By Usman Abubakar Maiduguri
The growing spate of Boko Haram/ISWAP attacks on returnee communities in Borno State is threatening to frustrate the implementation of the UN-applauded Borno Model for the reconstruction of a society rubbled by terror and violent conflict.
Closure of IDP camps and subsequent return and resettlement of communities displaced by terror over the last 15 years, as the most-critical foundation for rapid rebuilding of lives and restoration of prosperity, is the most key aspect of the Borno Model.
The state government, as a critical step in the implementation of the Model, has virtually closed all IDP camps in Maiduguri and relocated all the displaced communities to their ancestral abodes, their home local government areas headquarters or any location nearer there.
The aim is to enable the returnees pick up their shattered pieces and engage in their age-old economic, mainly, farming, fishing, and cross-border commercial activities to rebuild their lives and facilitate the entire state’s rapid growth and prosperity.
However, the terrorists have, over the last few months, attacked many of these returnee communities, including Marte, Baga, Ngoshe, Kirawa, Izge, Bita, Ran, and, last Friday, Darjamal.
However, after every attack, with security being the exclusive responsibility of the federal government, the state Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, seem constrained to do more than visiting the attacked communities, commiserate with the survivors, promise to facilitate deployment of adequate security and recharge their resilience batteries.
So pathetically frustrated he sounded last May, when the terrorists descended on Marte. He passionately pleaded with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to let the terrorists retake the already liberated and resettled the Northern Borno community.
Last Friday (September 5), the terrorists stormed the Darjamal returnee community, Bama Local Government Area, killing 63 persons, among them five soldiers. This is said to be one of the most-frightening carnage since the peak of the insurgency.
Zulum, last Saturday (September 6), visibly moved by the attack, met with community leaders and consoled the bereaved families, expressed profound grief and condemned the brutal attack in the strongest terms.
Speaking to newsmen, the Governor said, “We are here to commiserate with the people of Darajamal over what happened last night that has claimed the lives 63 persons, and boost the resilience of the community.”
Governor Zulum, while noting the challenges faced in the fight against insecurity, also called for the immediate deployment of the newly trained Forest Guards to complement the military in safeguarding vulnerable communities.
He said, “We have to take note that the numerical strength of the military, it is not enough to cover everywhere, but so far so good.”
Also, the Senator representing Borno Central, Kaka Shehu Lawan, whose constituency Darajamal falls under, has condemned the attack, describing it as a crime against humanity.
He expressed his commitment to supporting Governor Babagana Umara Zulum through legislative backing to restore peace in Borno State.
Before descending on the community by 8 pm, the terrorists had reportedly sacked the nearby military base.
“We first heard sporadic gunshots in the direction of the military base,” a survivor, Modu Abdu, told Peoples Daily, continuing, then the soldiers came and told us to hurry into our houses and lock ourselves.”
He recalled: “There were no soldiers around to secure us, so the members of the civilian JTF engaged the terrorists in a gun battle; but not long after, the CJTF ran out of ammunition and, therefore, fled, leaving us to the mercy of the terrorists.”
Another survivor, Hassan Kolo, spoke: “They (the terrorists) went house-to-house, knocking and commanding that the door be opened; when it was opened they enter and shoot the male occupants in the head.”
He recalled further: “Many of us, including me, who would not heed the warning of the soldiers fled into the bush, where we spent the night. I returned this morning. Many of us are still in the bush (as at late afternoon of Saturday).”
The attack, impeccable sources confirmed, last for about an hour (about 8 pm – about 9 pm), but the survivors did not realize the terrorists had fled, reportedly on hearing the sound of the Air force jet, until 11 pm.
