Nigeria Times

By Moses Abu

2015 was a turning point in Nigeria for several reasons. President Buhari won elections as an opposition candidate, which is a very rare occurrence in this part of the world. He thereafter made what I call one of the best appointments ever. In changing the service chiefs, the President appointed core professionals and battle tested soldiers to head the military.

Before then, it had been a case of woes and calamities for security in the country. Boko Haram attacks ravaging most parts of the North East region of the country. Barracks attacked and soldiers fleeing, morale within the Army was definitely low. Allegations of massive corruption in defence spending yet troops at the battle field were not provided adequate tools to prosecute the war against the terrorist group Boko Haram. Then came Lt Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai, as chief of army staff COAS.

Before his appointment Lt Gen Buratai headed the multinational joint task force as commander of a multinational effort to tackle the menace of terrorism in the sub region. So settling into the task ahead as Chief of Army Staff COAS of the Nigeria army was seamless for him. No one could be more suited for the job at that time than him. No wonder his appointment as COAS then was hailed by most of the stakeholders in the security circle as a brilliant master stroke by the President.

Not only that he was at the time deep into the operations at the main theatre of the battle as commander of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) , He is also from Borno State , which at the time was also the epicentre of the insurgency. Analysts and observers opined that the two attachments placed him in the best position to lead the battle to restore peace to Borno and indeed the North East region.

The reason for the successes recorded at the battle field against the insurgents cannot be divorced from the appointment of this great soldier to lead the army at that crucial period. At some point in 2014 about 14 Local government areas were under the capture and control of Boko Haram terrorists. They hoisted flags, made laws and even held courts.

By end of 2016 about a year and a few months after Lt Gen Buratai took over as COAS, all the territories occupied by the terrorist had been retaken by the gallant troops of the Nigerian Army. Same Army that fled initially, returned to take back the territories lost and even take out the terrorists. What changed? Leadership! That is it!

So it is one thing to have a strong Army, it is entirely a different ball game to have a leader and a good commander with the dexterity and courage required to be at the helms of affairs. That is the game changer. As they say “leadership is everything”.

It is my belief that had we handled the Boko Haram issue the way we are handling the issue of bandits in the North West region now with utmost attention and dedication, perhaps Boko Haram would not have seen 2015. With the amount of vigour and commitment on display by the current leadership of the Army, had this quality of attention and resources been deployed way back, Boko Haram would have long been history.

As soon as the Army started making progress in the North East region of the country against Boko Haram terrorists, many of those that escaped fled to the North West region which has exacerbated the security situation in that region. Many of the fleeing terrorists joined up with the bandits in their camps in the forest to fight their “common enemy” the Nigerian Army.

With this discovery, the Chief of Army Staff moved swiftly to tackle the banditry issue with speed and a good strategy. Immediate deployments were made, the 8 division of the Nigeria army was established in Sokoto, North west Nigeria to help serve as a base to launch the many operations for the battle against banditry in the North West Region.

Today, the chief of army staff is in the North West again on operational visits to the troops. He is on ground to ensure that the recent successes recorded by troops of the operation Sahel Sanity are consolidated upon and where any lapses exist, the army will rejig and fire on.

The operation Sahel Sanity launched about 3 months ago has already yielded several positive results. Many bandits’ camps have been cleared and bandits neutralized. Especially in Zamfara and Sokoto states. Ongoing operations around Kastina state are yielding positive results, especially since the establishment of the Nigerian Army Super Camp 4, was established in Faskari kastina State.

Lt Gen Buratai’s constant operation visit to troops at the core of these operations is a working strategy anywhere in the world, part of the essence of these operational visits is to ensure that the troops continue to operate within the rules of engagement. This is one of the key reasons why there have not been cases of human rights abuses by troops taking part in these operations.

Before now, Allowances due to troops on the battlefield were paid over the table through their various commanders. This gave room to some under cutting of the troops allowances by some of these commanders but Buratai has changed all of that . He has ensured that all allowances due to troops at the theatre of operations go straight into their bank accounts. This has really boosted troops morale, which has improved their commitment resulting in better results at the battle field.

COAS as part of ongoing operational reforms has ensured that postings in and out of battle areas are as regular as possible so as to avoid soldiers staying on one assignment for too long. This has been yielding positive results as well. Prior to now there were complaints within the army especially amongst troops on the battlefield about postings and deployments. This has been tackled and adequately resolved by Buratai. For those who are outside the army they may not understand how crucial this is but those within understand the importance of a fair and just posting/deployment regime.

