JTF Operation Restore Order in Borno
By Sagir Musa
Wednesday April 04 , 2012
The apparent insecurity in Borno State and some states of North East Nigeria occasioned by the activities of Boko Haram terrorist resulted in the establishment of a Joint Task Force code named JTF Operation Restore Order 1 in June 2011. The mandate of the task force is to restore law and order to the north eastern part of Nigeria and Borno state in particular.
The task force is composed of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Nigerian Police Force, Department of State Security, Nigerian Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service and Defence Intelligence Agency.
In the composition and mandate of the task force lies the endemic problems of command and control, logistics, welfare and the inherent danger of fighting in a built up areas or what is often referred to militarily as urban warfare or operations.
It is likely that the Nigerian Army’s first major encounter with urban warfare at home was in the Niger Delta, South East Kidnapping saga. Initially, it was obvious that the nation and her security agencies were unprepared to tackle contemporary security challenges particularly terrorism. However, things have changed as training in the Nigerian Army in particular is fashioned to combating current challenges. Training and re-training in the Nigerian Army on anti and counter terrorism, special reconnaissance, information operation, management and training of personnel and associated equipment in close quarter combat, urban warfare and intelligence operation are on the increase.
Fighting in built up areas is tasking, cumbersome and hazardous. There is limited view of space and fire, visibility and manoeuvrability is limited and ambush attrition losses are high. I was on patrol with JTF troops in Maiduguri aimed to fish out suspected members of Boko Haram and to recover arms, ammunition and explosives. It was then I had a clear perception of how difficult and dangerous it is for troops to fight in built up areas. Some of the terrorists hid in mosques, planted Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) by the sides of the mosques or inside churches, hid on roof tops, planted IEDs on our routes and shot through loopholes. They are good flame throwers, have Rocket Propelled Grenades, General Purpose Machine Guns and Alexander Kalashnikov (AK 47) rifles in their inventory. Buildings provide good snipping posts, while alleys, refuse and sand filled streets are ideal for booby traps. There are also religious and cultural taboos where most of the houses are locked with “Ba shiga” inscription.
A terrorist can easily mask with “Abaya”.
As we tactically moved round the city, we cannot see the men hiding inside the houses, behind the walls or rooftops. Efforts to insert the hard skin fighting vehicles could not hit the terrorists, moreover, collateral damage could not be eliminated when used, and so we jettisoned the idea. A few days later, we approached the targeted areas from two flanks and this time we assaulted differently and two notorious commanders of the terrorists were ambushed in the process.
The JTF understood that it now needed to “mouse hole” through each or most of the houses suspected of harbouring Boko Haram terrorists and rout them out in close combat.
The successes recorded were unimaginable as many obvious (because they were caught with weapons) and suspected terrorists were arrested and thousands of assorted ammunition and some arms and quantities of IEDs were recovered. Despite obvious danger, troops remained solid, organised and nationalistic. I am optimistic that if the momentum is maintained and the government and Boko Haram terrorists commence frank and meaningful discussions, the crisis will soon end.
Lt. Col. Musa writes from JTF Operation Restore Order 1, Headquarters in Maiduguri
