Footprint of terrorism detected in Owo Church attack – Nigerian Govt

*Wants cooperation of media, public in shaming terrorists, ending insecurity

*Says govt is after perpetrators, will bring them to justice

By KEMI KASUMU

It has been said that the attack on St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State last Sunday June 5, 2022 has a footprint of a terrorist organization in it and this, as said, could have been by any terrorist organization namely Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), Boko Haram, any other terrorist groups.

This suggestion came in the press briefing that followed the National Security Council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari in the Council Chamber of Aso Rock Presidential Villa on Thursday.

At the briefing, jointly addressed by Minister of the Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, and the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, it was pointed out that effort was ongoing to close in on the perpetrators.  The media were, however, urged to mobilize the public in accepting the collective responsibility of putting the terrorists to shame by not allowing them to succeed in their plan of setting the good people of Nigeria against themselves.

Speaking, Aregbesola said: “Let us mobilize Nigerians that there is no ethno-religious agenda here. Let us mobilize ourselves, one, to defeat the effort to pitch us against ourselves, promote anarchy, foment trouble and stoke tension that would needlessly set us against one another.  We are capable and competent as a nation, as an administration to maintain law and order and prevent anarchy,” he said.

The former Osun State Governor said the Security Council, at the Thursday’s meeting, reviewed all aspects of security situation in the country and came up with conclusions commending the efforts of the military and other security in mitigating insurgency, particularly in the North East where the Boko Haram terrorists have been greatly degraded, and equally in the North West where the bandits are equally weakened.

He added that the meeting also commended the security forces’ efforts on security situation in the North Central where engagement has been made with pockets of banditry that have been identified therein.

More importantly he spoke about the Owo issue saying, “The Council is quite concerned about the violent attack in Owo, Ondo State and we have been able to see the footprint of ISWAP in the horrendous attack.”

According to him, government’s security agencies, from all indications, are zeroing in on the perpetrators but pointed out that what the public should let stick with them is the fact that what happened in the Owo church “is not an ethno-religious thing but just that the animals in ISWAP”, which he mentioned by way of suspicion, “wanting attention and recognition are suspected to have launched that attack.  We have directed all the agencies concerned to go after them and bring them to justice.”

The Interior Minister said, “Let us debunk the erroneous belief that the attack in Owo is Northernisation of Nigeria.  No. It’s international criminals, servages, who have no religion, who cannot even be said to belong to a particular ethnic nationality, are pitching us against one another.  That is what ISWAP represents.”

Ogbeni Aregbesola urged the media and members of the public to be patient as it does not help situation for government to start saying publicly what it is doing on tracking those evil elements down and bringing them to justice, but assured that footprint of terrorism has been seen in that attack and “we are after them.”

“Until we apprehend or neutralize them, it will be totally irresponsible to tell you where they are openly here.  Even if I say so, I don’t expect you to report it. It won’t help the course of apprehending them.

“And I want you to understand the context that I am saying this.  If you are genuine about your interest for our nation as patriots, there are information that you must even keep, should I even carelessly drop the hint. I won’t be too careless to drop the hint. Our security forces and agencies are on their trail. We have indication of who they are and we are going to bring them to justice,” Aregbesola told the Journalists while trying to curry favour with the Journalists to support the effort of government to bring the issue of insecurity to a thing of the past anywhere in the country, particularly as it is currently surfacing in the South West.

“We are equally concerned about the spate of attacks in the name of blasphemy.  The police has been directed to mobilize, identify and apprehend all those involved in the blasphemy attacks in two areas of the country; maybe Sokoto and Abuja of recent,” he added.

On Ekiti, Osun elections security

“The assurance is that we are committed to maintaining law and order and providing adequate security for Nigerian citizens.  Appropriate preparation is put in place for the election coming up in Ekiti this month and Osun next month by, principally, Nigerian Police supported by other security agencies and, to some extent, the military.  That is the long and short of it.

“The President would want to us to assure Nigerians that this administration is committed to providing adequate security and ensuring the maintenance of law and order so that Nigerians should be able to go about their businesses, particularly farmers, who want to go to their farms without any fear of attack or molestation,” he said.

During the question and answer Minister Rauf Aregbesola explained the election security saying, “Police is leading the security agencies, mainly, and the military at the background of the security management and arrangements for the election in Ekiti and Osun. So, if you want to know the strength of the forces that are going, it can’t be the police alone. Police is the leading agency in provision of security for the election but it is not the only. All security agencies will be involved under the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force with the military at the background.

In his contribution to the briefing by the Minister, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, clarified that the Minister mentioning ISWAP in the case of Owo does not mean he is saying they were ISWAP terrorists that were involved but that he said so by way of suspicion considering the footprint of terrorism found in the attack.

“The Honourable Minister said there is high suspicion that it is an act of ISWAP.  That does not mean we are drawing it to ISWAP activity that can be done by BH, Boko Haram that can be done by any terrorist organization or body. So, the investigation in near future will tell us what the true position of that thing is and we are not going to leave it as you are suspecting,” IGP Baba clarified.