A security expert and former Joint Task Force (JTF) commander, Dr. Isma’il Tanko Wudilawa, has argued that terrorists now capitalize on the vulnerability of women to achieve their targets in northern Nigeria. He revealed that the groups are increasingly exploiting women to transport supplies, gather intelligence, and support their operations.

Wudilawa said military offensives have forced many terrorists into remote hideouts across the region, forcing them to depend largely on civilian networks, including women, for logistics and communication.

He stated further that women are now being used to transport food, clothing, medicines, weapons, and sometimes even other women to terrorists hiding in forests.

UGAMATV recalls recent arrests of women allegedly linked to terrorist logistics in Borno State.

Hauwa Abulazeez, 65, was reportedly arrested in Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State with 14 compressed blocks of cannabis allegedly meant to be supplied to terrorists.

Similarly, Kellu Abba, 50, was arrested in Kukawa Local Government Area with food items and personal belongings allegedly being taken to her son, identified as a suspected member of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

Reacting to the development, Wudilawa said women have continued to play different roles in terrorist networks, particularly in intelligence gathering.

“All these atrocities are committed with the support of women from the very beginning.

All the things we do, we do with women. They know our routines.

“Till today, women are used as informants. They provide information about the movements of targeted individuals within and outside communities,” he said.

The former security operative argued that terrorist groups now capitalize on the trust communities place in women, using them as couriers and intelligence sources.

He blamed the involvement of some women on poverty, greed, illiteracy, and the desire for financial gain. However, he stressed that not all women who assist terrorists do so willingly, as some are forced into the act.

According to him, some are coerced or forced into supporting terrorist groups, a situation he said he witnessed during his years of fighting the Boko Haram insurgency.

Wudilawa also lamented that some members of the public often obstruct security operations by confronting or launching attacks on personnel carrying out their lawful duties of making arrests and conducting investigations.

He urged Nigerians to cooperate with security agencies by providing timely and credible intelligence to strengthen ongoing efforts to combat terrorism and other violent crimes.

Calling on the government to address the socio-economic conditions that make criminal activities attractive, he argued that improved livelihoods and economic opportunities would help reduce recruitment into banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism. banditry, kidnapping and terrorism.