By Usman Abubakar, in Maiduguri
Boko Haram terrorists may reconquer territories liberated from them in Borno State if the the military does not scale up operations across the state.
Abadam, Guzamala and parts of Marte and Kukawa local government areas are still in firm grips of the terrorists, apart from the frightening resurgence of their attacks on many locations across the North, Central and parts of the Southern senatorial zones, especially locations at, or very close to, the borders with the three neighbouring countries.
Over the last one month, the territories attacked several locations, including Darajamal in Bama Local Government Area, and Kirawa, a Nigeria-Cameroon border community in Gwoza Local Government Area, killing over 60 persons.
Last Wednesday, October 1, Governors Babagana Zulum of Nigeria’s Borno State and Brig.
Gen Mahamadou Ibrahim Bagadoma of Niger Republic’s Diffa Region held a closed-door meeting in Diffa, to, among others, re-strategize for lasting security around the Lake Chad shores.
Their discussions reportedly centered on joint patrols, intelligence sharing, and sustaining the recent gains that have pushed insurgents out of many of their former strongholds.
Zulum, last Friday, October 3, undertook a commiseration and assessment visit to Kirawa community where the violent extremists killed one person and torched the district head’s palace, reportedly sending the district head to flee to the neighbouring Cameroon.
Following the frightening resurgence of terror attacks, Zulum charged the Nigerian Armed Forces to scale up military operations in Borno State to avert the possibility of terrorists reversing the gains recorded so far.
“I am appealing to the Nigerian Armed Forces to be more committed. Above all, we need military operations. For sometime, military operations were not conducted in Borno State.
“This has been instrumental to the renewed insurgency. We need to take note of one very important thing, continued military operations. There is need for us to sustain our military operations,” Zulum said.
The governor sympathised deeply with residents over the tragic incident and condemned the attack in the strongest terms, assuring the people of his administration’s commitment to their safety and well-being.
He announced concrete steps that can improve security in the area, revealing that plans are underway to deploy additional security personnel and establish a new Civilian JTF post to enhance surveillance and rapid response capabilities in and around Kirawa.