Lt Gen Buratai has always made clear his desire to build a truly professional army, an army to defend and protect the nation from any security threat. There is no doubt that he is clearly on the right part. He has invested heavily in the welfare of the men and women of the Army. Renovation of several barracks across the country, the Army reference hospital in Abakaliki is a testament to his commitment to the welfare of his soldiers. The establishment of the Army university in Bui, a legacy project that some may not appreciate fully now but will do so when their children need to seek quality university education, at that point I am sure the significance of the university will be clear.

All that Lt Gen Buratai has done whether in welfare of his soldiers, provision of amenities, prompt payment of due allowances, promotions, deployments etc. are to make sure he leaves behind a truly professional Army that can secure the country against external and internal aggressors. He leaves me with no doubt that he is more than capable of doing that.

He has deployed all the strategies above to ensure that according to the directive of the president, banditry is eliminated from the North West region as soon as possible.

Nigeria is undoubtedly proud of the COAS and can only wish him well in his stride to rid the North West region of bandits in the shortest time possible.

Abu is a member of the Socialist Liberation Movement (SLM) and wrote from FUT, Minna.

By Goodness Adaoyiche

On the 28th of July, 2020, Nigerian governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his achievements in securing the lives and property of Nigerians. This by no means is a significant development given its emphasis by the Constitution and how past administrations have failed in that aspect.

The APC governors that gave the commendation include those of Borno, Gombe, and Yobe States which were the most affected by the Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorism in Northeast Nigeria between the years 2012 and 2015. The only state which has suffered almost equal devastation but was missing at the meeting is Adamawa.

The APC governors  at the virtual meeting involving the President and members of the interim National Working Committee of their party assessed the current prevailing situation in the Northeast and resolved that it would be uncharitable if they fail to commend the president for what he has done in defending the territorial integrity of Nigeria and restoring law and order.

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, the Governor of Kebbi State and Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum, Senator Atiku Bagudu, thanked President Buhari for his initiatives which have brought peace, succour and relief to the people of the Northeast. 

Those who are not aware of the extent of devastation in the Northeast are bound to pass the commendation as a non event but the governors know what they’re pointing their fingers at.

While those who are sceptical of the achievements of the current administration are bound to underestimate the extent of the intervention of the current administration in the Northeast, the facts speak of an uncommon transformation.

At the height of the Boko Haram devastation of the Northeast, many schools were forced to shut down as they were being attacked and burnt. The number of out-of-school children in the Northeast rose to about 8 million representing 60 percent of the figure in Nigeria. 

People were compelled to live in perpetual fear with many abandoning their homes to go and squat in other parts of the country. Boko Haram  destroyed everything that represents development in the region.

It had since 2013 serially destroyed telecommunication equipment in a number of LGs in the Northeast as part of their techniques to prevent communities from alerting one another and reaching out  to security agencies.

One of the telecoms operator which quantified the damage on its facilities said 57 of its sites have been destroyes by the insurgents and require urgent attention .

Life became a living hell for the people who have been cut off from other parts of the country who were subjected to living under the most dehumanizing conditions.

The Boko Haram frustarted movements by destroying roads and blowing off bridges. Where they couldn’t destroy, they mount road blocks to kill unsuspecting travelers. 

In the past many roads in the Northeast were avoided as they had become death traps where the insurgents could appear and slaughter people at will.

Not just the ordinary people but even political leaders like governors and senators could not travel to their hometowns by road. The worse thing was that Nigeria began to lose territories as 20  local government councils came under Boko Haram control and were being administered by the terrorists as states under their caliphate. People became refugees in their own countries as they try to flee from the violence attacks.  

The loss in economic terms were enormous. But with the coming of the current administration such  attacks have been halted and people are breathing fresh air. Fear has been eliminated as major towns in the Northeast like Biu, Gombe, Ashaka, Mubi, Yola, Potiskum, Gashua, Geidam and  Damaturu, have been peaceful and cannot remember the last time it went through such terrible experiences. All the local councils in the state hitherto taken by the insurgents have been recaptured and people now live their normal lives. 

President Buhari has proven that he is concerned about the problems in the Northeast  and that he is for the masses of this country. Beyond the military conquest, the current administration has initiated interventions for rebuilding of the infrastructural facilities in the Northeast. 

The result is that schools have been rebuilt, roads reconstructed and reopened, while hospitals have been equipped and communication gadgets reinstalled. The uncommon transformation going on in the Northeast is such that taps are now running in major towns and electricity restored.

