Borno governor insists security agencies, traditional rulers know Boko Haram hideouts

The Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, insisted on Tuesday that the security agencies, monarchs and some members of the public in the North-East know the Boko Haram insurgents’ hideouts.

Zulum stated this at the North East Security Summit organised by the Office of the Inspector-General of Police.

The Borno State Government hosted the summit in Maiduguri, the state capital.

Zulum said: “The hideouts of these criminals are known to the Nigerian military, the police, the civil defence corps, the Department of State Services, the traditional rulers and most members of the public. All that we need to do is to take the war to these criminals’ doorsteps. Another important thing we need to do urgently is the restoration of civil authority to the geopolitical zone.”

The governor also urged the state governments in the North East never to allow any of its citizens to be displaced by Boko Haram terrorists again.

Speaking at the summit, the Governor of Yobe State, Mai-Mala Buni, advocated for a fresh approach to the war against terrorism since the military option had not succeeded in putting an end to the crisis.

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He said: “We strongly believe that while the military’s efforts to contain insurgency are necessary, we must actively explore and engage in dialogue. As records show, no conflict of this nature anywhere in the world has ever been resolved solely by military option.

“As we transit to a post-insurgency era with the relative peace that our state now enjoys, there are emerging security threats that we are equally very concerned about.

“The rising cases of rape, kidnapping, robbery, homicide, conflict between farmers and pastoralists and cattle-rustling are challenges we have to confront seriously.”

Also speaking on the matter, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Army, Ali Ndume, who represented the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, decried the low budgetary allocation to the military, and the low number of soldiers and officers in the nation’s military, adding that the country might have shown that it was not ready to end this war anytime soon.

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