Sad profile of army spy that nailed Aso Villa Boko Haram cell

Colonel Auwal Suleiman is not known to many outside of military intelligence communities home and abroad. But his travail following a mass retirement of 38 military hotshots in 2016 has raked up the stories of his gallantry.

Of all his heroics, the most important being the one in which he headed off a global embarrassment in 2016, according to a report by PRNigeria.

A sleeper cell of Boko Haram was already embedded at the Villa, counting down to the minute they were going to wreak their signature havoc.

But Suleiman saved the day.

A thorough COIN strategist, Suleiman, a military intelligence source told PRNigeria, was appointment as Deputy Chief of Operations to the United Nations Mission in Darfur and as Deputy Defence Adviser to the Nigerian Embassy in Washington in 2011 and 2012 respectively. But it had to be cancelled as he was key to Nigeria’s counter-terrorism operations kickstarting in the northeast.

“It may interest you to note that Colonel Suleiman midwifed the idea of using local vigilantes and hunters in tackling the ravaging Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East which gave birth to popular Civilian JTF in Borno State.

“He led a joint intelligence task force comprising other security agencies in uncovering of secret cells of the Boko Haram insurgents in many cities of Northern Nigeria. His prowess as a spy, he played a major role in discovering a Boko Haram cell within the Presidential Villa Abuja before the terrorists could cause harm to the seat of power as the culprits were subsequently rounded up.

“The mastermind of the planned attack on Aso Rock was a police sergeant, identified as Babagana who was arrested. Colonel Suleman was also key to the arrests of prosecutions of Boko Haram pioneer spokesman, Umar Sanda Konduga and Chadian terrorists’ gunrunner, Bana Fannaye among others.

“Even while he was at Command and Staff College, Jaji, as directing staff, he was recalled helping track ‘a globally and the United States declared wanted terrorist, Adam Kambar. Aside from operational risks and several ambushes leading to gunshot his left leg, Col Suleiman escaped assassination attempts in Bauchi and Borno through several improvised explosive device attacks and suicide bombers,” the officer said on condition of anonymity.

A member of NDA 42 Regular Combatant course who was commissioned in September 1995, Suleiman was promoted to the rank of Colonel on August 17, 2013, bagging the Chief of Army Staff Commendation Award as well as the national honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR).

Since his illegal retirement in 2016, and a court ruling upturning it, the top spy has yet to be reinstated.