By Yemi Adebowale

When we were told that thousands of Boko Haram fighters had surrendered to the military, I had my fears. I was worried because I did not see the so-called fighters submitting arms and ammunition. I did not see a single weapon in all the footages shared by the military. We were even told some commanders surrendered without ordinary kitchen knife. At another point, we were told that a senior Boko Haram commander called Amir Adamu also known as Rugu Rugu, had surrendered to troops of Operation Hadin Kai in Gwoza.

Rugu Rugu is responsible for the deaths of troops and innocent citizens around Mandara hill and Sambisa forest in Gwoza. He could not have been killing people without arms. Shockingly, the gigantic Rugu Rugu also yielded without a single weapon? Also, the so-called bomb makers – Musa Adamu a.k.a Mala Musa Abuja and his second in command, Usman Adamu a.k.a Abu Darda – surrendered without a single firearm. What a country! I could not understand why the military was celebrating terrorists capitulating without their weapons. The development looked more like a charade. They can’t be fighters in the real sense of it, without weapons.

Events of the last four weeks have confirmed my fears. The real terrorists are not submitting. This is the truth. Nine days ago, the real Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists, who obviously did not surrender, ambushed our gallant soldiers in Monguno, Borno State, leaving scores dead. These soldiers were killed on their way to Maiduguri. They ran into mines planted by the guerrillas. The terrorists also took away gun trucks and rifles. The guerrillas who carried out this deadly attack have not been apprehended. The snatched weapons have also not been recovered.

On August 31, ISWAP attacked Rann, in Kala/Balge LG of Borno State, killing scores, including some soldiers. The terrorists tentatively took control of the town. Heavy fighting forced hundreds of civilians to flee the area into neighbouring Cameroon. The military had to launch a combined air and ground counteroffensive, enabling them to retake Rann. Earlier on August 30, the militants invaded Ajiri, an area located south of Maiduguri, and killed six residents.

Last week in neighbouring Yobe State, a fighter jet had to be deployed to dislodge the terrorists hibernating in Buhari village, Yunusari LG. Unfortunately, it wrongly hit a civilian population, killing innocent villagers. In the same Yobe, early this month, the terrorists attacked Ngelbuwa, in Gujba LGA. The truth is that Boko Haram terrorists are still very much active along the Kamadougou Yobe River line, along the Nigeria/Niger border.

Then, just last Thursday, ISWAP fighters attacked a military base in Malam Fatori, Borno State, but were pushed back. On the same day, they attacked Babangida community in Yobe, but were also repelled.

I have listed these six attacks to show that the so-called capitulation of Boko Haram/ISWAP is a farce. They are is still very much alive and kicking with Ameer Bakoura Buduma as the new leader of the faction led by late Abubakar Shekau. They only slowed down after the death of Shekau. In fact, Buduma is consolidating and has appointed Tahiru Damboa as his deputy. The new Boko Haram leader is using Lelewa, a border area between Nigeria and Niger Republic as headquarters.

The bad news is that Buduma and his boys are already spreading out into Bauchi State. That was why some residents of Birshin Fulani, a suburb of Bauchi metropolis, blocked the Bauchi-Dass road on September 16 in protest against killings by terrorists. Days back, the terrorists stormed the area and killed two people, including a staff of the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, Abubakar Muhammad. Some persons were also kidnapped during the attack. Same day, the killers moved to Bayara, which is just about one kilometre away from Birshin Fulani and kidnapped some people. Days later, the terrorists returned to Birshin Fulani and abducted more people.

The real Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters are still with their guns and holding territories. This is the truth. They are consolidating and appointing new commanders. The military knows this and must act appropriately. They should not slow down because of this bogus story of terrorists surrendering. For me, most of the people Boko Haram and ISWAP have pushed forward to submit are not fighters. It is just a trick to trigger their sleeper cells across the country.

This talk by the Director, Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Onyeama Nwachukwu, that ISWAP was embarking on massive recruitment of new members because it had been depleted by members leaving is balderdash. Nwachukwu, last Sunday, during a tour of the Hadin Kai theatre Command in Maiduguri, Borno State, appealed to all Nigerians to be vigilant. Haba! We should be vigilant? This information is not useful for ordinary Nigerians. The Army spokesman has suddenly forgotten about recent attacks by the “degraded” terrorists. ISWAP and Boko Haram are still a big threat and they are recruiting because they are still very much alive and kicking. The military should concentrate on how to truly decapitate these terrorists instead of this hopeless information that ISWAP is recruiting.

On the flip side, Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, has shown uncommon courage in his bid to get President Buhari to perform his Constitutional responsibility of protecting Nigerians against terrorists. At a meeting with a federal government delegation last Tuesday, Masari urged the federal government to adopt new security measures that would liquidate terrorists across the country.

A distraught Masari declared: “From experiences of other countries, you need to liquidate bandits and insurgents completely. I said it before let me repeat it again, the issue of banditry in Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, parts of Niger and Kaduna states has no religious and tribal problem. So, if you take whatever action nobody will complain to you on religious or tribal grounds. We are the same people, same language, same culture and tradition.

“We have certainly become enemies; the good ones on this part and the bad ones on the other part. In everything there is collateral damage, even if you want to clean your room completely in the process you will lose something that you like. So, in dealing with these people of the forest there may be some collateral damages but we need to take action.”

The terrorists in the North-west are inflicting so much pain because they are enjoying a free rein. According to Masari, there are over 150 camps of such terrorists in adjoining forests of Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto and Niger states. Buhari must act decisively. Nigerians are tired of stories.

RingTrue with Yemi Adebowale, yemi.adebowale@thisdaylive.com; 08054699539 (text only)

Originally published at Thisday