Boko Haram: What Is Happening in Gwoza, Mandara Mountains, Sambisa Forest, Nigerian Pastor Raises Alarm

• Borno state has been plagued by Boko Haram insurgency for over a decade, and while the government claims victory and decimation of the terrorists, some indigenes, including Reverend Amos, argue that the insurgents are still active and have not been defeated
• Amos pointed out that Boko Haram has taken refuge in the Mandara Mountains and suggested that the military should take a more proactive approach in attacking the insurgents rather than waiting for them to launch attacks
• The pastor also highlighted the challenges faced by villagers who have been displaced from their ancestral homes due to the insurgency and are struggling to rebuild their lives

Borno State - Though the Nigerian military has continued to claim victory over Boko Haram which has operated in the northeast for over a decade, some Borno indigenes have argued that the military only succeeded in pushing the insurgents a bit into the fringes, insisting that the insurgents are so much around.

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Nigerian government claims victory

Over the years, the federal government has claimed victory over the insurgents, saying they have been decimated.

The minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said President Muhammadu Buhari’s purposeful leadership led to the decimation of the terrorists in the northeastern part of the country.

According to him, before the government took over power, Boko Haram insurgents were attacking public places, including several attacks on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. Mohammed argued that as it stands today, the insurgents have been decimated and can only operate at the fringes.

But when our correspondent visited Gwoza, a town that suffered severe Boko Haram attacks in Borno state, the story was different. Only the Local Government Area (LGA) headquarters currently enjoys peace. Villagers have all been relocated to the LGA's headquarters over the fear of Boko Haram attacks.

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Speaking exclusively with Reverend Amos, a pastor with one of the new generation churches, he said Boko Haram had not been decimated as claimed.

Rev. Amos, who gave a detailed background to the crisis, said no single village is currently standing in Gwoza, his hometown, and that everybody has been relocated to the Local Government headquarters.

According to him, the Boko Haram war will be considered to be over the moment they all return to their ancestral homes.

According to Rev Amos:

"Thank God for the assistance rendered by able NGOs. They have really been quite helpful. We are starting life all over. Most of the communities, particularly those around Gwoza have been deserted and life has never been the same since after the insurgency broke out."

Admitting that Boko Haram insurgents have been chased out, Amos insisted that many could not go back because nothing is left for them, including their lands.

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He said:

"Most people who lost their ancestral homes in villages have relocated to the main township, but life is never the same. It's a very terrible thing. People have lost all their belongings. Right as we speak, they can't go back to their homes.

"Over 42 big villages with sole administrators are nowhere to be found. Village heads like what we call Lawan in the north are nowhere to be found. They are just figureheads. Most of the people under them are just being killed, and schools are being vandalized. There is no single school standing as we talk now."

In obvious angst, Amos said relocating villagers to Gwoza town to start life all over was another unbearable condition they have found themselves in.

"I'm speaking from the bitterness of my heart, what I passed through and what my local government has passed through. A villager planning to go to an affordable school around his village has now found himself in the town, trying to cope with the payment of school fees he cannot afford.

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"These were people living comfortably in their comfort zones. They were living on their farms, farming. They believed in what they could do and not what anyone could do for them, but because of the crisis, they lost everything."

What happens on Mandara Mountains

On why he said the insurgents are still so much around, Reverend Amos spoke about Mandara Mountain from where they usually launch their attacks.

According to him, Mandara Mountain is known all over the world. It starts from Gwoza down to Manbila.

He said:

"It's about 500 kilometres mountain journey. The Mandara mountain, as an indigene of Gwoza, is a mountain both the local and foreign Boko Haram encamped themselves over 30 years ago. We the indigenes have been reporting this to the authorities, but they have done nothing because of the sentiments they have.

"That inner mountain has been reserved to breed terrorists. Today, terrorists launch attacks from the mountain and link with those in the Sambisa forest. From the Sambisa forest, as an indigene, I can reliably confirm to you that the forest leads to Chad, Niger, Cameron and Libya. The foreign terrorists now migrate through those axes into Borno and down to Gwoza LGA.

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"Mohammed Yusuf, the founder of Boko Haram was the first person that opened a training ground in Mandara Mountain in a location called Wa'ar Dugule."

Military not sincere, Boko Haram so much around - Rev Amos

The reverend suggested that rather than the Nigerian military waiting for the insurgents to launch an attack before they repel it, it is better to take the battle to them.

Amos argued that soldiers are known for launching attacks and not repelling them.

His words:

"The soldiers are just patrolling around the mountains and are not ready to go into it. I can't believe whatever the reason that they are not able to carry out an attack. If the military wants to be sincere and want to work, they can come over in the air for an operation, but as of today, nothing has been done. We are believing God for a change in this nation.

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"This is why none of us from Gwoza can ever return home. We have lost our ancestral home. Even though God has restored all the losses, we can't return to where we were. Anyone who says Boko Haram operation is over in Gwoza is a liar. Boko Haram is still operating along the fringes and launching attacks anytime they want.

"I can tell you that there are places nobody can go to in my local government, Gwoza. I can take you to where Musa Hahe and Hamid were arrested and brought to town. They confirmed that they are so much on ground in the mountains. He said if he can be granted a second chance, he would be able to get video clips and appeal to his colleagues in the forest to come out and end the war. But most times, those arrested are said to have denied their faith."

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Names of active Boko Haram members

The acclaimed man of God also mentioned a few names still operating as Boko Haram members.

"I can call names of those that are still members of the insurgents. People who were born in front of me, people who I know very well are still members till date. There is one called Musa Bulamova, Umaru Tijani, Gai, Adamu Dambaki, and the one who just repented now, Adamu Rugurugu.

"That one was even operating with a Hilux car with a big MG and submachine guns. He came out and the government received him. They even provided an escort for him. He was given social communication gadgets to interact with both the authorities and their leaders in the forests. Except a real change takes place, we have a long way to go," he said.

Government intervention in terms of welfare

Amos revealed that apart from sending soldiers to Gwoza town to protect the place against invasion, there is no other intervention in terms of the people's welfare.

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He said:

"I'm believing God how I can leave this place to where I'm coming from. There is no govt intervention. The only thing is they have provided the military around Gwoza town. If there is any reason I'm leaving my house and jumping up and down is because I know what I'm passing through and I know what is still awaiting me back home.

"What is special about camping people in the local government headquarters and digging around the headquarters? You place security and only repel the terrorists when they make to invade the headquarters. What happens to the other surrounding villages and communities where people had their farmlands? What we know about the military is not to repel but to launch an attack. You don't wait until an attack is launched."

Over 1,300 terrorists surrender to Nigerian military in northeast

In another report, the Nigerian military said 1,332 terrorists have surrendered to troops of the Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, in the northeast.

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The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Musa Danmadami, disclosed this during a press briefing attended by a Legit.ng reporter at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja, on Thursday, March 9.

General Danmadami said that the surrendered terrorists and their family members, comprising 222 adult males, 411 adult females and 699 children surrendered to troops at different locations within the theatre of operations.

Source: Legit.ng