At least, 1,000 members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), a pro-government militia fighting the terror group, Boko Haram, in Nigeria’s North-East region, have been killed in six years.
The figure of casualties was given by a spokesperson of the group in an interview with newsmen in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, yesterday.
The spokesman, Jubril Gunda, who also doubles as the legal adviser of the CJTF, said the figure was collated between 2013 and 2019.
The CJTF, which was formed in 2013, comprises of different vigilante groups of young men armed with sticks to patrol and protect their local communities, especially in Borno State, the birthplace of Boko Haram following the indiscriminately launched attacks by the terror group in Maiduguri and other locations since 2009.
Gunda said the group’s members were killed during various operations while assisting Nigerian security agencies in the fight against Boko Haram.
It would be recalled that Boko Haram has been blamed for the death of more than 20,000 people and displacement of 2.3 million others in Nigeria so far.
Due to the geographical spread and proximity of the CJTF to the general public, many Boko Haram atrocities were curtailed with their support, resulting in the loss of their (CJTF) own lives in the fight, the group’s mouthpiece said in Maiduguri.
The group also has female members, with over 26,000 active members in Borno and the neighbouring Yobe State, of which only 1,800 receive salaries ($50 per month).
“They were trained to carry out life-threatening volunteer activities. They are unarmed and carry only personal and locally donated swords, daggers, sticks and bows and arrows,” Gunda said.
During day and night routine raids, many terrorists were caught in their hideouts, arrested and handed over to local security agencies for further actions or interrogation.
At such times, hundreds of members of the CJTF also sustained various degrees of injury, he said, noting that those who died left hundreds of orphans and widows not provided for, the legal luminary said.
In the past, the CJTF had been accused of abuses, including slaughtering men beside a mass grave, diverting food destined for starving families and beating men and subjecting women and girls to systematic sexual violence in camps.
Gunda denied these allegations, querying why people who swore to give their lives for the protection of the citizens of their country would engage in such inhuman practices.
“Many of them have died for the problems they didn’t create. Security is everyone’s business, and so, they gave all that they have, including their lives to fight for their fatherland.
“These are some of the unsung heroes of this fight against Boko Haram,” Gunda added.
In assisting the militia group, the government has so far donated more than 60 operational vehicles to aid its operations and service to the country.
Meanwhile, a civil society organisation, Coalition for Truth and Justice (CTJ) has frowned at the recent travel advisory issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom on 21 states in Nigeria.
A statement on the United Kingdom Government website had advised that all travels to Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River states and 20km of the border with Niger in Zamfara State should be cancelled.
The FCO warned against all but essential travel to Bauchi, Zamfara, Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Katsina, Kogi and within 20km of the border with Niger in Sokoto and Kebbi states, non-riverine areas of Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Abia states.
Reacting to the travel alert, yesterday, the coalition said the FCO advisory was misguided and an attempt to cause unnecessary apprehension among Nigerians and other foreign nationals in the country; that are going about their regular businesses.
The National Coordinator of the coalition, Charles Timothy Esq, described the advisory as misguided and deliberate plot targeted at blackmailing the country.
The statement read, “The Coalition for Truth and Justice, therefore, condemns the actions of the FCO in its entirety and views such attempt as a deliberate ploy to cause unrest in the 21 states in Nigeria.
“The Coalition for Truth and Justice believes that the travel advisory is capable of scaring away investors from Nigeria, thereby causing a strain on socio-economic activities in the country.
“It is, therefore, consequent that the travel advisory is withdrawn and an unreserved apology is issued to the Nigerian authorities by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom.
“The Coalition for Truth and Justice also wishes to state in unequivocal terms that the advisory by the FCO is an expression of a larger agenda to destabilise Nigeria by some interest groups that are not happy with the substantial gains made in Nigeria since 2015 under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“The Coalition for Truth and Justice also challenges the United Kingdom to expressly state how it has assisted Nigeria in the fight against terrorism and other militant groups that threatened the sovereignty of the country.
“The United Kingdom has refused to assist Nigeria in keeping at bay the threat posed by the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) around the Lake Chad basin region that has seen innocent women and children suffer untold hardship.
“The United Kingdom also as an ally of Nigeria has not made any concrete effort towards assisting Nigeria in our quest to acquire arms and ammunition in the fight against terrorism over the years.
“The Coalition for Truth and Justice believes the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom erred substantially in issuing the travel advisory and as such the relevant authorities in the United Kingdom must begin the process of reprimanding those involved in the misdemeanor.
“The Coalition for Truth and Justice believes that the United Kingdom as an ally of Nigeria owes Nigeria a high debt of apology given the fact that the UK has not in times past demonstrated a commitment to assist the Nigerian troops fighting terrorism in North-East Nigeria and other parts of the country.
“The United Kingdom has carried on in a manner that suggests that it is not interested in peace and sustainable development in Nigeria vis-à-vis the threats posed by terrorist groups through its actions and inactions.
“The Coalition for Truth and Justice believes that countries such as the United Kingdom should be at the vanguard of extending a helping hand to Nigeria in the fight against terrorism by availing the Nigerian troops with advanced technological skills and equipment.
“It is also expected that the United Kingdom should rally support for Nigeria from the international community in the fight against terrorism.
“The Coalition for Truth and Justice, therefore, states for the umpteenth time that the travel advisory was in poor taste and should be withdrawn, and instead, the United Kingdom should lend a helping hand to Nigeria in the fight against terrorism and other security challenges in the country”, the statement added.