FG BEAMS LIGHT ON ABACHAS KILLER SQUAD

The killer squad used by the late maximum ruler, General Sani Abacha, to repress and suppress the civil populace are being fished out by intelligence units of the nation’s Armed Forces to determine their involvement in the training of the Boko Haram insurgents.  Daily Newswatch investigations showed that the need to search and identify these elements spread in the Armed Forces and the police is informed by growing insecurity in the country, especially the incidence of Boko Haram sect, said to have redefined violence in its deadly character of suicide bombings and gun duel with security operatives.
Presidency sources said the squad, composed of over two hundred officers, may be linked to the character of the bombings and killings by the Boko Haram sect. The sources said, though the issue of amnesty is still on the top priority of the authorities, it is necessary for government and the security agencies to gather as much information on the insurgency of Boko Haram in order to more appropriately deal with such incidence now and in the future.

Presidency sources informed Daily Newswatch that at the peak of the democratic struggle in the 1990s during the military administration of the late General Abacha, about 200 soldiers were sent to North Korea to be  trained as professional killers. The training of the military personnel was said to have taken between six and one year. It was learnt that after the training of the military personnel, they were reintegrated into the military for ‘special assignments’ as was then directed by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Daily Newswatch learnt that the beneficiaries of the training were placed on special salaries as they took care of the opposition. The opposition was then spearheaded by the National Democratic Coalition, human rights and civil society supported by some foreign countries. Investigations revealed that the killer squad was intact until shortly before President Olusegun Obasanjo came into office as president in 1999.  It was, indeed, Obasanjo’s administration that finally dismantled the squad. The members of this elite squad were said to have been ‘mixed up with the military community.’
Daily Newswatch learnt the authorities became worried when it was indicated that the character of the operations of the killer squad, which involved ‘the art of sudden disappearances,’ kidnapping, chemical weapon handling and explosives use, among several other deadly activities, could be linked with the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents. Consequently, whether the members of the squad are in or out of the military and the police, the Presidency sources said they constitute security challenge and danger, because they could help in the area of providing logistics assistance to the Boko Haram sect. This position is said to be supported by the fact that among those arrested Boko Haram members were security men trained in the handling of weapons. Thus, piqued by the danger inherent in the sophistication of the activities of the Boko Haram sect in the last two years, Presidency was said to have been advised to reidentify the killer squad for the purpose of debriefing and other related reasons.
However, the government is said to be particular on the information gathering need that may result from identifying the locations of the members of the squad, whether in or out of service.
A source had earlier hinted Daily Newswatch the names of members of the killer squad were being compiled sequel to the order by the Presidency. It was not clear if authorities have actually finished with the compilation at press time.

Source: Daily Newswatch