President Goodluck Jonathan has said the
State of Emergency declared in Adamawa,
Borno and Yobe states may not last six
months as prescribed by the constitution in
view of the successes recorded even as it has
been gathered that before the deployment of
troops, Boko Haram sect had planned to
hijack a commercial plane and crash it into
the Presidential Villa or other national
monuments.
President Jonathan who met with the Secretary
General of the United Nations, Mr Ban Ki Moon on
the sideline of the Africa Union conference in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia, said the military operation in the
troubled states was going very well and the military
has strictly adhered to the rules of engagement.
He explained that the successes recorded by the
military was exemplified by the lack of collateral
civilian casualties, noting that the operation has
helped in creating a better relationship between the
civilian population and members of the armed
forces.
The president told the Secretary General of the
United Nations that the government would do
everything possible to ensure that the civilian
population was not put through hardship, adding
that the governments's decision to release women
and children members of the Boko Haram was in
the spirit of the rules of engagement of the
operation.
The Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr
Ban Ki Moon, sympathized with the government
and people of Nigeria over activities of Boko
Haram, saying that terrorism was a global
phenomenon that must be confronted by the
international community.
He reiterated his call on the Nigerian military
engaged in operations in the affected states where
state of emergency has been declared to be prudent
and cautious in protecting the civilian population in
the areas of operation.
Mr Moon also thanked President Jonathan for
Nigeria's contributions to peace keeping operations
of the United Nations.
Meanwhile, as the military onslaught against Boko
Haram terrorists continues, Vanguard has gathered
that before May 14 when President Goodluck
Jonathan declared a State of emergency, credible
intelligence revealed plans by the sect to hijack
commercial aircraft fully loaded with passengers
and use it to attack one of three national
monuments.
Boko Haram plans to attack national monuments
These are Aso Rock, the seat of the Federal
Government, the Central Bank Headquarters, CBN,
Glass house and the Four Towers headquarters of
the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation,
NNPC.
It was gathered that the terrorists would have
carried out the attack on Aso Rock and NNPC
Towers similar to the September 11 attack on the
Twin Towers in the United States with all the
passengers on board and send a message that they
have taken over affairs of running Nigeria.
Aside the planned attack, Vanguard was told by
very competent security sources that the
acquisition of Anti-Aircraft Gun and Long Range
Surface to air technical guns by the sect, was meant
to shoot down aircraft that flew over the North
Eastern parts of the country, especially as the
terrorists had hoisted their flags in Yobe and Borno
states.
According to the sources, "Consequent upon our
discovery of their plot, security agencies warned the
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, and other
aviation agencies to stop local and international
aircraft from over flying the North East airspace to
avoid collateral damage.
"This warning was heeded and for about three
weeks before the State of Emergence was declared,
commercial aircraft, both local and international
were diverted from over flying the North East areas
except military aircraft".
It was to unearthing the ammunition and heavy
weapons capability of the Boko Haram sect that
troops of the multi-national Joint Task Force on
reconnaissance mission to the Mosque in Baga,
where some of the anti-aircraft guns were to be
mounted, were attacked and when reinforcement
came, they fired the weapons at the soldiers.
"As I am talking to you, many people will not know
that in one of the deadly Boko Haram attacks and
coordinated bombings in Kano State, that resulted
in the destruction of the headquarters of the
Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 1, and
the killing of over 120 people, including about 40
Policemen, over 15 Immigration, Customs and
Federal Road Safety officers, the terrorists tried
getting to the Kano Airport", the source said.
Vanguard was further told that the terrorists shot at
an Air Force Helicopter gunship from the dreaded
Sambisa Forests where several camps for
recruitment, training and IEDS construction were
located, using anti-aircraft technical guns from
mounted vehicles, confirmed that indeed the
terrorists were on course to carry out that plot.
From Borno and Yobe states, the ultimate strategy
of the terrorists was to launch a jihadist type of
invasion of the entire Northern part of the country
hence the gradual build up of arms depots and
training/recruitment centres in several parts of
Yobe, Borno and lately Adamawa states where
several raids were carried out on banks, prisons and
police stations
It would be recalled that Vanguard exclusively
reported in April, during President Goodluck
Jonathan's official visit to Borno and Yobe states,
that plans by Boko Haram terrorists to shoot at the
Presidential Jet were uncovered hence the flooding
of the two states with security operatives and
deployment of technical equipment with ability to
intercept signals of such attacks.
Following these deployments and raids by the Joint
Task Force code named 'Operation Restore Order',
two anti-aircraft guns, several anti-aircraft bombs,
GPMG's, AK 47 Rifles and other heavy weaponry
were recovered in some houses in Maiduguri
