The insecurity in Nigeria has taken another turn and it is a turn for the worse. For over 7 years, the security situation in the country has gone from bad to worse, and has taken many shapes and forms within this period.
The Northern part of the country has during this period played host to most of the evil actors behind this worsening rate of insecurity. The region also witnessed most of the violence and many forms of criminality that has characterized this prevalent insecurity.
In the beginning, it was Boko Haram. The violence the terrorist group unleashed in the North have till date claimed multiple number lives, both in the rural and urban parts of the North.
It is difficult to put an accurate figure to the number of lives that have been lost to these merchants of death.
The Violence and deaths from these domestic terrorism in Nigeria expanded with the murderous and criminal activities of the Fulani headers, whose spread of destruction was tied to disagreements with farmers.
The group was the first to spread its version of violence wide across the nation, all the way to the South West, South East and the South-South, leaving various forms of criminality in all of these regions.
Until the recent attack at Owo in Ogun State, this Fulani headers are thought to be the only terrorist group with any active presence or stronghold in the South.
This is not withstanding the occasional news reports and press releases from the Nigerian police, DSS and the Army about the “arrival” of some Boko Haram cells in the South.
The government narrative went without any solid trace. There was never any trace of the activities of the Boko Haram terrorists anywhere in the South, but the Fulani headers had almost a free hand spreading terror and destruction all over the Southern region.
However, the attack and killing of more than 40 worshipers at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State have changed the permutations of terror in the South, particularly in the South West.
Many other victims of this terrorist attack were lucky to escape with various degrees of injuries. The church is said to be located on Owa-Luwa Street in Owo, which is hometown of Rotimi Akeredolu, the Ondo State Governor.
Security agencies, in Nigeria have now publicly claimed that there are strong indications that the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), formerly known as Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād is responsible for this heinous attack.
Nigeria`s Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola made this disclosure on Thursday while briefing State House Correspondents. This was following a meeting of the National Security Council in Abuja.
This is no doubt a new twist to the insecurity situation in Nigeria. It certainly also portends greater danger to the citizens of the country, who are victims of poor security infrastructure, as a result of bad leadership and corruption in high places.
The Minister in his address, noted that the heinous attack has no tribal connotation, but purely the hand work of ISWAP, whose footprint were detected at the crime scene.
He also assured that the Nigerian security agencies are on the trail of the ISWAP terrorists, and that they (security agencies) have been directed to go after them with a view to apprehending the terrorists.
