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Tag: boko haram

  • Mailafia honours DSS invitation over comments on insecurity

    Mailafia honours DSS invitation over comments on insecurity

    A former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Obadiah Mailafia on Wednesday honoured the invitation of the Department of State Security Service (DSS) over his comment that government is culpable for the ongoing killings and in Southern Kaduna.

    Dr Obadiah arrived at the Plateau State Command of the DSS Jos at exactly 12:45 pm along with a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Pius Akumbo and Plateau State chairman of Nigeria Bar Association, Saleh Bawa.

    Before his arrival at the premises of the DSS, the vicinity was besieged by his loyalists mostly members of different socio-cultural groups within the Middle Belt, including members of the Middle Belt Forum and Association of Middle Belt Ethnic Nationalities.

    Despite the heavy presence of men of the DSS, his loyalists insisted of remaining within the vicinity until he came out of the office of the DSS.

    As of the time of filing this report 3:08 pm on Wednesday, Dr Obadiah and his lawyer, Pius Akumbo SAN are still with the men of the Department of State Security Service (DSS) in Jos while his supporters keep waiting within the vicinity.

  • DSS invites ex-CBN deputy gov. for accusing gov of sponsoring Boko Haram

    DSS invites ex-CBN deputy gov. for accusing gov of sponsoring Boko Haram

    The Department of State Services has invited a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Obadiah Mailafia, to its Jos office.

    Mailafia confirmed the development to our correspondent in Jos on Tuesday.

    He said, “Yes, it true. The DSS invited me to appear in their Jos office tomorrow (Wednesday) by noon.”

    Mailafia said his invitation was not unconnected to an interview he granted an Abuja radio station, 95.1FM, on Monday.

    READ ALSO: Motorcyclist in court for stealing passenger’s N36,000 phone

    In the interview, he said repentant terrorists told him that a serving northern governor was the Boko Haram leader.

    Mailafia, who was the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress in the 2019 election, said the terrorists moved weapons even during the COVID-19 lockdown.

  • Boko Haram planning civil war in 2022- Mailafia Obadiah declares

    Boko Haram planning civil war in 2022- Mailafia Obadiah declares

    Former African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential candidate Mailafia Obadiah, former African has revealed the purported plans of Boko Haram for Nigeria.

     

    Obadiah, who was a former deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, claimed that Boko Haram insurgents are plotting to start a civil war in Nigeria by 2022.

     

    He revealed this during an interview on Nigerian Info while speaking on the Southern Kaduna killings.

     

    Obadiah said Boko Haram insurgents are also planning to attack and kill prominent Nigerians in their homes in urban cities.

     

     

    He claimed this would be done after they have wiped out Nigerians in the rural areas.

     

    According to the former presidential candidate, the insurgents are planning to carry out this act in phases.

     

    Emphasizing that a Northern governor was the overall Commander of Boko Haram, Obadiah revealed that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government has a hand in the killings in Southern Kaduna.

     

    Asked about the murder in Southern Kaduna, Obadiah said: “We have good reasons to believe that government is part and parcel of the killers. The body language of this administration shows clearly that they have a hand in the killings, no doubt about it.

     

     

    “Let me make some revelations because some of us have our internal security networks, we have met with some of the bandits high Commanders who have repented and they told us that one of the Northern governors is the Commander of Boko Haram in Nigeria.

     

    “Boko Haram and bandits are one and the same, they have a sophisticated network, during the lockdown their planes were moving up and down with ammunitions, logistics, money and distributing them in different parts of the country.

     

     

    “They are already in the rain forest of the South, they are everywhere. The told us that when they finish this ruler killings, they would move to phase two.

     

    “In phase two, they will go into the urban cities, moving from house to house killing prominent people.

     

    “I can tell you this is their game plan and by 2022, they want to start a civil war in Nigeria.”

