Boko Haram plan to release stolen cattle across northeast as part of new charm offensive

TERRORIST sect Boko Haram is planning to release hundreds of heads of cattle it has stolen from local herdsmen across the northeast as part of a move to attract public sympathy according to the Nigerian Army.

Since 2009, Boko Haram has been waging a war against the Nigerian State that saw it once control 13 local government areas in Borno and Yobe states. In 2014, the Nigerian Army launched a counter-attack, recapturing most of the territory but over recent months, the insurgents have been on the offensive again, attacking military outposts.

Yesterday, the Nigerian Army revealed that Boko Haram is now planning to launch a charm offensive, involving the return of stolen cattle in a bid to win the public over. Col Onyema Nwachukwu, the spokesman of Operation Lafiya Dole, said that the insurgents deceived people by voluntarily returning cattle, hitherto rustled from the owners across the northeast.

Col Nwachukwu said: “The army has uncovered the employment of deception by Boko Haram terrorists to win the confidence and support of locals in the northeast. Boko Haram terrorists now engage in cattle rustling and later return the rustled cattle to their owners, thereby deceitfully creating the impression of Good Samaritan and presenting themselves as protector of the people.”

Operation Lafiya Dole commander Major General Benson Akinroluyo, described the gimmick as a dangerous ploy, stressing that the trend must be checked to avoid escalation. He tasked troops to prevent any form of cattle rustling by the insurgents, noting that the they now used it as a means of psychological warfare to make the locals see them in a positive light and be receptive to their ideology.

General Akinroluyo added: “You must be vigilant and not fall for the antics of the terrorists as  cattle rustling has earlier been identified as a means of raising funds for Boko Haram. Now they invented deceit by first stealing the cattle and later returning same to their owners to make the locals believe they are pious and possibly turn blind eyes to their nefarious activities ”

He called on the local youth to shun the insurgents’ propaganda and not to be persuaded to join the group, describing them as enemy of the people. General Akinroluyo added that the military authorities accord priority to operational challenges and improvement in troops’ welfare.