Substantial parts of Borno still under Boko Haram control – Senator Garbai; No! Military are on top of situation – Senator Ndume
BY ABDULLAH ISAH, MAIDUGURI
The Senator representing Borno Central Senatorial District, Senator Babakaka Bashir Garbai, has said that Nigerians should know that Borno State is equally shared between the Boko Haram insurgents and the Nigerian military.
Senator Garbai disclosed this in an interview with journalists on Saturday during a condolence visit to Dalori village over last Saturday’s Boko Haram attack on the village where 65 persons were reported to have been killed.
The lawmaker said, the truth must be told, that both Boko Haram and the Nigerian nation have full control of three separate local governments in troubled Borno State and have some level of dominance in 21 other local governments.
Garbai, who went to Dalori with financial and material assistance to the people of the village, said: “I feel highly demoralized, devastated in the sense that this is the village we came to during the election and they were going about their normal business. The activities that were ongoing was like confidence building.
The Senator said “they actually got the signal a few days before the attack that the insurgents were likely to attack them, they reported to the constituted authorities but nothing was done.”
“I will like to appeal to the military to intensify their effort in ensuring they beef up security around the villages and communities that share borders with Maiduguri metropolis. It is very important and more so that this place is porous, there could be attack from any direction,” Garbai added.
While disputing the claims that the insurgents have largely be overpowered by the military, Garbai said: “It is a wrong assumption that most of the local governments in Borno are recaptured from the Boko Haram. In reality this is not true in the sense that apart from Maiduguri Metropolis, Bayo and Kwaya Kusar, these are the three local governments that are under the occupation of the Nigerian government where the military and police are maintaining law and order.”
He said “Mobbar, Abadam and Kala Balge are 100 percent occupied by the insurgents. There are some local governments that are partially occupied by the insurgents especially as the local government secretariats have been liberated but their hither-lands are still controlled by the insurgents.”
Garbai gave as an instance, Konduga which was liberated but still has many communities in the local government area under the insurgents.
He also said “though Gwoza town has been liberated there still remain six wards in Gwoza local government area still occupied by the insurgents.”
He said: “From my count, only three local governments are fully liberated, 21 local governments partially occupied by insurgents, that is, there is still some level of Boko Haram occupation side by side the military or any other constituted authority. The local governments fully occupied by Boko Haram are Abadam, Mobbar and Kala Balge.”
He advised that: “We should not live under the illusion that Boko Haram insurgents have been decimated or weakened. This is not reality and neither a true reflection of the reality. The reality is that most of the local governments in Borno are partially occupied by Boko Haram.”
He advised that the issue of reconstruction, rehabilitation and relocation of the Internally Displaced Persons, (IDPs) should be put on hold at least for now, until the insurgents are cleared in most of the communities.
He said: “If the IDPs are relocated back to their own communities, government is making them vulnerable to attack. Unless you provide maximum security and return of law and order in these areas, relocating these people would be endangering their lives.”
However, contrary to Garbai’s views, the Senate Leader, Mohammed Ndume, representing Borno South in the Senate insists that much has been achieved by the military in retrieving captured Borno communities from the insurgents.
He said it was not out of place to begin the reconstruction, rehabilitation and relocation of the destroyed communities.
The Senate leader told journalists in Maiduguri on Sunday that: “I still have confidence in our military. I still want to believe that our military are on top of the situation. What is happening these days is the issue of intermittent suicide bombings and desperate attacks by the insurgents because their supply routes have been cut off and they attack in order to get supplies. They have been carting away foodstuffs of attacked communities.”
He said that the reconstruction and relocation should still continue in spite of recent attacks. He however admitted that if this is not done immediately, at least the preparation should not be set aside.
The Senate Leader, while arguing that the insurgency is coming to an end, said the recent setbacks are not limited to Nigeria alone, insisting that United States and recently France have come under isolated terrorist attacks.
He noted that the people of Borno displaced by insurgency are willing to go back to their communities, stressing that particularly the people of Gwoza, where he comes from are ready to return home, insisting that arrangements have already been concluded for this.