     

     

     

     

     

  • The Zulum testimonies, By Owei Lakemfa

    By Owei Lakemfa

     

    BABAGANA Umara Zulum, soil scientist and Professor of Agriculture and Environmental Engineering, has a problem as the Governor of Borno State. As the chief security officer of the state, he takes on face value the security reports he gets. So when the security chiefs informed him that the town of Baga had been liberated from the Boko Haram terrorists, the army was in full control and that the residents had returned to the town, he thought it best to provide the returnees relief, more so as Sallah was approaching.

     

    On July 29, he mobilised materials and in an armed convoy, headed for Baga. A short distance from the town, his convoy, which included soldiers of the Nigerian army, came under sustained fire. Videos showed the tall Zulum being made to bend down by security agents as bullets flew. Some in his entourage sustained injuries.

     

    After the firing died down, the military commander assured Zulum all was clear and that they should resume the journey. But the governor refused, declaring that while he was not afraid, it was pointless continuing. He told the commander: “You people said there is no Boko Haram here; then who attacked us? You have been here for over one year now; there are 1,181 soldiers here; if you cannot take over Baga which is less than five kilometres from your base, then we should forget about Baga.” The next day, he told Channels Television: “It is a complete sabotage… As far as I am concerned, there was no Boko Haram yesterday (Wednesday). It was a serious shooting by the Nigerian Armed Forces … ‘residing’ in Baga. The situation is very embarrassing.” So was it friendly fire or a deliberate attack by the military to send a message to the authorities? Were the soldiers trying to scare away Zulum; that he had no business coming to their ‘territory’? If Zulum’s claims were correct, then we have a far more serious problem in our hands than the Boko Haram and bandit attacks in the country.

     

    The Defence Headquarters claimed it concluded investigations into the incident within 48 hours and that Zulum’s claims were incorrect. In reporting its findings to the public, its Director of Media Operations, Major General John Enenche began with technical jargons: “We investigated it immediately and the strategic level is cleared of that; operational level cleared of that, tactical level, cleared of that.” This of course made no sense to the civil populace. Then he went on: “We analysed the video: you will discover from the sound of the gunshots, it is not the professional weapons that we use. And of course, if you have operated with an enemy for some time, we call it enemy habit. From the analysis, it was purely that of the enemies, Boko Haram, in that area. From the tactics, and from the search conducted, it was the insurgents.”

    I am not convinced by the findings; what could have prevented rogue elements in the military using captured Boko Haram guns and stimulating the tactics of the insurgents?

     

    Our country is experiencing its most serious security challenge since Amalgamation in 1914. The Civil War was mainly fought in the East and it lasted three years. The Boko Haram insurgency has gone on for 10 years and the entire country is enveloped by insecurity with bandits holding territories in large areas of the North and carrying out horrendous massacres.

     

    For us to better understand the handling of the security situation, let us compare the outcome of two meetings held by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic, His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, with the country’s service and security chiefs. Both meetings were called to discuss the increasingly deteriorating security situation. They were held 47 days apart with the same cast and in the same Aso Rock Presidential Villa. In both cases, he spoke through his National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, a retired General.

     

    At the first meeting on Thursday, June 18, 2020, President Buhari expressed the true mood of the country. Monguno told the country: “Mr President expressed great concern over the declining security situation in the country. He is extremely unhappy about what is happening.” At the second meeting on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 that anger was not apparent, if anything President Buhari seemed subdued. In the former meeting, he had bellowed: “… Even though the security agencies are doing their best, their best is not good…” In the latter meeting he sounded reconciliatory and even making a case for the security chiefs. He told them: “You are doing your best as far as I am concerned but there is still a lot more to be done.” While at the first meeting, he sounded like the man in charge, giving stern directives to the security chiefs that he “… wants an immediate reversal of the current trend and immediate reversal of our misfortunes in all their dimensions”. In the second meeting, he seemed to have forgotten his directives, he rather, sounded like a man making a plea. Monguno quoted President Buhari: “He has also directed that we must rejig our strategies both in terms of operations and intelligence. We must rejig our strategy to prevent further catastrophe; that we must bear in mind that we owe a duty.”

