Two suspected fake officials of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) for allegedly registering non-Nigerians at the the Gagamari Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in the Niger Republic.
The operation was carried out by the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has said its troops, in collaboration with the Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS) and Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
Disclosing this on Thursday, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Musa Danmadami, during the military’s bi-weekly press briefing at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja, listed items recovered by the security operatives from the suspects.
“On 13 October 2022, troops in conjunction with the Nigeria Police and NIS (Nigeria Immigration Service) operatives intercepted 2 suspected fake National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) officials. It was revealed that the suspects had visited Gagamari IDP camp in Niger Republic to register non-Nigerian in the IDP camp.
“Items recovered from the suspects include National Identification Number (NIN) registration machine, printing machine, laminating machine, a computer tracking machine and a generator set among other items,” Danmadami said.
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Furthermore, the Major General stated that “during the weeks in focus, 31 suspected Boko Haram/Islamic State of West Africa Province members were neutralized, while 10 were arrested and 2 civilians rescued.
“Furthermore, a total of 366 Boko Haram terrorists and their families comprising 23 adult males, 112 adult females and 231 children surrendered to troops at different locations within the theatre. All recovered items, arrested terrorists, logistics suppliers and rescued civilians have been handed over to the appropriate authority for further action while the surrendered Boko Haram/Islamic State of West Africa Province terrorists and their families are being profiled for further action.”
Commenting on the development while fielding questions from journalists, the immediate-past Director of DMO, Maj.-Gen. Benard Onyeuko, said the intention of the fake officials will be unravelled when the investigations were completed.
“In this situation, they are fake, they’ve just been captured, and the investigations are on, involving all the MDAs that are associated with this including the armed forces and the DSS.
“Their intention will be unravelled by the time the investigations are concluded. But it should be noted that this is a new feat and I think the armed forces should be commended for that”, Onyeuko, who is now Director of Procurement at Defence Headquarters said.