Adaoyiche is a journalist based in Abuja.

By Richard Murphy

In the most bizarre turn of events yet, Benue State Government and leaders from Sankera axis of the state said they have accepted the killing of notorious militia leader, Terwase Akwaza, aka Gana, “as an act of God” while also elevating themselves into a pontificate conclave with the powers to grant absolution to the Nigerian Military against which they said they have resolved not to take up issues. Gana was killed by troops of Operation Ayem Akpatuma III, an Operation of the Nigerian Military saddled with the responsibility of tackling banditry in Benue, Taraba and Nassarawa State area.

By this attitude, the government of Benue state and stakeholders of Sankera disrespect other Nigerians for several reasons. Gana died under controversial circumstances, Commander of Four Special Force Brigade, Major General Ali Gadzama, said the militia warlord was killed in a shootout; while authorities in Benue state insisted that Gana had earlier surrendered as part of embracing an amnesty programme of the state. The preponderance of opinion is that there should be a thorough investigation to get to the root of the matter, which makes it curious that the Benue state government is now saying they have resolved not to take up issues with the military.

The move can best be described as an attempt to preempt investigation into the matter and perhaps conceal the true magnitude of the crimes that Gana committed against the rest of us during the period that he waged his campaign of terror. This is in addition to the ugly development whereby Nigerians are being bombarded with so many lies and distorted account of events by those behind Gana’s atrocious acts without thoughts for the people who had met horrific fates at his hands.

It is important to bear in mind who Gana was. He was that nutjob who first came to limelight as fighting inter-ethnic battles between his Tiv ethnic nationality and other ethnic groups, mostly in Taraba state. That he survived to later become a terrorist testified to his brutality and efficiency in annihilating foes from these other ethnic groups. Of course, his victims from those inter-ethnic battles did not enjoy the luxury of seeking amnesty, being arrested or having expectations of fair trials. They summarily died in battle at the hand of a more brutal militia leader.

The end of attrition against these other ethnic groups in Taraba and sometimes Nasarawa state was only possible because Gana found commercial application for his bloodlust by hiring out himself to desperate politicians as a tool for snuffing life out of political opponents. It is no wonder that he reportedly accepted the offer of the poorly packaged amnesty only after a certain politician has stepped in. The involvement of a known militia lord in the dynamics of elections in Benue state speaks volume to the nature of democracy practiced in that state while putting a question mark on electioneering activities conducted under the supervision of a murderous enforcer. It is an arrangement that bears uncanny similarities to Boko Haram ascendancy, being an organization that was at some point leveraged as a tool for political enforcement.

Gana’s final descent into darkness was precipitated by his falling out with his political patrons. He took to the jungles straddling Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa states. His was a campaign of plunder, gore, carnage and terror. In the over six years that he laid siege to these areas, hundreds of people lost their lives to him and his fighters, sometimes entire communities were wiped out as Gana’s means of sending messages to the politicians he wanted to feel helpless and powerless. So dangerously did he push the entire nation towards the edge that some of his atrocities were credited to Fulani herdsmen in situations that led to reprisals being launched against the Fulani, which in turn led to counter reprisals that sparked a circle of violence that was not helped in any way by the militias sometimes rustling cattle and leaving communities they transited through to bear the brunt of enraged pastoralists.

The foregoing makes it stomach churning that Wantor Akwa, one Gana’s widows could desecrated the memory of her deceased husband’s victims by attempting to canonize the personae described in the preceding paragraphs. Akwa’s keening is consistent with what has emerged to be a systematic and coordinated effort to dress the deceased Gana in saintly robes, not because he was a saint or freedom fighter in his lifetime but because his clients, who misled him to death by the way, believe that they can redirect attention from their own crimes by making Gana appear as the victim whom the state has wronged as opposed to the reality of him being a notorious and merciless robber whose only joy was to kill endlessly while he was alive.

However, rather than engaging in this perverted manipulation of reality, those who egged Gana onto his death should be brave enough to step up to whatever investigative panel is set up to explain their roles in his emergence as a terror to those whose lives he cut short and the families he threw into mourning. They should discard their ongoing attempt to make Gana’s death appear like an injustice against Benue people.

