Borno State has been witnessing horrific and spontaneous insurgent attacks since March 2019, Governor Babagana Zulum told President Muhammadu Buhari during the latter’s condolence visit to the state on Wednesday.
Buhari was in Borno, shortly after attending an African Union summit in Ethiopia, to condole with the people of the state on the killing of 30 travellers in Auno community by insurgents. 18 vehicles and several houses were burnt in the incident.
The governor urged the Nigerian Armed Forces to change strategies in order to record success in the ongoing fight against Boko Haram.
Mr Isa Gusa, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Relations and Strategy, quoted Zulum as saying this in a statement on Wednesday in Maiduguri.
Gusau said the governor made the call when President Muhammadu Buhari paid a sympathy visit to the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar El-Kanemi, over the insurgents’ attack.
He quoted the governor, who acknowledged the successes recorded by the military in the past three years, as calling for new tactics to check resurgence of insurgents’ activities in the state.
“Your Excellency; between March 2019 to date, we have started witnessing horrific and spontaneous attacks by the insurgents which has resulted into the loss of lives and properties of our people.
“We are calling upon the Nigerian military to change strategies and we can borrow a leaf from the success our military was able to hugely record in the years 2016 and 2017 with a view to ending the insurgency.
“We need to keep taking the war to enclaves of the insurgents in the fringes of the Lake Chad Basin, Sambisa Forest and some notable areas,” Zulum was quoted as saying in the statement.
The governor, however, commended the president for his commitment to ending the insurgency and his consistent empathy to the people of the state.
“Let me appreciate Mr President for associating with us at this our very trying moment. I am so surprised that we have forgotten the past,” he said.
Zulum who noted that although he could not ignore the current unfortunate situation, added that “the people of the state still remember the days before Buhari’s emergence, when 20 out of the 27 local government areas were in the hands of Boko Haram while all the five routes into Borno state were largely inaccessible with exception of Maiduguri-Kano road.
“In addition to sporadic bombings and killings in the state capital, Maiduguri.
“Close to about 20 local government areas resettled under Buhari. In fact, in the year 2016/2017 we celebrated the demise of the Boko Haram insurgency that has unfortunately returned.”
The statement also quoted Buhari as reiterating his commitment to end insurgency, fight corruption and lead the country to economic recovery.
The president called on the people of Borno to continue to cooperate with and support the military and other security agencies to end insurgency.
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