By SWA Investigation
With increasing onslaught against Nigeria and Nigerians, seven local governments in the country were in the firm control of Boko Haram by the year 2015.
The terrorists, who mostly attacks Military formations, other security services and soft target against unsuspecting Nigerians, appeared to have a field day under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
To tackle the terrorists in the North East, the Federal Government then engaged the South Africa’s Specialised Tasks, Training, Equipment and Protection (STTEP) mercenary company.
So, between December 2014 and April 2015, at least 147 South African mercenaries were engaged by the Nigerian government to train its troops as well as fight the insurgents.
The hiring of the mercenaries for the anti-insurgency war then and the reported $400 daily salary payment to each of them had raised serious questions for the economy under former President Jonathan’s administration.
What had also been put out over the years and believed in many quarters was that the South African mercenaries were the brain and power behind the reclaim the seven local government areas from the control of the terrorists.
But in search of lasting solutions to peace in the North East, the Security Watch Africa (SWA) investigation uncovered sterling revelations on how the 7 LGAs were reclaimed.
SWA, therefore, embarked on investigation to unravel the truth which might be of assistance in reclaiming the current three local governments allegedly being presently under the control of the terrorists in Borno State under the administration of Governor Babagana Umara Zulum.
Speaking with top Nigerian military sources, who were key players and instrumental in the reclamation of the seized councils, it was revealed that the South Africans were not fighters, but trainers.
According to the sources, the South Africans never played any key role in the reclamation of the seven local government areas in 2015, but they only assisted in training the Air Force on some platforms.
Speaking on a condition of anonymity with the SWA crew, one of the sources said categorically that the troops of the Nigerian Army were the ones who reclaimed the seven Local Government Areas in Borno State in 2015.
They gave detailed account of how the seven local government areas were reclaimed in 2015, the character and intentions of Boko Haram.
Very instrumental to the reclamation of the seven councils, a top military source, who was not permitted to speak on the matter, said “On the issue of the people that were brought, in fairness, before I got there, they were operating in Adamawa State. You remember Late Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, from Mubi. You know that axis became so bad, and that axis was under 3 Division. I can still recollect Major General FO Alli was the GOC then. So, that was where they started. Even Abu Ali was there operating with them, including the air component of those people.
“But when I got there, January 27 to be specific, the mandate I had was to understudy the person I’m going to take over from for two weeks, because of the complexity of the environment.
“But as God will have it, I got there in the night of 27. First of February, Boko Haram came into Maiduguri from five axis, all the entry points into Maiduguri. Maiduguri almost fell 1st of February. Maiduguri was held that 1st of February. “Eventually, we lost some officers, I can still remember one of our very brilliant officers. That was one officer that his death touched my bone marrow the 1st of February, 2015.
“It was in the night, around 11, an order came from Army Headquarters, ‘take over command now’. I took over command night of 1st of February till 2nd of February. So, the moment I took over, they said I should start operating. I told them I needed four weeks to stabilise Maiduguri, then from there, we will go on.”
The source added, “But the Army said they can only give me one week. Before the one week, I knew what I was able to do, like that. I had to request and mobilised the resources I needed here and there, hiring vehicles, repairing vehicles and all that we would need additional one week so that we will not be beaten back easily.
“So, luckily I was given another grace of one week. And that was why the real operation to push back out of Maiduguri started on 14th of February, 2015.
“Now back to this people, those ones that were operating there, yes, with Nigerian soldiers, it’s not as if they just got there and started working. They worked with Nigeria Army in that axis.
“So, when I finished with my own plan and everything and I was to issue orders, I now requested based on what my soldiers and officers were saying, I now requested for Abu Ali to be released to me because we got some T72 tanks, which Abu Ali had trained on. So, they now released Abu Ali.
“Then the so-called South Africans were not fighters. They were trainers. The ones that came to me were not fighters, they were trainers. Lagbaja is dead today, may his soul continue to rest in peace. Lagbaja was the CO of 72 Para Battalion. The soldiers and officers that were being trained by these people, were from 72 Para Battalion, Nigerian soldiers.
“Then Nigeria Air Force had only one MI17, functioning then. Then one air pilot, Tuba, who I operated with in Sierra Leone, he’s a South African. Tuba was on that MI17 with Nigerian Air Force officers. They were flying, at least, to have experience on operational flight and all what have you. They were doing it together.
“So, within that period of two weeks grace I had, I met with these people that I will require these special forces. They said they were still training. On the 14th when I wanted to start, two days before I started, I told them, they said they were still training. They were on that training, we stabilised and advanced from Maiduguri to Bama, they said they were still training.
“It was after we stabilised those areas and now withdrew some of the resources, including T72, I only left two T72 tanks with them and withdrew three with Abu Ali to come back so that I can use him with whatever I can muster again.”
Charting the course to Bama, he said “I studied the ground, study the map, and I said another route we can follow to Bama could be from Mafa. But from Mafa, you must go cross country, that is going through the bush not going through any route at all.