     

    To rejig is to rearrange, juggle, re-organise, alter or readjust; is that what the dire security situation in the country calls for? I thought it is claimed that in the military, you do not reinforce failure? As for a solution to the near-anarchy in the country, Monguno quoted President Buhari as saying since the issues involved were operational in nature, the Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, was “working on something” that would rejig the security agencies. In other words, there is no solution being offered.

     

    So, the weekly massacre of people in many towns and villages, banditry and kidnapping across the country and the undeniable resurgence of terrorism, will continue. Meanwhile, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai would return to doing his video press ups while his troops are pressed down and pinned down by insurgents; his Air Force counterpart, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar would continue his media propaganda on how the force is wiping out Boko Haram terrorists, while the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas would continue to glide in the shadows of relative obscurity.

     

    As for Governor Zulum, I suggest he resists any intimidation and continues his uncompromising service to the Borno State people and the country, but, he must watch his back. The Nigerian people are like orphans, and in almost all cases, orphans do not find comfort or security in a motherly bosom. We have to collectively take our destiny in our hands; nobody will come to our aid.

  • We’ve pushed Boko Haram out of North-east

    We’ve pushed Boko Haram out of North-east

    The Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, at a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday said that Boko Haram terrorists have been pushed out of all the north-eastern states save Borno State.

    The army chief, one of the nation’s military commanders whom some Nigerians have called for their sack, said the troops are sharing intelligence to rout the insurgents out of Borno.

    “There are no Boko Haram terrorists in neighbouring states. They have been pushed out, and now cornered in Borno State,” he said in a statement issued by presidential publicist, Garba Shehu.

    READ ALSO: Furious Borno governor blames military for Boko Haram massacre of over 30 travellers
    “We are coordinating with civil and traditional authorities, mobilising and reinforcing and all we need is patience. We will not relent,” the statement quoted Mr Buratai as telling the president.

    While Mr Buratai held this view, as recently as May this year, Boko Haram terrorists attacked Dapchi, a community in Yobe State. They had earlier attacked another Babangida community in the state in February.

    President Buhari, on his part, told governors of the north-east region that his administration has not ceased to think about how to tackle the insecurity in the country.

    The president added that in the wake of security challenges in the region, the administration is launching new combat strategies and acquiring modern military equipment.

    “Security will be restored to Borno State, the north-east and the nation at large,” the president said.

    “I assure you, the north-east governors, especially that of Borno, that we go to bed and wake up thinking about you, how to secure our country, that is the responsibility of every government.”

    The president noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has made “scarce resources even scarcer,” thereby affecting the supply chain of military equipment and spare parts.

    But he assured that modern military equipment is being acquired. Some, he said, have been purchased, while others are underway.

    “Our government is doing its best on the question of equipment and the military know(s). We have equipment coming from some countries. The acquisition of military wares and spares is not easy, especially if you are not the manufacturer,” the presidency statement read.

  • Shortage of resources, COVID-19 hindering us from crunching Boko Haram in Northeast– Buhari

    Shortage of resources, COVID-19 hindering us from crunching Boko Haram in Northeast– Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari has blamed the persistent presence of the Boko Haram terror group in some states of the Northeast on lack of resources.

    President Buhari spoke on Monday during a meeting with North East Governors’ Forum (NEGF) at the State House, noting that the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic had worsened the resources crisis.

    He however noted that though there are still reasons to be concerned about the security situation in the war-ravaged region, the situation is no longer what it was when his administration took off, pointing at the calmer atmosphere in some of the states of the region.

    Speaking on the devastating effects of the COVID-19 on the abilities of countries of the world, including the developed and the developing, President Buhari noted that the world needs to go back to God.

    “We have problems of resources and security. You know what we inherited. The people of the North East will appreciate what this administration has done.

    “The general report I am getting, other from the conventional ones from the intelligence sources, is that the Army should do better and this is the truth.

    “It is so often coming to me that I have to believe it. I listened to your representation, the governor who is on the hotspot now in the North East, Adamawa, Bauchi and the rest of them are enjoying peace. I hope they are respecting the sacrifice made by the military.

