The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has vowed to neutralise every terrorist organisation operating within Nigeria, regardless of its name or claimed ideology, following reports of a new sect, Wulowulo, allegedly active in Nasarawa State.
The group, said to be a splinter faction of Boko Haram, was revealed earlier in the week by Governor Abdullahi Sule during a stakeholders’ security meeting in Lafia.
The governor warned that Wulowulo’s activities could worsen insecurity in the North-Central region, urging security agencies to tighten surveillance and coordination.
Speaking during a media briefing in Abuja, Markus Kangye, Director of Defence Media Operations, said the military was not interested in the labels or self-proclaimed identities of criminal groups, but in the threat they pose to the state and citizens.
“Anybody can just jump up and give himself a name or say he is a splinter from another terrorist organisation. We all know them as criminals, terrorists, and bandits.
“Call yourself whatever name you like you are a terrorist, you are a bandit, and we will go after you.
“Our role as the armed forces with terrorists is twofold: either we fix an appointment with them and their maker, or we fix it between them and the judicial system”, Kangye said.
He stressed that the military’s involvement in internal security operations often arises when criminal activities exceed the capacity of the police to manage.
“The police work is huge. Most of the incidents being reported as terrorism are sometimes just murder cases that can be handled by the police. But when it escalates beyond their scope, the military intervenes,” he said.
Kangye assured Nigerians that ongoing military operations across the country would include targeting the newly identified Wulowulo group to prevent its spread and restore peace in affected areas.
In a related development, the Kogi State Government launched a joint raid on a suspected bandit hideout on the outskirts of Aherin-Bunu community in Kabba-Bunu LGA.
The offensive, led by Jerry Omodara, State Security Adviser, and involving the military, police, and local vigilante groups, resulted in the destruction of the camp.
Omodara said intelligence reports revealed that two suspected kidnappers, injured in an earlier gun battle, were being secretly treated there.
According to him, security agents stormed the location, arrested the wounded suspects, and detained two fake doctors and a nurse providing them with medical aid.
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He added that Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo had ordered the demolition of any house or facility used by criminals for treatment or shelter.
“We will not accept that and we are not going to allow it. Anyone perpetrating crime in Kogi State will be dealt with,” Omodara warned.
The Defence Headquarters pledged to dismantle all criminal networks and prevent emerging threats like Wulowulo from gaining a foothold.