“One of the civilian JTFs, who is a native of that Mafa general area, was the one that assisted us, to show us the direction. We then used compass and GPS to navigate how we are going to advance to the back of Bama and captured Bama.
“So, while that plan was also going on, I kept pressurising these people, at least, for us to have a firm base, Mafa has to be stabilised. So, with them, they have like C17 or 18, APCs, which were not available to me, because it’s meant for those they are training for special operations.
“So, the first thing they ever did with me with those equipment and my soldiers, was we drove to Mafa without firing any shot. All those people had ran away from Mafa. So, a unit was installed in Mafa.
“Meanwhile, I didn’t stop the advance from Konduga towards Bama because that was the direct axis. And if we move everything out of there, they will know. So, I maintain a front there even if you advance only 100 meters per day, you must continue.
“So, that was how the plan to take Bama from two fronts was firmed up. The day we were to start the advance, I still went to meet these people, they still said they were not ready.
“I said ‘no problem’. I moved with my troops to Mafa, from Mafa we started the advance. From that Day One, I told everybody must come down, we have to advance on foot. I advanced with them on foot for 20 kilometers across country. We only encountered Boko Haram only once along the line. I was the one in firm control, communicating and directing who does what.
“In fact, the Alpha Jet that was covering our advancement was flown by former Chief of Air Staff, Amao. Amao was hearing my voice from his own radio. I can hear him saying ‘that’s Oga…… controlling the advance and making contacts’. I heard him saying it unconsciously from his aircraft.
“So, that day, when we got to Bama around 6 O’clock, a witness is also alive, Major General IN Ijioma, he was Acting Director of Operation. He came on a visit from Abuja. So, he started advancement with me. We advanced for 20 kilometers together, day one of the advances to take Bama. Those people were not there. So, when we harboured, after setting up everybody, giving them their password and telling them what to do, including Abu Ali, which I could still remember, may his soul rest in peace, anybody, even if it’s myself that came anytime after now and cannot answer your password, take him down.
“If you people remember, these people were shot, the so called South Africans. Our officer shot them. When they got there, they were not aware of the harbour security programme code. That was what led to two of their APCs shot.
“I’m giving you all these details because they said they were the ones that did the ‘divide and capture’. So, after we sort out the problem of them being shot, the one that was probably wounded or admitted in the hospital, we had to continue our advancement.
“I think the third or fourth day, they also mustered enough courage and joined us. So, they joined us two days for us to enter. And while we were advancing, they advanced on their own lane while I continued moving.
“Well, we got into Bama through the barracks. We first of all clear the barracks, while they went from behind to also enter Bama, that is towards Banki side. So, they joined us in capturing Bama. But they were not with us when we started. Their own way of doing things made my own troops to shoot at them. That was exactly what happened.”
Recounting the scenario when entering Bama, the reliable source continued, “So a day for us entering and capturing Bama, the whole Bama was burnt by the insurgents. Every house in Bama was touched, because when we were to withdraw with the aircraft back, we flew over Bama and discovered every house was in flames.
“When we captured Bama, that was the end of these people. They didn’t join us again till we captured the next places. In fact, after capturing Bama, they withdrew.”
Giving possible reasons for the withdrawal of the South African trainers, the source said, “The idea of them not being paid, or something I can’t remember, so they too became lethargic kind of. And when they advised me against advancing to Madara so as not to jeopardise the lives of my troops, I told them I will continue.
“So, the area I will give them credit is the air. They were doing it with the Air Force. They were not the ones flying the command post but we were.
Elections were not to be held in those places. But because of what we were able to do, elections were held in those places.
“The Boko Haram insurgents were using Nigeria military equipment to fight us. Those were there strength when they had some support here and there. And that was the reason why they said Nigerian soldiers were running away.
“But unfortunately, what people don’t understand is, this same soldiers were the ones I used to capture all these places held by Boko Haram. So, that is the truth of the matter.
“We advanced and eventually captured Gamboru Ngala and stabilised Gamboru Ngala. That was the popular hoisting of the flag at Gamboru Ngala. That was the day Abu Ali was given special promotion in the night and was decorated with bush fire,” the source stated.
Another top military sources, reacting to the alleged incompetence of troops of the Nigerian Army, told SWA that. “First of all, I want to talk about Army alleged not to be competent. It’s not true. Remember I said a word that the Borno people asked the government to come and remove the military before and said that they were killing their children.
“So, in that situation, what do you expect military to do? It means no matter what they do, they will also have to be very careful, because the operation they were doing was to save the majority of the people. But the people they were even doing the operation to save say they don’t want them.
“So, it’s really complicated. The military too, they didn’t parachute from heaven or hell. They were all born like any other man or woman. So, they have blood running through them, and they were military people that had received training. Their training was inclusive of compulsively protecting the life and property of loyal citizens.
