BORNO State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has accused some Nigerian politicians and members of the armed forces of serving as informants and working with Boko Haram insurgents.
Zulum stated this on Wednesday during an interview on News Central’s Breakfast Central, where he outlined some of the challenges his state had encountered in its fight against insurgency.
The governor called on President Bola Tinubu to prioritise ground-level intelligence and heed professional advice from the military.
“The forest guard shall be provided immediately. The President of Nigeria needs to listen to those who can differentiate their left from their right.
“We should not politicise insecurity. The President needs to listen to the people who can tell him the right thing. The President should listen to the Army,” he stated.
While pledging to reinforce the state’s intelligence network and take firm action against saboteurs, the governor emphasised that the real challenge was not insurgents who had laid down their arms, but the saboteurs among politicians, the armed forces, and within local communities who fuel the insurgency.
“We have informants and collaborators within the Nigerian armed forces, within the politicians, and within the communities. Let’s remove contractocracy. In six months, we can put an end to this madness. We need not politicise insecurity,” Zulum pleaded.
Speaking on the impact of the insurgency in the state, Zulum said that before 2022, Borno lost around 5,000 classrooms and a 300-hectare facility to insurgency.
The conflict also produced over 100,000 widows and orphans, he said, adding that although efforts had been made to rebuild some of the damaged infrastructure, ongoing attacks continue to cause further destruction.
“Wether we like it or not, insurgency will cripple the socioeconomic activities in the state but we are coming back stronger” he said.
While stressing that the military alone would not end insurgency because they could not boast of good weapons like the insurgents, the governor reiterated the importance of adopting both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches to address the crisis.
“Insurgency will never be ended by kinetic measures alone. We must ensure that the non-kinetic measures are also properly put in place.
“What I mean by non-kinetic measures is social, political, and economic dimensions of the crisis. Our ongoing non-kinetic measures have yielded positive results with the support of the Nigerian military.
“I cannot completely say that 100 per cent of those people who have surrendered are doing the right thing, but I want to assure you that over 99 per cent are doing well and are not participating in the ongoing terrorism,” Zulum argued.
The ICIR reported last week that the governor banned the sale of petrol in filling stations across the Bama Local Government Area of the state, as part of efforts to address security challenges in the area.
Zulum reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to achieving lasting peace in the state and urged residents to cooperate in the fight against insurgency.
The ICIR reports that Borno State is among Nigerian states that have suffered from Boko Haram bombardments, abductions, killings and displacements of Nigerians for over a decade.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.