There is palpable tension in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), over alleged plans by the Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists groups to attack some schools and abduct students.
The terrorists, it was gathered, also plan to attack military estates, to retaliate the killings of their members in the North East by military officers. It was further gathered that the terrorists alleged that most officers, who took part in the counter war in the North East, dealt a heavy blow on their colleagues.
A security source, who did not want to be mentioned in print, told Daily Sun that the schools targeted are located in the satellite town in the FCT, but refused to mention the names of the schools, so as not to create fears in the minds of parents whose children are in the schools.
A resident in the area where one of the schools targeted for attack is located, told Bellnews Online that the people have been living in fear after some of them received text messages, last week, about the attack on the schools and their estate. Since the circulation of the said text message, the residents said security has been beefed up in their estate with thorough searches conducted on vehicles, tricycles and visitors to the estate.
A source told Daily Sun that residents of the estates have concluded plans to hold a meeting with the relevant authorities today, on the way forward. It was gathered that, to avoid any attack, security has been beefed up in the locations, where the schools are located and other parts of the FCT, with huge deployment of soldiers, police, DSS and other security operatives to forestall any attack.
The deployment of the soldiers in and around the FCT was experienced by residents of Abuja, during the Sallah celebrations, where huge security operatives were deployed to mosques, churches, recreational spots, markets, shopping centres and motor parks, among other public places.
It was gathered that some of the terrorists have taken over some mountains in the surrounding villages and other communities in their numbers. Daily Sun gathered that terrorists were said to have been discovered by some mountain climbers, who alerted the military and the security agencies of their findings.
Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have been patrolling the villages of Abuja on motor bikes and carrying out surveillance in virtually all the communities in the FCT.
A tour by Daily Sun in the FCT showed that most motorcycle operators, popularly known as “Okada riders”, were beginning to disappear from the streets in the areas where the soldiers are deployed. Their sudden disappearance, according to a security source, is an indication that most of the Okada riders were either terrorists or working as informants for the terrorists.
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Also, most tricycle operators are off the streets, as they used to be in the past days. It was gathered that estates, communities and areas where the commercial tricycles operate have been directed to get the operators adequately registered with authentic guarantors to stand as sureties. The measure is to ensure that only registered operators engage in the business.
For some time now, there has been a sudden influx of Okada riders in the FCT. Most of the riders, when they arrive the FCT, take refuge in communities like Kuje, Abaji, Gwagwalada, Kubwa, Gwagwa, Zuba, Karmo, Kubwa, Bwari, Dutse, Kwali, Lugbe, Masaka, One man village, Apo, Koroduma, Mpape, Gishiri, Kurudu, Jikwoyi, Karu, Orozo, Karshi, Kugbo, Mararaba, Nyanya, Karu and Abattoirs, among other satellite towns.
A military source said the soldiers have been mounting and carrying out snap security checkpoints, to checkmate the terrorists. Similarly, all the entry and exit points have been mounted by soldiers who are conducting stop-and-search operations on vehicles and passengers. Also, the military and the various security agencies have been patrolling the streets of the FCT.
When contacted, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, who dismissed the alleged planned attack on schools in Abuja by terrorists, said the police, alongside the military and the security agencies, were not taking anything for granted. She said the security agencies were working round the clock, to ensure the safety of lives and property of residents.
She also said the heavy security patrol by the military, police and the security agencies was part of security measures in place during the Sallah celebrations.