Nigeria to combat female suicide bombers with female - Police

The Nigeria Police Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, has said that the force would increase the number of female police involved in stop and search operations in the wake of increased attacks by female suicide bombers in the country.

 He explained that the terrorists were banking on the limitations of the police’s rules of engagement where male security operatives are not allowed to search females.

His words: “We are developing counter-terrorism strategies to deal with that.
“By our rules of engagement and by our culture too, male security operatives generally are not allowed to search females. Nigerians should be prepared to see more female police officers, bomb disposal experts, DSS operatives and soldiers in combat operations”

Mba who was answering questions on Wednesday, July 30 at the National Information Centre, said that international terror organisations use female suicide bombers in attacks because they were less suspicious.

 “Established international terror organisations use female suicide bombers, the major reason is because women generally raise fewer suspicion, particularly when there are security layers. If you have been following the trend of terrorism worldwide, you will understand that the use of a female suicide bomber is not new. But, it is a new trend in our own part of the world”, he said.


He then appealed to parents and Local Government authorities across the country to discourage street hawking by girls, particularly among minors

According to the coordinator of the centre, Mike Omeri, the insurgents had resorted to using young girls because something went wrong with their strategy.


“This trend of using young people clearly shows that there is something wrong with the main recruitment arm of the insurgents. Citizens are becoming more aware and so the tendency is to recruit those who do not know what they are doing, young people as young as 10 years. Boko Haram is so deadly and this underscores the seriousness of the campaign that our country is engaging in order to flush out the insurgents”, he said.

Four female suicide bombers have launched attacks in Kano in less than one week, attacking NNPC megastation in Kano, an Islamic school, Trade Fair Complex on Zoo Road, and in front of a university campus