The Minister of Defence is reported to have ordered the Chief of Defence Staff to probe all incidents of military misconduct in Maiduguri in the course of its current engagement against insurgents popularly referred to as Boko Haram. In particular, the Minister directed that an incident in which a woman was shot following the arrest of suspects in Biu be investigated. The Minister said that the military’s instructions during internal security operation are to arrest criminals, use minimum force only when necessary and to be tactful with the civilian population. While acknowledging that there are a few bad eggs among the military who create discontent amongst the civilian population, he said that the Armed Forces are doing a very good job in the protection of life and property in the various theatres of internal security and peace keeping operations. The Minister also appealed to the people of Borno and neighbouring states to come out and present their grievances to the Committee appointed by President Jonathan under the chairmanship of Ambassador Gaji Galtimari.
The directives of the Minister of Defence to the Armed Forces to investigate its own conduct, coincided with the revelation by the Bauchi State Commissioner of Police that over 500,000 persons fleeing the crisis in Maiduguri have moved into Bauchi State to seek refuge. For this, and many other reasons, Nigerians will receive the Ministers directives with mixed feelings. On the one hand, there will be relief that the Federal Government is demonstrating some sensitivity over widespread concerns that the heavy-handed approach of the Joint Task Force in Maiduguri is alienating the local population and creating more difficulties towards an eventual resolution of this complex conflict.
On the other hand, many people will be sceptical over the value of an exercise which involves the military investigating itself. The community, including many prominent citizens had raised numerous complaints against the conduct of the Joint Task Force, and had even gone as far as calling for the withdrawal of soldiers from the streets and the State. The community has a long list of complaints against the Joint Task Force, which include rape, unlawful killings and arrests, burning down of buildings and vehicles, as well as harassing and humiliating innocent citizens. The F0orce has however defended itself and its operational tactics as much as it could, and had insisted that its responses were legitimate and consistent with the challenges it is confronting in the environment. It had also said that it was investigating a few soldiers who may have behaved inappropriately. The Force insists that its members are being attacked, bombed and shot at by insurgents who easily melt into the community, and the community is working against it by refusing to disclose the identities and operations of the insurgents, thereby limiting their opportunities to operate.
Indeed, it has become an established factor in this terrible conflict that the extra-judicial killings of the late Boko Haram leader, Yusuf Muhammad, and his key compatriots, as well as many other apparently innocent citizens in 2008, and the failure to prosecute their killers represents one of the major grievances of the members of the group and many other people within and outside Borno State. To its credit, there is a record that the military did hand over Yusuf Muhammad alive to the police, and there is irrefutable evidence available to the whole world that he died in the hands of the police. But so much has happened in Maiduguri since the resurgence of this conflict that the citizens of this area are now reluctant to draw a distinction between soldiers and police. In fact, the dominant and visible presence of soldiers appears to have attracted all the grievances of the local population towards the military. There is little doubt that the tactics of the insurgents include pitching the local population against the members of the Joint Task Force. When soldiers or members of the public are attacked by people who disappear into the community, the response usually involves inconveniences to the community. The military will always have an excuse for its responses, but it cannot be the final judge over the appropriateness or otherwise of its actions.
The public will hope that this directive of the Minister of Defence will not only fish out and punish military personnel who might have conducted themselves in an unprofessional manner, but will also signal the beginning of a radical improvement in civil-military relations in Maiduguri and neighbouring areas. Since the Federal Government insists that the military will continue to operate in and around Maiduguri until the threat posed by the insurgency is contained, it is imperative that the Joint Task Force and the public relate better. There are very deep levels of distrust between a community which harbours dangerous insurgents, even if reluctantly, and a military which strikes back in the only manner a military is trained to strike. The combined effect of a serious and sustained vigilance over the conduct of the Joint Task Force and the opportunities which the Galtimari Committee provide should create an opportunity for the local population and the nation to limit, and ultimately resolve this damaging conflict.
The population of Maiduguri in particular, and Borno and neighbouring states in general are paying a huge price for the presence of insurgents in their midst, and a military which believes the community can be squeezed to bring them out. The citizens should encourage their children and relations who are part of this insurgency to speak out in a constructive manner through the Galtimari Committee. The leadership in Borno State should engage the members of the groups involved in this insurgency, and build bridges between them and the Committee. These should be leaders who are respected and trusted by the members, so that they can feel safe against betrayal. The members of the group or groups should also understand that there are limits to the tolerance of the public, and the current mood is one which suggests that the members should say what they want, and engage in dialogue or negotiations.
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