter, released by the Defence Intelligence Agency. While he was with the police, Tishau was interrogated and made statements during his interrogation which the police considered very indicting, as it revealed how the police leadership in both Abuja, and in many states, especially in the Northern states handled the Boko Haram and other security issues. A number of what he said were rich in details about how some police officers collaborated with the group on the one hand, and on the other hand, concealed information about their criminal plans and activities. The police were said to have felt uneasy with what he knows, and came to the conclusion that it was better to keep him away from the public, at least till the present IGP’s era comes to an end.

Tishau’s release from police custody was said to have been made possible because information leaked out to the presidency about what he said. Accordingly, a directive was said to have gone out for the Defence Intelligence Agency, to take over the case for cross-checking. The DIA was said to have set machineries in motion for his release after he made very useful statements to them on activities of the sect. Newswatch learnt that unlike the Police, DIA opted to work with Tishau in fighting terrorism rather than keep him under custody. DIA was also said to have found his statements highly useful and detailed about the activities of the group, their collaborators and sources of funds. Among others, Tishau is said to have explained to DIA operatives that he decided to come into the open to explain issues because some politicians from the Northern parts of the country had infiltrated the group and created a political faction that they are now using to cause havoc in the country.

Apart from funding the activities of the faction they chose to work with; the newly created political wing of Boko Haram were reported to be also involved in issues of strategy and links with external forces. A controversial politician from the North who has also been variously involved in failed campaigns for presidency is said to be among those fingered in the secret deal with a faction of Boko Haram.

Newswatch learnt also that Tishau informed DIA operatives that his faction of conservatives was probing the death of the in-law of Yusuf, who was killed after a visit by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. He was said to have assured that their findings would be made public soon.

The release of Tishau was, indeed, a subject of controversy between the two security agencies in Abuja recently. His release was facilitated by an order of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on May 19. Justice I.U. Bello, who gave the order, declared as unlawful, Tishau’s detention. The Judge also ordered that the Boko Haram leader be paid Five million Naira (N5,000,000) for unlawful detention.

The sorry tale of Tishua, a Tiv man from Benue State, who was born in Jos, became public knowledge September 20, when he talked to AIT, saying “…When I gave my advice, the police chased and arrested me, and kept me in detention. Before I was detained, I gave the police the video recordings of how some of our members were being given military training, but the IGP ordered that I should be detained. I was left in detention for 10 months. But when I was in detention, I was in contact with our people and I still kept forewarning the authorities about the attacks. I even told them before hand whenever an operation was to take place,” Tishau said. He said that the bombing of the police headquarters had been planned and on many occasions, he had always told the police in advance. According to him, “three days before the attack, I warned the police that there would be an attack in Abuja, that would embarrass the securities…Since I was released from detention, I have rejoined my group and some of us have warned our members to stick to the original ideals of our leader, Yusuf.” According to Tishau, the late leader did not tell them to kill innocent people or to break into and steal from banks. “If there is a conflict between the faithful and the authorities, our opposition should be against the authorities and not the talakawas,” he said.

Tishau also insisted that politicians were the root cause of the Boko Haram problem. “For instance, in Borno State, the governor sponsors a group of armed youths known as ECOMOG. It is this ECOMOG that the governor formed and looks after, above the police, the State Security Service, SSS, and other agencies. In Gombe State, the governor had the Kalari. I was once contacted by a governorship candidate to kill an opponent for a fee. The security agencies know what I am telling you. In Bauchi, there is the Tarafuka, an armed group sponsored by the government, and the government watches on, even when we have the SSS and the police. That is why our new leader, Mallam Abubakar Shekau, is calling on the youths to disregard all government in the country – a call that has brought him and the group into conflict with the government. Some politicians are now taking the advantage of the conflict between the Boko Haram leadership and the authorities to execute their own agenda.”

Tishau’s interview and his disappearance have exposed a major deficiency in the security system in the country – rivalry. It is the unhealthy rivalry between and among the security agencies that led to the denial and counter denial of who had Tishau before he went missing. “What we are seeing is everybody competing against the other and who should be chosen to be the best instead of saying how far we have gone to achieve a successful network for the benefit of Nigeria. It will take us to nowhere. It will only ground us because any house divided against itself cannot stand,” Odita said.

This unhealthy competition has made the security agencies not to be on top of the security challenges in the country. Instead of collaborating to solve the problem, they are busy trading blames and blackmailing one another. The result is chaos as it is right now in the country and their inability to collaborate, share vital information necessary to provide adequate security in the country. The result is the ugly impression being created that other security arms were trying to frame the inspector general of police as the architect of the security problem in the country using the person of Tishau as an agent provocateur. It is believed that the IGP is a target of the attacks because he superintend over a police force that worked for the successful election of President Jonathan as the winner of the April 16, presidential election. This might not be far from the truth if one considers that Tishau unequivocally accused Ringim, of being inefficient, hence his inability to provide security in the country.

