THE Bauchi State Government, on Monday, said four local governments in the state could be attacked and occupied by Boko Haram insurgents.
Secretary to the state government Sabiu Baba raised the alarmed while briefing journalists after an emergency Security Council Meeting chaired by Governor Bala Mohammed.
He said following attack on and occupation of Geidam, Yobe State by the terrorists recently, Zaki, Dambam, Darazo, and Gamawa local government areas in Bauchi might fall into the hands of the group.
The four local council areas share borders with Geidam.
Baba said there had been exodus of people, some of who carried weapons from Yobe to Bauchi.
Consequently, the state would continue to profile whoever came into the state and efforts would help the government to curb importation of weapons and increased movement of people into the state, he stated.
According to him, Boko Haram had launched attack on a mast belonging to a leading communication network in the country and carted away its property.
“There was an emergency Security Council Meeting of Bauchi State this afternoon and the meeting was to look into the attack by Boko Haram in Geidam and the takeover of that town and the implications for Bauchi State.Bauchi state is sharing border with Yobe State in four local government areas of Zaki, Dambam, Darazo, and Gamawa. The implication of what has happened in Geidam is that there is a lot of influx of people moving into Bauchi State from Yobe.
“Of course, that will put a lot of strain on our facilities and resources, and considering the kind of movement out of Boko Haram activities, the security implications there are also very high. The meeting today was to discuss the implications of that, identify the security threats and how to contain them from the Bauchi side.”
He added that security was a collective duty of everyone in the country and the government would not leave the work for security agencies alone, adding that all hands must be on deck to tackle it.
Bauchi State government’s alarm came a week after Niger State Governor Sani Bello revealed that insurgents had sacked many communities in his state, making people to flee from about 50 communities in the state.
The ICIR reported on May 1 how residents in Niger State were paying ransom to bandits that had taken over many parts of the state with loans and monies contributed by residents to enable them to secure the release of their captured relatiions.
Similarly, Benue State governor had, last week, lamented the rate worsening insecurity in the state, alleging that President Muhammadu Buhari was working for the Fulanis, people of his tribe, to take over the country.
There has been overwhelming insecurity threatening continued existence of the country.
While the North-East battles with insurgency, North-West and North-Central confront banditry and farmer-herder crisis. South-East recently joined the league with unprovoked attacks on security formations and innocent civilians in the region by gunmen.
The South-West is faced with herder-herder feud, with move for secession by aggrieved people in the region gaining momentum.
There have also been threats from various youth groups in the South-South to return to era of destruction of oil assets in the region.
Marcus bears the light, and he beams it everywhere. He's a good governance and decent society advocate. He's The ICIR Reporter of the Year 2022 and has been the organisation's News Editor since September 2023. Contact him via email @ mfatunmole@icirnigeria.org