‘Why Soldiers Were Excluded From Nasarawa Operation’

The security operatives on Tuesday broke the silence on the puzzle surrounding the shocking massacre of an estimated 103 security operatives in the country.

The Deputy Director, Media and Public Relations, State Security Service, Mrs. Marylyn Ogah, explained that the operation to fish out the members of the Ombatse Cult was not planned to be a tactical operation which explained the decision to exclude soldiers from the operation.

The Eggon people who own the Ombatse cult are based in Nassarawa-Eggon and Akwanga local governments of the state.

Ogah said investigation conducted by the security operatives before the tragic operation did not necessitate the need for the use of maximum force for the operation against the Ombatse cultists.

She lamented that the operation was a pure civil operation which was misconstrued and went awry against the security operatives.

She said, “I want to add here also that the issues of Bama and Baga are still hanging as it had to do with security operations. So we didn’t have the same situation in Nasarawa.

“So it was unnecessary to go to tactical formation to begin to confront a cult group. It was based on that that we had a low profile operation as against the tactical operation that normally, we would have engaged in; because if we are going for an onslaught, definitely, we would have the military as a backup.

Also, the Deputy Force spokesman, Mr. Frank Mbah, explained the reason for the deployment of a huge number of security personnel for the operation.

According to him, the planners of the operation had the intention to carry out cordon and search operation and cover a vast area within a short period.

He said the type of intervention adopted for the Nasarawa mission was based on the kind of threat believed to be in the theatre of the massacre.

He said, “I am sure most of you have the background information, it was a case of a threat to the peace and security of the state by a cult group known as Ombatse.

“And of course, after security services on the ground has assessed the situation, there was the need for intervention. But the type of intervention we do are determined by the trend of the threat that are on the ground.

“You may begin to wonder why that number of operatives, but because there was need to cordon cordon and search, and sometimes because you want to cover a certain area within a very short. That explains why that number was used.”