For instance, Tishau said that “after the bombing of the police headquarters, I was summoned before the IGP and given a GSM phone. I called the person who planned and led the attack and we spoke right in front of the IGP. So, all these terror attacks are caused by the negligence of government.” The attempt to rope in the IGP in the mess is also fuelled by the report that the suicide bomber at the police headquarters came in with the convoy of the IGP but was diverted in time enough not to hit Ringim. People have wondered how the policemen in the IGP’s convoy could not stop the would-be suicide bomber knowing he was not part of the IGP’s convoy. This is because many Nigerians have been manhandled or stopped when they attempted to follow any convoy by security people, not to talk of that of the IGP. But some people believe that it was all a ruse to prove that the IGP was the real target of the attack so that he would not be held responsible for the deteriorating security situation in the country.

One thing clear in the Tishau’s interview is that there was no mention of what transpired between him and the DIA from whose custody he absconded. The idea that Tishau escaped while in police custody was strongly canvassed until the police spokesman said that he was not returned to them after they were ordered to release him to the DIA.

Amidst all the wrangling, Oluseyi Petinrin, chief of defence staff, CDS, who was represented by Air Commodore Yunus Anas, told journalists last Wednesday, that the Boko Haram leader was released because of a court order to that effect. “The attention of the chief of defence staff, CDS, has been drawn to the recent media reports suggesting some disagreements between some Nigerian security organisations in their efforts to stop criminal and terrorist activities in the country, particularly as regards the purported release from custody of one A1iyu Tishau, the self-confessed co-founder of the Boko Haram sect. “This press conference is, therefore, essentially to assure Nigerians that there is no iota of disunity or rancour within or between security agencies in the fight against terrorism, despite the orchestrated speculations by a section of the media. It is necessary to put on record that the so-called co-founder of Boko Haram, Mr. Tishau, was arrested and detained by security agencies for questioning on his relationship with the terrorist group and was later released on the strength of a court order. Mr. Tishau subsequently found his way to the African Independent Television, AIT, where he made several spurious and untenable claims. His much publicised diatribe is understandable and should be situated on the psychology of someone who went through a period of detention and needed a platform to vent his anger.”

Even after the explanations by the CDS, several questions still remained unanswered. But the journalists who attended the briefing were not allowed to ask questions. The CDS failed to give out information on who procured the court order; which judge issued the order for the release of the suspect and the name of the lawyer or representatives of the suspect. Newswatch gathered that the unnamed lawyer to the suspect is based in Kano. Attempts to clarify all the information from the CDS were not responded to.

This information void has made different schools of thought to propound theories as to what is actually happening within the security agencies. One of the popular beliefs is that the security agencies are just using Tishau as the fall guy to clear the way for dialogue and make the group more acceptable, having seen that there is public opprobrium against any government dialogue with the group because of their unexplainable bombings. Creating the impression that there are two splinter groups of Boko Haram will help the federal government reach an accord with the militant group believed to be fighting for a genuine cause. This view is supported by Tishau’s statement that their dead leader never advocated violence.

Also Tishau’s statement supports the security agencies’ theories that there are foreign elements helping Boko Haram to perpetrate their attacks – a view that Onyeabor Ihejirika, a lieutenant general and chief of army staff, had canvassed. Ihejirika said last Tuesday that Boko Haram was receiving tactical support from foreign elements. “It is definite that the youths who call themselves Boko Haram or terrorists receive training and possibly funding from some foreign elements. This is evident in the type of weapons that we have captured from them and from the expertise that they have displayed in the preparation of improved explosive devices. These are pointers to the fact that there is foreign involvement in the terrorism going on in Nigeria,” Ihejirika said, assuring Nigerians of the readiness of the army to work alongside other agencies to ensure the security of lives and property.

Amidst the uproar generated by the Tishau incident, President Jonathan called a meeting of the security agencies where he ordered them to stop issuing conflicting statements on the issue. It was as a result of the meeting that the CDS held a press briefing to correct the notion in the public domain that there was wrangling among the security agencies over Tishau. Whether the CDS succeeded to disabuse the minds of the public that there is a complex web of intrigues and rivalry in the security system is yet to be determined. But one things that is easily discernible is that the security units will from henceforth, be speaking with one voice and working together to secure the country. This is most needed, especially now that the presidential committee on Security Challenges in the North- East Zone has submitted its report.

The committee which was set up following the bomb attacks by the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, asked President Jonathan to consider granting amnesty to members of the sect wishing to surrender their arms to the federal government. The committee submitted its report on a day the security agencies commenced manhunt for suspected Boko Haram members who may have sneaked into Abuja, to carry out suicide bomb attack on a national asset to dent the nation’s 51st Independence anniversary celebrations. It also came at a time Ali Saleh, allegedly the operational commander of Boko Haram and five others, were arrested in Borno State, September 29.

The committee headed by Ambassador Usman Gaji Galtimari, recommended that “the federal government should fundamentally, consider the option of dialogue and negotiation which should be contingent upon the renunciation of all forms of violence and surrender of arms to be followed by rehabilitation” by members of the sect. The committee also told Vice-President Namadi Sambo, who received the final report on behalf of President Jonathan that Boko Haram nominated the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III or his representative; the Emir of Bauchi and Sheik Abubakar Gero Argungu, as its representatives in any federal government team that will negotiate with its members.

