Boko Haram: US AFRICOM Commander arrives in Nigeria
How terrorists used Intrachem's explosives to blow up Nyanya
Commander of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) General David Rodriguez has arrived in Nigeria ahead of the planned deployment of drones and accurate tracking gears by the US military against Boko Haram terrorists.
Rodriguez's arrival comes in the thick of revelations that majority of the raw materials used to make the two bombs that killed scores at Nyanya on April 14 and May 1, 2014, came from Intrachem, a Lagos-based explosives company.
Rodriguez arrived in Abuja on Monday and met with top military advisers.
He was reportedly briefed on the intelligence gathered by the eight US specialists who arrived in Nigeria late last week, and how to scuttle the terrorist organisation.
A top security source told Pointblanknews.com that General Rodriguez's arrival in Nigeria has signal the end of the terrorist activities of Boko Haram.
Formerly a Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces Command, Rodriguez is one of the most experienced and decorated Generals.
He served as Commander, International Security Assistance Force Joint Command (IJC), Commander, 82nd Airborne Division, Commander, 1st Armoured Division, and Deputy Commander, U.S. Forces – Afghanistan (USFOR-A).
A Masters degree in National Security and Strategic Studies and another Masters degree in Military Art and Science has helped Rodriguez successfully command troops in Panama, the Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan and
Mali.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that the offer of assistance by the United States to crush Boko Haram may have been borned out of concern that if left to its devices, Boko Haram might target its embassy in Abuja.
US military and security strategists, according to sources, expressed concern that the two attacks on Nyanya were a mere seven miles away from its embassy.
Nigerian security sources told Pointblanknews.com that they were investigating how civil explosives manufactured by Intrachem were used by the terrorists in the Nyanya attacks.
The experts were however not sure if the terrorists sourced the explosives directly from Intrachem, or the ones stolen recently from the Bauchi plant yard of a local construction company Mothercat.
“Yes, from the charred remains of the Honda Civic car used in the May 1 attack on Nyanya, we recovered canisters of explosives made by Intrachem Nigeria Limited,” offered one ballistics' expert.
“In addition, we recovered LPG and acetylene cylinders, substantial quantity of ammonium nitrate, timing device, small dry cell batteries, and a 12 volt automobile battery,” the source added.
Located at Km 13, Obadaoko Street, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Ewekoro, in Ogun State, Intrachem, whose parent company Intrachem India, claims to produce over 15,000 tomes of explosives per annum.
Intrachem produces large quantities of ammonium nitrate, which though used a fertilizer, has been mixed with fuel oil to produce the deadly explosives in the Oklahoma City, Delhi and Oslo bombings of 2011, as well as the 2013 Hyderabad blasts.