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Borno gov, Zulum re-echoes call for mercenaries to fight banditry, terrorism

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The Borno State governor, Babagana Zulum has again reiterated his call for the use of mercenaries to fight against insurgency and banditry in Nigeria.

He made the call during the North-East Governors’ Forum meeting held in Bauchi.

Zulum, who is the Chairman of the Forum, appealed to the Federal Government not to see the engagement of foreign mercenaries as a sign of weakness, saying such joint actions are required in the fight against the menace.

The governor said: “Again, I want to use this opportunity to call on the Federal Government to seek support from our neighbours, especially the Republic of Chad and Niger, with a view to providing a joint action in a bid to end this crisis.

“Furthermore, the federal government has to look into the possibility of employing mercenaries with a view to ending this insurgency.

“For us to end this insurgency, we must be committed enough. We must bring in external support and ensure that mercenaries are hired to end this insurgency.”

Zulum also urged the newly appointed service chiefs to devise new strategies and initiatives in tackling insecurity in the country.

“Violence being perpetrated by the insurgents seems to be on the increase both in scope and viciousness and it has become a matter of tactical necessity for the new service chiefs to devise new strategies to counter the current attacks and forestall any future attacks.

“Undoubtedly, the commitment of our military to the war against insurgency is unquestionable and the determination to succeed is undeniable.

READ ALSO: Gov Zulum charges service chiefs to work with Niger, Chad, Cameroon to fight insecurity

“However, the current escalation of deadly attacks by the terrorists and the various causes of actions being pursued seem to have some limitations in terms of the expected impact.

“Hence, the need for a new set of a pragmatic approach to completely subdue the terrorists and ultimately end the insurgency,” he added.

Other governors at the meeting were Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa), Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), and Darius Ishaku (Taraba).

Also at the meeting were the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, and other dignitaries from the region.

Zulum had in November last year urged the federal government to engage mercenaries in the fight against insurgency in the country.

He also gave the government a six-point recommendation on how to tackle the Jihadists.

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