    “I assure you that the government is doing its best. Lack of resources has hit us very hard. COVID-19 is a phenomenon. It has no respect for colour, you can’t smell it, you can’t see it, you can’t hear it. America and us are the same. It is a fantastic phenomenon. I think we should all go back to God,” he said.

    The President, however, assured the governors that the federal government would not rest in its efforts to finally restore peace and security to the troubled zone.

    “I assure you North East governors, especially the governor of Borno, that we go to bed and wake up thinking about you and how to secure our country. That is the fundamental responsibility of a government; security. In our party, we recognise this. We campaigned on three fundamental issues: security, economy and fighting corruption.

    “Nigerians, we thank God, understood us and they voted for us. In 2019, we went round the whole country, saying the same thing and apologising for not doing better, but we are doing our best. I think Nigerians believe us and we did our best,” he said.

    He also pointed out the fact that the entire North-East is no longer exclusively an All Progressives Congress (APC) zone, noting that it was possible because his administration would not muzzle the will of people and would rather democracy blossoms under his watch.

    “It is true that we lost some states as a ruling party in a developing country, which is normal. I am proud of that because we are impartial, that is why as ruling party, we lost some states. That means we have our own mistakes.

    “Some of those that defeated us are sitting here. We know we are a developing country but we respect our country, otherwise, with the use of Army, the police and the rest of them, we could have overrun you. We just wanted to show that we are humane and we are Nigerians. We will continue to do our best,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the governors of the Northeast, under the NEGF, have charged the federal government to address the root issues that have been giving breath to Boko Haram insurgency.

    According to them, the security crisis in the region has survived for so long because of poverty, hunger and some other social deficiencies, although they commended the federal government for making efforts to restore peace in the area.

    Chairman of the NEGF and governor of Borno State, Professor Babagana Zulum, who addressed State House Correspondents alongside the governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Fintri also acknowledged the presence of war economy in the region.

    Zulum said the Northeast governors met with President Buhari after the NEGF meeting held in Maiduguri on Saturday with a view to highlighting the key challenges in the region, especially issues of security, decaying infrastructure, particularly rock projects, cases of oil exploration, and issues of enhancing river basin development in the region among others.

    While reacting to the question on what they discussed with President Buhari on insecurity, Zulum said “the governments of the region have commended the efforts of federal government in securing the region. However, we told Mr. President that there is need for the federal government to address the causes of insurgency, which are not limited to the endemic poverty, hunger among others.

    “One of the root causes is that of access to farm lands, people need to go back to their farmlands, people need to be resettled in their original homes so that they can restart their means of livelihood. This is one of the reasons the insurgents are recruiting more into the sect. Therefore, creating enabling environment will enable the people to go about their normal duties and will no doubt reduce the cases of insurgency.

    “We also recommended that police should be empowered, to be provided with certain state of the art equipment, armoured personnel carrier and so on with a view to bridging the manpower gap that we are having in the Nigerian military”, he said.

    On the criticism of his reaction to the suspected terror attack he suffered recently, the governor said “we have had series of consultations after the attack and I think security is not only about federal government, there is need for the federal, States and the local government to come together with a view to providing solutions that will end this crisis in the region.

    “But most importantly, there is war economy in the region and I think that is why we are here. So, I think the government is taking a bold step with a view to ensuring speedy resolution of some of the gray areas that we have in the region,” he said.

    The meeting was attended by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN); the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha; the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno (Rtd); and the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari.

    The governors of the northeastern states who attended the meeting also included those of Bauchi state, Bala Mohammed; Gombe, Inuwa Yahaya; Taraba, Darius Ishaku; and Yobe, Mai Mala Buni.

    The Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin, Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas, Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, and the Director General, Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi were part of the meeting.

    Also in attendance were the Director General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufa’i, the Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, and the Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammad Dingyadi.

  • Presidency speaks on report of absorbing repentant Boko Haram into Nigerian military

    Presidency speaks on report of absorbing repentant Boko Haram into Nigerian military

    The presidency on Wednesday refuted the claim that some repentant Boko Haram fighters have been allowed to join the Nigerian military.