The committee, which said it had interacted with various stakeholders, including the governors of Borno, Bauchi, Kano, Niger and Sokoto states and the Sultan of Sokoto among other traditional rulers, also urged “the federal government to diversify and strengthen its means of creating avenues for international intelligence sharing and inter-agency co-operation through diplomatic channels/pacts.”

It added that “the federal government should create an informal forum at the highest level, where Mr. President will discuss national security issues with governors and other major stakeholders from time to time. Again, it said there was an urgent need to arrange an informal forum where Mr. President would grant audience to each state governor on one-to-one basis where issues on security could be addressed.

It also recommended that “the federal government and Borno State government should ensure that human and organisational victims most especially, churches and mosques including schools, which were destroyed during religious crises in the past and even in the recent past, were compensated monetarily and by way of resuscitating and reconstructing their properties. Dependents of the deceased victims should be compensated appropriately.”

The panel listed the remote and immediate causes of the present security challenges in the country to include among others: “High level of poverty and illiteracy existing in the North-East; massive unemployment of youths, both skilled and unskilled; and existence of private militias that were established, funded and used by politicians and individuals and then dumped after having been trained to handle arms.”

Other causes, according to the seven-man panel, are the “presence of a large number of almajiris who together with those mentioned above could easily be used as canon-fodders to ignite and sustain crises,” and the “influx of illegal aliens resulting from porous and unmanned borders, coupled with provocative and inciting preaching by some religious clerics.” The committee listed the immediate causes of the ongoing terrorist attacks to include “the extra-judicial killing of the sect leader, Mohammed Yusuf, and some members of the sect by security agents,” and “weak governance and failure to deliver services in the wake of huge resources accruing to state and local governments.”

The panel remarked that on the part of the security forces, there were palpable operational lapses, service rivalry, underfunding, under-equipment and lack of collaboration; while governments have failed to deliver justice and bring immediate relief to victims of the crises. Also cited as a major discovery by the panel is the “general failure of effective and co-ordinated intelligence gathering and its deployment to forestall events with undesirable consequences,” stressing that “in this direction, there is no high level security network/forum (outside the statutory national security institutions) that will enable an informal meeting between Mr. President and the governors as well as other top level security stakeholders.”

Vice-President Sambo, who received the report in the presence of General Andrew Azazi, national security adviser, Pius Anyim, secretary to the government of the federation, SGF, and Aminu Tambuwal, speaker of the House of Representatives, promised to implement the recommendations. The Vice-President, while commending the committee for a job well done, said that “some of the major issues you have stated regarding the issues of poverty, unemployment, breach of the peace and the existence of private militia are issues that this administration is looking at seriously.”

But Boko Haram said it was not ready for dialogue with government, although several northern leaders and socio-cultural groups have expressed support for the report. Both Anthony Sani, the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, national publicity secretary, and Ishaq Akintola, Muslim Rights Concern, MRC, director, commended the recommendations of the committee on Security Challenges in the North-East, saying that dialogue was the best option.

Many Nigerians have been reacting to the handling of security issues in the country. Chinwoke Mbadinuju, who had serious security challenge when he was the governor of Anambra State, observed that security matters like the military strategy should not be discussed in the market place. “What we notice is that television, newspapers interviews on security issues are not good because security is the lifewire of any nation.”

According to him, the remedy to the current problem is that all hands must be on deck. “Whatever you do let security be uppermost. Secondly, let the National Assembly give the president extraordinary powers to act outside the law. In other words, the federal government should declare a state of emergency on security alone. If things are left the way they are now, it will deteriorate and many people will die. The third solution being canvassed is fiscal federalism to give the states money by allowing them to control their resources to some extent. Also, gathering of information must be seen as very vital. “Most Nigerians are afraid to supply information because they can be made victims. The solution to the current security problem does not lie in calling for heads to roll. If they are removed, the problem will still be there,” he said.

Also, the decentralisation of the police force is another remedy to the current security challenge in the country. While the state governors are the chief security officers of their states, the commissioners of police in the states do not report to the governors but the IGP. Commissioners of police should be brought to be under the governor.

On the idea that security agencies have been infiltrated, Mbadinuju said: “It looks like the security agencies have been infiltrated by the members of the Boko Haram. It has become very serious that the president seems to be alone. Those he relies on have failed him. If these things are from them, then there is a problem. In fact, I pray for the president everyday. Things are so abnormal. I sympathise with the president but those around him are advised not to knock down those who want to help,” he said.

No doubt, the Boko Haram induced violence is affecting the economy. Some people are postponing appointments that would make them travel to Abuja by October 1. Those who cannot help but be there are also avoiding high profile hotels as security alert has shown that some popular five star hotels in Abuja, have been a target for a long time. This explains why security has been beefed up in some of the Hotels recently as Newswatch witnessed in Abuja. “Those who understand the security in Nigeria say Nigeria is so porous. Weeding out security threats in the country should be done quietly. Many people are afraid of what is happening because they don’t know who is who.”

Reported by Chris Ajaero, Tobs Agbaegbu, Anza Phillips, Dike Onwuamaeze and Ishaya Ibrahim