Governors, Others Identify Three Insurgents’ Strongholds In North East

Three flashpoints have been identified as the strongholds of the Boko Haram insurgents in the North East, following a week-long engagement with the service chiefs and other stakeholders in the region.

The areas are Lake Chad fringes, Sambisa Forest, and the Mandara mountains – all located in Borno State.

The engagement which took place on the instance of President Muhammadu Buhari also had the north-east governors in attendance.

“The President has assured the people of Borno State and indeed the north-eastern subregion that he will do everything possible within his reach to ensure that lives and property of people living in Borno State are secured,” Governor Babagan Zulum told reporters in Maiduguri, the state capital shortly after his arrival from Abuja on Sunday.

He added, “We have discussed, especially the issue of strengthening security in the fringes of the Lake Chad and Mandara mountains, as well as in the Sambisa Forest and I think my meeting with the Chief of Air Staff, as well as Chief of Naval Staff and also General (Tukur) Buratai is very promising.”

The governor said Buratai, who is the Chief of Army Staff, promised to look into the issue of clearing the enclaves of the insurgency in the three flashpoints identified.

He was confident that with the renewed commitment of the President and service chiefs, peace would reign again in Borno.

Zulum, who is also the Chairman of the North-East Governors’ Forum, had led his colleagues to the Presidential Villa in the nation’s capital and continued engagements with the service chiefs throughout the week.

While at the Villa, the governors identified some of the root causes of the insurgency raving the region and stressed the need for the Nigerian government to address them

They were of the opinion that the insurgents were taking advantage of endemic poverty and hunger among other challenges in the region to recruit more members into their fold.

The governors said the people need to go back to their farmlands and resettle in their original homes so that they can revive their means of livelihood.

They also recommended that police should be provided with state-of-the-art equipment and armoured personnel carriers, with a view to bridging the manpower gap in the military.

On his part, President Buhari gave strong assurances that security would be restored to Borno State, the North East, and the nation at large.

He also informed the governors that things would improve very soon as the government was acquiring modern equipment to fight insurgencies in the region.