    The rumour has circulated on social media with many Nigerians questioning the government’s deradicalisation programme.

    The rumour worsened recently after the Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, said his convoy was attacked by soldiers and not Boko Haram members. Many Nigerians on social media suggested that the attack was carried out by the repentant Boko Haram members who had allegedly joined the army.

    In a statement, on Wednesday, presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, said such rumour was not true.

    “It is important for the public to know that nobody has ever been absorbed into the military from the de-radicalized Boko Haram and there is no such plan for their absorption,” he said.

    Mr Shehu defended the government’s deradicalisation programme for former Boko Haram fighters who have laid down their arms. He said the programme is backed by the United Nations, the European Union and the International Organisation of Migration.

    The deradicalisation programme ” does not have a place for hard boiled, ideologically hardened terrorists,” Mr Shehu said, adding that “it only admits, after careful scrutiny, repentant fighters that were captured and forced to bear arms in the first instance…”

    Read Mr Shehu’s full statement below.

    Now that groups with hitherto proven bona fides, some religious leaders and a few in the legislature have joined the supply chain of fake news, it important that we step in to clear the false reports that the administration is absorbing repentant Boko Haram terrorists into the military.

    It is important for the public to know that nobody has ever been absorbed into the military from the de-radicalized Boko Haram and there is no such plan for their absorption. None of the 601 former Boko Haram members who voluntarily laid down their arms, and have recently graduated from the Federal Government’s de-radicalization and rehabilitation programme, is going into the military. This is the fourth such graduation of repentant Boko Haram fighters and not one of such graduates has been absorbed into the military.

    The public needs to be reassured that the de-radicalization, rehabilitation and reintegration of violent extremists of the Buhari administration code named “Operation Safe Corridor,” follows an established example from countries with similar experiences, and is supported academically and materially by the European Union and the United Nations.

    The lead agency for the implementation of the programme in Gombe is the International Organization for Migration, a leading inter-government organization which is represented in Nigeria.

    It is also important to note that this programme does not have a place for hard-boiled, ideologically hardened terrorists. It only admits, after careful scrutiny, repentant fighters that were captured and forced to bear arms in the first instance, and there are many who have been drafted by force.

    At the point of their graduation, a determination is made that the former combatants have repented and are better citizens, imbued with genuine nationalism. They must no longer represent a danger to society or to themselves.

    Where they are certified as such, communities have the duty of accepting them. Unless they want them to take up arms and resume terrorism from which they have repented, community leaders must work with the relevant agencies to end their rejection.

    The Buhari administration is a responsible one and is conscious of its duty to the state and society, and to the victims of terror as well as to those who inflicted these pains and losses on our people.

  • Shekau’s Boko Haram releases video showing members observing Eid prayers

    Shekau’s Boko Haram releases video showing members observing Eid prayers

    The Abubakar Shekau-led faction of Boko Haram has released a video showing members claiming to be from Niger State.

    A footage of the video shows about 100 persons praying Eid in the heart of a bush before showing three fighters sending Eid greetings in Hausa, English and Fulfulde.

    “It is we the Jamahatu Ali Sunna li Dawatul Jihad in the location of Niger State. We want to send our sallah salutation, first of all to our imam, Abu Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Abubakar Shekau,” a terrorist, dressed in a Nigerian police uniform said.

    “The dense forest there is a perfect haven for terrorists and if the group is able to consolidate its presence in Niger, it can easily target Abuja as well as to other states like Kwara and Kogi,” Bulama Bukarti, an analyst at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change in London, said while reacting to the video.

    South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies recently reported that Boko Haram is extending its reach from north-east Nigeria into the country’s north-west.

    It added that the terrorists are taking advantage of old and new local conflicts and insecurities to further embed themselves in the area through violent extremism.

    Since January 2019 thousands of people in the north-west states of Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara have been killed or injured. Others have lost their livelihoods, at least 23 000 have been displaced and dozens have been abducted for ransom, nurturing an economy of violence, ISS Africa reported.