The nature of the amnesty that the state offered to the late militia lord should be investigated as well because the reality was that even if Gana’s crimes were confined to Benue state the fact that his victims were and are Nigerians gives the Federal Government full jurisdiction in addition to the fact that security is on the exclusive list. Note must equally be taken that Gana dealt death across state boundaries, which made one wonder if Benue state had the understanding of Taraba and Nasarawa state in their failed attempt to wash away all of Gana’s sins before he was killed.

Perhaps, to the extent that a N50 million bounty remained active on Gana’s head and the Federal Government was not formally running the amnesty programme, troops would have still taken him out if he were right inside the Benue State Government House. As tragic as Gana’s killing was under these controversial circumstances, in Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa states, those who sense they will get relief from it see his demise as divinely arranged and are even thanking God for answering their prayers.

The answered prayers will certainly extend to an outcome where none will rise up in place of Gana even though he futilely pronounced that someone would emerge after him that would be more brutal than him. Hopefully, the military will ensure that no such person lasts longer than 72 hours after their first declaration of belligerence against the nation state. This is why those trying to incite the remnant of Gana’s militias to regroup and revenge him should give up the ill-advised enterprise because the certain end for those that dealt terror on the scale Gana is not to be different from what recently transpired. Hopefully, Boko Haram’s madman, Abubakar Shekau should have gotten this memo that a time will come that even running under the skirt of their clients would not provide safety.

On an insensitive note, the late militia leader was not sensitive to the lives of others in his lifetime, the military has dispatched Gana to meet his maker and it is from thence he should seek forgiveness and absolution, which the Benue state government and stakeholders of Sankera axis are not in a position to give.

Murphy is a security expert and wrote from Calabar.

By Bernard Kifasi

The death of Terwase Akwaza popularly known as Gana, has generated some discourses in the country with the narrative of some politicians in Benue State. There seem to be an attempt to glorify his grave misdeeds that have seen to the death of thousands in parts of Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa states. This, in my opinion, should give Nigerians a cause to express worry.

The Benue politicians who have been his benefactors have consequently launched a despicable campaign to blackmail the Nigerian Army for bringing an end to the inglorious era perpetuated by Gana. This fact they can’t come to terms with hence the despicable narrative been pushed in the public space.

As a first, Gana wasn’t deserving of an Amnesty. That greatly shows how morally bankrupt some politicians are. His reign of terror in states in North Central was deadly and with the active support from some politicians that found his nefarious activities suitable for political purposes. I recalled sometime in 2019, Governor Samuel Ortom had accused a former governor of the state and serving senator, George Akume of employing the services of Gana, to rig the presidential and governorship elections. What does this tell us?

At this point, I think it is imperative to put issues in proper perspectives as regards who Gana was in his lifetime. Gana was a tool that was available for use by politicians in Benue State in the perpetuation of crimes against the people. He was the head of a dreaded militia group that wreaked havoc in the state as well as neighbouring states for political expediency to suit the purpose.

He consequently reigned with the support of these same politicians that now want to turn the truth on its head and castigate the military for coming to the rescue of the people in bringing to an end the life of the harbinger of death who in his elements confronted soldiers conducting stop and search operations along the Makurdi-Gboko road.

Upon his death, the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom and a former governor of the state, Gabriel Suswan have come out to accuse the Nigerian Army of extra-judicial killing and as well making a comparison with the death of the founder of the Boko Haram terrorist group, Mohammed Yusuf.

This comparison got me thinking about the integrity of some political leaders in Benue State. They have in a most despicable manner attempted to vilify the efforts of the Nigerian Army in addressing the security challenges in the state.

In this case, the facts are different. This is a clear case of gun engagements with the military on the road as various independent investigations have confirmed. Multiple sources have corroborated these facts, and it tends to look like only Governor Samuel Ortom, and Gabriel Suswam are desperate to manufacture their version of the story at the expense of the truth.

It is indeed a statement of the fact that Gana killed innocent Nigerians at will. Some he buried alive for ritual purpose. He was a Chief above the Chiefs. He was a political lord who was willing to kill for the right price. This much he confessed in an interview with Channels Television where is stated that he was approached to cause mayhem in Taraba state and he gave them a bill of one billion naira. Hear his words: “I told them to give me one billion naira, but they refused and offered me 50 million naira. I rejected it because there is a strong presence of security people in the state. They later offered me 350 million naira, and I rejected it because it was too small.”

