If the President’s Convoy Can be Attacked…
Eddy Odivwri
Last Tuesday, the advanced team of the President was attacked in his home state, Katsina. Two persons were said to have been killed, another two were injured. It only bespeaks of the danger in the land. It is like the chicken is coming home to roost. If the President’s own convoy, with all the apparatchik of security equipage can be attacked by daring bandits, then every Nigerian is damn vulnerable and at great risk.
But if there is still any iota of doubt of how close danger is, the terrorists drove the point home on same Tuesday night when the demons of the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) attacked the Kuje Correctional Centre and not only freed many inmates including 64 Boko Haram terrorists but also killed some prsons. Not only were 443 inmates freed, four persons were killed, several vehicles and the records office of the prison were burnt. Part of those who escaped are the bombers of the Nyanya and Madalla bomb blasts in 2014.
To say Nigeria is at the edge is clearly an understatement. Nigeria is the sixth most terrorized country in the world. Already, fear has gripped many Abuja residents as the deadly criminals have been unleashed at them.
Sources had said the terrorists had written to the Prison authorities to say they would attack the facility on the actual day they came, yet nothing was done to re-inforce surveillance with the aim of repelling the attackers. And so, they came, they attacked and they left uncaught. President Buhari who visited the scene of the attack, bemoaned the failure of intelligence. It is a shame that this happened and people who should be in the fireline are still seating pretty cool in their offices. In less than ten days we have had three bloody attacks in the country: the Shiroro massacre, the attack on Mr President’s advanced team, and now the attack on Kuje correctional centre.
Indeed, in two years, this is the ninth time correctional facilities have been attacked with varying degrees of blood letting and devastating damage. When will heads ever roll for clear cases of negligence?
