The police and army authorities have separately begun investigations into the twin bombings at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State, and the attack on the Special Anti-Robbery Squad headquarters in Abuja.
Saturday PUNCH’s investigations showed that the army authorities had arrested 10 soldiers, including men and officers on duty when the incident occurred on Sunday.
It was also learnt that 12 policemen were currently being detained over the terror attack on the SARS headquarters on Monday.
It was reliably gathered that both agencies – the military and the police – suspected that the attacks were carried out with the assistance of internal collaborators.
There are also indications that the Jaji attacks might affect several military personnel as the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, had condemned the laxity that led to the incident, thereby giving a strong indication that “heads may roll.”
This, investigations showed, might lead to the sack of some soldiers, who would also be court-marshalled.
Ihejirika had said during the opening ceremony of the 2012 Chief of Army Staff Annual Conference in Asaba, Delta State, that the blasts, which he described as saddening, could have been prevented.
He had stated, “The event of yesterday is certainly a very sad one. A board of inquiry is already instituted to unravel what happened, which we believe could have been prevented.”
It was learnt that the military high command was embittered by the fact that the second vehicle, which exploded and killed several people including the two suicide bombers and injured many, was packed within the premises of the strategic military formation in Jaji.
Saturday PUNCH reliably gathered that the military authorities were of the view that it would be difficult for such an operation to have been executed without the collaboration of insiders.
Investigators, it was learnt, were working on a theory that the second vehicle came into the premises through a route at the back of the college.
Apart from the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, which is in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, the formation is host to four other strategic military institutions.
They are the Warrant Officers Academy, Nigerian Army Peacekeeping Centre, Nigerian Army School of Infantry, Infantry Corps Headquarters.
It was gathered that the military high command is not leaving anything to chance about the ongoing investigations into the Jaji blasts, which sent jitters across the country.
Although the COAS said on Sunday that the army had set up a board of inquiry to look into the terror attacks, the Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Ibrahim, has also set up another board of inquiry to ensure that the explosions that rocked the prestigious military formation are not repeated.
The enquiry into the bomb blasts began on Wednesday.
Investigations showed that security at the strategic military formation in Jaji was not very tight as the vast settlement has no perimeter fence thereby making it possible for the facility to be accessed from other outlets.
It was further learnt that there are several civilian settlements within the military formation in Jaji, which complicate the problem of a watertight security observance in the area.
More so, the manpower for an effective security maintenance in the facility could not be said to be adequate.
It was learnt that the manpower capability of the ‘4 Demo Battalion’ entrusted with the responsibility of security maintenance in the area is seriously affected because of its involvement in internal security operations in other parts of the North.
It was further gathered that many of the officers of the 4 Demo Battalion are on deployment to flashpoints like Jos and Kafachan for internal security operations.
When our correspondent contacted the Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Bola Koleosho, he said he was not aware of the issue of insiders’ collaboration as the COAS had already said that two boards of inquiry had been set up to look into the issue.
He said, “As we are talking now, you are the first person to tell me that some soldiers have been arrested. I have not got any official position from Jaji. After the initial response, we have allowed Jaji to carry on with a news briefing.
“What I know is that investigation has started. What the investigation team is doing, I have not been briefed. There is no way I can tell the Jaji story like those on the ground. There is no way I can be commenting on that. I have been here since (this programme) Chief of Army Staff Conference started.”
However, Ihejirika said at the end of the annual conference that the military high command would be very decisive in dealing with security issues even as he charged commanders of the various units to rise to their responsibilities.
The army chief challenged all commanders to seek ways of ensuring effective security maintenance in all military formations, stressing that the absence of a fence shouldn’t be an excuse for any commander to allow what happened in Jaji to take place.
He said that fencing of the barracks could only aid security but was not the only means of ensuring tight security maintenance.
He insisted that without adequate security, a fence could be scaled and even houses broken into to commit acts of criminality.
“Well, several of our barracks have not been fenced and in the last two years; we must have fenced maybe two or three, at most four. But we are talking about almost 80 barracks that are not fenced.
“So, doing that will entail a lot of resources, a lot of support which the current budget may not contain. But again, whether barracks are fenced or not, it does not serve as an excuse for any commander to allow what happened to happen.
“But one thing I would say is that the lack of fence compounds the challenge. So, every commander must think of ways of putting in his best to ensure that what happened in Jaji does not happen again.
“What is important is that you put in your best in terms of planning, in terms of security measures, in terms of intelligence. Even when barracks are fenced, fences could be climbed, houses could be broken up, and we are not going to fence cities. So, what it means is that fencing of barracks would not be the only solution but it would aid security,” Ihejirika said.
On the attack on SARS, investigations showed that contrary to the claim by the police, five Boko Haram members escaped during the incident.
It was also gathered that some of the attackers wore military and police uniforms.
When contacted and asked about the arrest of policemen, the Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, a chief superintendent of police, said he was not aware of any arrest.
“I don’t know whether some policemen were arrested in connection with the attack on SARS,” he said over the telephone on Thursday.
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