    Communities in the north-west and north-central Nigeria, lacking state protection, are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the converging threats.

    Boko Haram has killed more than 36,000 people and caused the displacement of nearly two million from their homes in northeastern Nigeria since 2009, Reuters reported.

    The violence spilt over into neighbouring Sahel countries in 2015, especially in the Lake Chad region, where the borders of Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria converge.

    Diffa, a city of 200,000 people located near the Nigerian border, has been repeatedly attacked.

    The region is home to 120,000 refugees from Nigeria as well as 110,000 people internally displaced within Niger, according to UN data released in October.

    The countries about Lake Chad, together with Benin, have set up a combined group, the Multinational Joint Task Force, to counter the terrorists.

  • Insecurity: Governors meet today to discuss Boko Haram’s attack on Zulum, others

    Insecurity: Governors meet today to discuss Boko Haram’s attack on Zulum, others

    Governors will meet on Wednesday (today) to discuss strategies to address the degenerating security situation.

    The teleconference will be preceded by a meeting of the security sub-committee of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF).

    NGF spokesman Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo said the meeting is informed by the recent attack on the governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, by suspected Boko Haram members.

    Bello-Barkindo said: “The rapidly degenerating security situation in the country will feature very prominently when governors meet tomorrow for their 14th NGF teleconference, according to the invitation sent out to governors by the Director General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, (NGF), Mr. Asishana Bayo Okauru.

    “Not unexpectedly, in line with the security and policing swamp that the country has found itself, the attack on Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum will be tabled for discussion. The meeting will also preview a webinar, which comes up on August 11, driven through a partnership of the NGF and the Centre for Value in Leadership, (CVL) led by Prof. Pat Utomi.

    “One such webinar had taken place last month where the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo- x-rayed ‘insecurity and the challenges of governance and leadership in the new normal,’ as it affects his state.

    “That too will come under the governors’ searchlight.

    “The flag-off and launch of the distribution of palliatives by the Coalition Against COVID19, (CACOVID), populated by the likes of Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Access Bank along with other well-meaning philanthropists, in the states will also be addressed, as well as the issue of yet to be accessed funds at UBEC. “Still on education, the governors will review the resumption of schools and its roll-out plan.

    “Apart from security and education, the permanent items on the Teleconferences since the pandemic, health and the economy will also make it to the table.

    “The Governor Ifeanyi Okowa Committee of the NGF which interfaces with the Presidential Task Force on the Pandemic will brief the governors on progress so far before the governors discuss the economy.

    “Under this item, progress on the States’ Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability program (SFTAS) will be thrashed.

    “There will also be updates on the restructuring of states’ loans tomorrow.

    “All of the above will be followed by any other business before the meeting comes to a close.”

  • Zulum to Army: ‘You said there is no Boko Haram in Baga, then who attack us?’

    Zulum to Army: ‘You said there is no Boko Haram in Baga, then who attack us?’

    Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum has lambasted the Nigerian army following an attack on his convoy in Baga on Wednesday night.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that Governor Zulum was attacked by Boko Haram terrorists on Wednesday while on his way to Monguno and Baga.

    It was gathered the terrorists ambushed the governor’s convoy as he went to distribute food to Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, at Baga town, one of the areas difficult to reach for humanitarian activities.

    Though the attack was repelled by security operatives in the governor’s convoy, there were casualties on the side of his entourage.

    Zulum, thereafter confronted the Commanding Officer in Mile 4, expressing his disappointment at the inability of the military to rid Baga and environs of insurgents.

    “The army has been here for over one year now, there are 1,181 soldiers here; if you cannot take over Baga which is less than 5 km from your base, then we should forget about Baga.

    “I will inform the Chief of Army Staff to redeploy the men to other places that they can be useful,” Zulum said.

    The governor further questioned the authenticity of the army’s position that Boko Haram insurgents have been neutralised in the state.

    “You said there is no Boko Haram here, then who attacked us,” Zulum questioned.