“So, they cannot just go out and want to just kill everybody. It’s not possible. In order to follow the training, processes and procedures, you discover that our lives are even compromised in the front.”
He added, “Also not to run away from the fact that the military had been neglected for a long time, especially in terms of training, in terms of equipment. In 1985 or 1986 when there was a coup against Babangida, from that moment on, the military was seen as something else, by the opposing force.
“So, instead of empowering the military, at least professionally, no additional equipment, no spare parts to maintain the ones available, no additional aircraft, no maintenance policy. In fact, to the extent that most equipment that we had that were really state of the art equipment and functioning, everything was used in ECOMOG.
“Everything was used up in ECOMOG, we returned many of them in carcasses, dysfunction. In fact, many of them, they have to go there and blow them up and give them away in scraps.
“So, as at the time Boko Haram picked in 2009, we had less lethal equipment. The training was there, at least to some extent, and our training had been on conventional warfare, with very little training on asymmetric warfare.
“All our training was based on riot here, riot there. That’s the little that we were doing. So, that was the level of training. So, coming into large scale asymmetric warfare will initially pose a challenge and with that of equipment at the scale required.
“So, on the basis, that Nigerian troops were running away from the front; they were not just running away, the running away had happened before I got there. And when you listen to some of them, some people were not paid their allowances for three months. Two, some of them don’t have even the protective equipment,” he stated.
Throwing light on what Boko Haram was and how it started, another top military officer said, “By my own understanding, Boko Haram started on the basis of religion and neglect. The word ‘Boko Haram’ came as a kind of indoctrination, stressing that with all the education, with all the certificates, yet nothing is happening.
“As popular as Borno was, it was only a city state, Maiduguri was everything. Yes we have places like Bama, Gwoza, Mongonu and all those places are popular. I think the biggest town again was Bama, which eventually they destroyed. What they really wanted to do is to have a kind of Islamic Jihad on the side of the religion, to carve a place for themselves, since there was no governance in all those places.
“That’s where the word ‘Boko Haram’ came, since Quran and Islamic education is what is more popular there. So, they really wanted to use that as a gimmick to capture the mind of the people so that anything done against them will be seen as done against the religion.
“But eventually, even when government wanted to take action, when the Army started, the Maiduguri people, including the Shehu said they should come and remove the military and that the military was killing their children. It is on record.
“Until the thing escalated and they now saw that this thing has gone beyond religion because they are not singling out the Christians.
“They started with openly killing Christians in churches to appeal to the mind of the people. With what was also going on outside Nigeria,… al-Qaeda, ISIS in Syria, Iraq and all those places. Since all those ones were having much problem with America, they were looking for areas where they could spread their tentacles.
“A very big opportunity came through the Sahel, with Libya disintegrated, and so many arms and ammunition piled up there, it was everybody-to-himself-God for-us-all’ kind of thing. People started to do whatever they liked with the arms and ammunition gathered in large stocks and supply then.
“And that was why all those things eventually came down and fueled what became a monster for us in Nigeria.
“Many of the Boko Haram members don’t know anything about Islam. That also gave me confidence to indoctrinate our soldiers, particularly the core Muslim ones among them.
“A true Muslim will not go to the mosque and kill everybody. A true Muslim will not go into the church and kill anybody. A true Muslim will not rape a mother in the presence of the father and take the boys away.
“Some they will rape the mother and they will also rape the daughter. A Muslim will never do that. So, when anybody shout ‘Allahu Akbar’ for you, if you are a Christian, you too say, ‘Jesus is Lord’, you fire him back.
“Allahu Akbar is not magic. Allahu Akbar is ‘God is Great’. Don’t let any Allahu Akbar frighten you. So, sincerely, they kind of use that to hypnotise the people. Many of them don’t even know how to pray. Many of them cannot recite the first Surah that is important to use for prayer. They don’t know that.”
The military source also dispelled the allegation claiming that the military did not want the terrorism to end because of the money they were making from it.
Stressing that people might have their reasons for saying so, he believed that it could be from the little allowances the troops were earning, which did not measure up to the risk and sacrifices involved.
He said that whoever made money through the blood of other people would not enjoy the money.
The source also pointed out that majority of the non-governmental organisations that came to the North East was not there to end the terrorism as they envisaged it to last for a very long time with them renting apartments for up to 10 years and beyond in the area.
He said they continued to send negative reports to those that were funding them in order to continue to earn their incomes.
While the seven LGAs were successfully reclaimed by Nigerian troops in 2015, what is becoming worrisome is the recent information that fresh three local government areas in Borno State were now under the control of the terrorists.
Expectedly, the good people of Nigeria are already calling on the government and the military to take drastic steps to reclaim the three local government areas.
Going forward, all the necessary support should be given to the military and other stakeholders to ensure that no land, let alone any local government council, falls into the hands of any enemy of the state, henceforth.