This is the same militia leader that these politicians are trying to glorify. If this is not an irony and wickedness, I don’t know what else to call it. Again, what the general public might not know is the fact that Gana was one person who could disguise and kill people in the name of herdsmen to put the entire state on fire. Gana was everything wrong with the Nigerian society and the political class. He represented everything unacceptable with the system where politicians in high places patronize people of questionable character to torment their enemies and keep their people in penury. He was responsible for the escalation of crisis between the Tivs and the Jukuns as he would always mastermind attacks and make it look like someone was trying to hit at his people.

I make bold to state that the so-called Amnesty Programme initiated by the governor of Benue state and his co-travellers was ostensibly to secure his loyalty. So in a way, the confrontation that Gana had with the soldiers at the checkpoint that ultimately led to his death didn’t go down well with them because it indeed altered their political game plan to continue to fan the embers of disunity in the country.

I recall that at numerous forums, it has been stated that the issue of the herders-farmers crisis in parts of North Central is a political arrangement put in place as a means of achieving political goals. And Gana was the chief implementer of that political arrangement. And now that he is dead, his political patrons are finding it difficult to come to terms with the reality.

The political leaders in Benue state indeed have many explanations to make to Nigerians with regards the funding of the nefarious activities of Gana and his militia members in perpetuating conflict in Benue and neighbouring states in North Central Nigeria.

These politicians, by all intent and purposes, are worse than the devil because it is inexcusable for them to attempt to vilify the Nigerian Army in this regard. It is ordinarily expected that the rational thing that ought to have been done is to commend the Nigerian Army for this feat, rather than paint a different picture in the ignoble attempt to deceive members of the unsuspecting general public.

At this point, I am glad that the life and times of Gana is coming to the public space. It is becoming clear that Gana was a political stooge whose stock in trade was to kill and maim for political reasons and of course for the right fee.

It is thus my considered opinion that in a typical Africa set-up, people like Gana should be buried in the forest, so no child is ever allowed his memories. I do hope that the appropriate authorities will do the needful to reveal further those politicians that sponsored the nefarious activities of Gana while he reigned supreme in the perpetuation of evil against the people and at the detriment of peace and security.

The likes of the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom and his buddy, Gabriel Suswan should desist from insulting the sensibilities of Nigerians with their rhetoric aimed at deceiving Nigerians on the true identity of Terwase Akwaza. A word should be enough for the wise!

Kifasi is a retired civil servant and wrote from Jalingo.

By John Manwo 

The incumbent Senator representing Benue North-East Senatorial district in the National Assembly (NASS), Rt.Hon. Dr. Gabriel Torwua Suswam has stopped consternating me as a personality, anywhere in the mould of a leader. I have closely monitored Sen. Suswam in the last few years only to disappointingly discover he is a vicious undertaker of the pernicious breed.  

But some Nigerians are bizarre people. We gleefully chase after worthless leaders in a manner worse than flies will celebrate rotten meat. And to my utter amazement, this is done in a very obsequious and denigrating fashion. The real pandemic with us the people of Sankera, Suswam’s birthplace is that both the youths, adults and the aged indulge in this ingratiating adulation in demeaning condescension to seek for crumbs or special favours.

Therefore, if you stand to condemn it, you are deemed the anti-masses’ tiny and lone voice. And your persistence is only to your peril. Those to attack you most in whatever manner possible are the same people emasculated, abandoned, neglected and confined to a life of penury by the same leader. Nonetheless, some of us would remain undeterred and continue to raise a voice for our voiceless and battered people of Sankera because the expectation to see our people better now and in future. 

I dare to remind the Senator, his acolytes and the people of Sankera again, Suswam has confined us to perpetual servitude! 

On September 8, 2020, something fascinating happened in the area. The backlash from Sen. Suswam, however, particularly smacked off another deliberate gaffe in his avowed determination to dwarf everyone in Sankera to stand as the lone, unchallengeable political and economic “leader” of his kinsmen.

Suswam issued a public statement, following the death of a notorious armed bandit and criminal, Terwase Akwaza Agbadu alias Gana. He met his waterloo during a shootout with troops of the Nigerian Army on a special assignment of Operation Ayem Akpatema III in Benue and its environs to curb incidences of banditry, kidnapping, cultism et al.   

The perceived lapses by unconsecrated minds about the circumstances leading to Gana’s tragic death in the hands of security agents last Tuesday is not of ultimate relevance at this point. But for Suswam to seek to veil the truth and ubiquitously mourn the death of a deadly armed bandit nested by his antics and eventual death as revealed by the contents of his public statement at the expense of his people was what shocked me endlessly.

