Raphael Ede, Enugu
Director General, National Taskforce to combat illegal importation, smuggling of goods, small arms, ammunition and light-weapons, Dr. Osita Emmanuel Okereke, has called on Nigerian communities to be on alert, claiming that members of terror group Boko Haram have infiltrated herdsmen to cause havoc across the country.
Okereke also accused security agencies of complicity in the fight against the Islamist insurgency, alleging that most of them are members of Boko Haram.
Okereke, president of Importers Association of Nigeria, backed the assertion of the former Defence Minister, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, on the complicity of the military, lamenting sabotage from people powerful individuals, whom he said are encouraging the insurgency to continue.
“I want to tell you that there is a lot of sabotage; most of the military men are Boko Haram members and most of Nigeria’s security men are members of Boko Haram. Most security agencies are Boko Haram,” he claimed.
“I can categorically tell you that members of this administration are fighting this administration, the people earning from the government are part of the insecurity in Nigeria; security agencies are part of the insecurity in Nigeria today.
“We need total overhauling, as Gen. Danjuma said. He may know certain things you might not know. I can tell you there is an atom of truth in what he said and I believe in what he said,” the taskforce coordinator said.
Okereke, backed the withdrawal of 1$ billion to fight insurgency, though advising that President Buhari should approach the National Assembly for approval, warning against politicizing the matter.
He said that Nigeria was a time bomb that is waiting to explode if what is happening in the Middle Belt states of Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, and Taraba States is not checked immediately.
“So Boko Haram is like in every family in Nigeria and people might not know because any place they come they will mix up with Hausa people who are selling cows and inside the mosque, but people will not identify who they are because when you dress like a Hausa man nobody will suspect you,” he said.
“This is what Nigeria must fight. Let us stop deceiving ourselves talking about herdsmen. Herdsmen are not the key problem of Nigeria today. The problem of Nigeria today is Boko Haram.
“As I am talking to you, there are arms in every community in Nigeria. We have made our research, and we have information”, he alleges.