Let me rehearse what epitomized the life of Gana and as even chanted by Suswam in his odious press statement. While alive Gana and his armed criminal gangs recklessly killed, tormented and terrorized the people of Sankera. His tentacles of criminalities extended from Benue to the neighbouring states of Taraba and Nasarawa for years.

I praise Suswam for recounting that while Gana reigned and massacred his people for years, the economic and social life of the people grounded to a halt; and partisan times became the theatre of wars, with mindless bloodletting spearheaded and perpetrated by the Gana armed gang. It got to preposterous limits where Gana’s boys banned relations of their victims of carnage from burying the dead. 

The once vibrant Sankera crumbled completely. Even our friends elsewhere dreaded and stopped visiting us for fear of being murdered in cold blood. Our people have lived under this horror for years and all previous attempts to arrest Gana were foiled, frustrated or unsuccessful. 

Finally, when security agents got hold of the repulsive criminal, Suswam,  our representative in NASS who folded his arms and watched while we suffered for years with a barrage of afflictions; indignities and lost the little we ever possessed to Gana and his gangs lamented over his death under the vexatious guise of points of flouting the law.   

What I hate so much are pretences. Sen. Suswam’s statement shows he is belatedly pandering to the feelings of his minions or those in his camp who feel touched by Gana’s unexpected death. It certainly cannot reflect the feelings of the generality of people of Sankera. I have not experienced where leaders make open remonstrations for an armed criminal who has caused his people so many pains by merely citing presumed flouted aspects of the law.

It implies Suswam’s concealed yet compelled by circumstances to expose his secret sponsorship of Gana and his armed gangs to unleash years of terror on the people; impoverish them the more by attacking their sources of economic sustenance and render the people pathetically impotent or very feeble in perpetuity. The aim is to continue to manipulate them during partisan times for his selfish agenda and cohorts.

It has unmistakably dawned on me why, despite the enormous economic resources and potentials of Sankera, it has slipped back to the backseat of development and stunted growth among all Tiv lineages. It is now crystal to be the reason, Sen. Suswam as a former two tenured House of Reps member; Benue Governor and now Senator, Sankera area flourishes in bloodshed rather than development. Instead, he has cursed his same people who have continued to bless him.

I least expected, though, that our lives would not matter to him to the extent of publicly proclaiming it to us and the people of Nigeria as reflected in his embarrassing public statement. By doing so in the aftermath of Gana’s death, Suswam undisguisedly told us, he had wished and passed a death sentence on us long ago. Some of the people were deeply engrossed in fantasies not to notice Suswam’s antics.

I state boldly that the lives of our people are worthless to Suswam; so also, the lives of security agents who have borne the risk of death all these years in the pursuit of Gana, with some paying the ultimate price of death. And today, when Gana fell by the same sword he embraced and exercised freely on innocent and law-abiding people, Suswam is empathizing with him publicly.

As if, this nonsensicality is not enough, Sen. Suswam has gone ahead to seek to vilify the esteemed reputation of the Nigerian Army for daring to murder a dangerous armed bandit in a gun battle. The consolation Suswam and cahoots is bandying to curry public support that the Benue State Government (BNSG) had initiated the Phase II of the State Amnesty Programme, just to implicate the gallant soldiers who performed the operation against Gana and his gang is hogwash.

We cannot be fooled all the times. BNSG’s State Security Council declared Terwase Akwaza Agbadu wanted in 2020, with an initial bounty of N10 million. In July 2020, Gov. Samuel Ortom raised the stakes to N50 million.

So, at what point was the declaration of Gana as wanted to be vacated by the Benue State Security Council for Gov. Ortom to claim of organizing a Phase II of Amnesty Programme to have necessarily restrained the ceaseless soldiers scouting for the arrest of Gana?  This is Suswam’s strongest point of emphasis, yet he claims to have practised law for three decades.

That Amnesty Programme Phase II was a kangaroo arrangement and a sham. And the brave soldiers who braved death;  eventually got Gana and some members of his gang after months in the scrubs deserves their reward. For the people of Sankera, however, the death of Gana is a big breather and we extend gracious thankfulness to the team as a token of our appreciation.

Again, what this incident has confirmed about Sen. Suswam’s personality is that he is a man of double standards. He was never with the people all through the years Gana unleashed mayhem on the innocent kinsmen, women and children alike. It’s now obvious Suswam defended Gana both in the political and corporate world. 

Manwo is a teacher and wrote this article from Katsina-Ala, Benue State.