*As troops kill 10 insurgents, rescue 45 female captives
Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima has shed more light on a recent controversy about whether or not Boko Haram insurgents have control over some local government areas in the state, explaining that some observers were confusing recent attacks with sovereign occupation of territories by the insurgents before the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration came to power.
Shettima’s explanations were offered through his spokesman, Isa Gusau, who spoke on behalf of the governor on a discussion programme on Channels Television, Sunrise, on Friday.
Controversy over Boko Haram’s capacity was raised after a Senator from the State Baba Kaka Bashir Garbai, representing Borno Central Senatorial District, alleged last Sunday that half of the state was still under the occupation of Boko Haram, a position that has since been refuted by the governor on Monday in Maiduguri and President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in Abuja.
Answering questions from a three-member panel of host presenters on the Channels TV discussion programme, Shettima said what led to the controversy in the first place was failure to differentiate two related but different elements regarding the insurgency.
“Before the coming of President Muhammadu Buhari, what obtained was sovereign occupation of local government areas by Boko Haram insurgents and that only happened because after attacks on communities, insurgents declared communities their caliphates, they suspended the Nigerian constitution, hoisted their own flags, held residents hostage, appointed sovereign authorities leaders they called Amirs and then they imposed taxes and administered the caliphates through set of rules that were dictated by their spiritual leaders at the centre.
“They had government in place in about 20 out of 27 local government areas which means they had sovereign occupation in parts of Borno State. Since Buhari took over, these caliphates have been upturned and the governments put in place by the insurgents were toppled by the Nigerian Armed Forces with support from multinationals, this is simply what we are saying.
“At the moment, none of our 27 local government areas has the sovereign occupation of Boko Haram, this is it. However, some people are confusing recent attacks of the insurgents with sovereign occupation and that is very serious to any responsible government. It amounts to state failure for territories of any country to have sovereign occupation which is having unconstitutional government in place where there is constitutional government.
“So, what we are saying is that while it is true that Boko Haram still poses so much threat with serious concern for the safety in the countryside of Borno State, none of our local government areas is under the sovereign occupation of Boko Haram with their flags hoisted, the Nigerian constitution suspended, their leaders imposing taxes and administering territories through their own laws as the case in the past”, Shettima said as pointed out by his spokesman.
The governor also noted that he will be the last person to deliberately misrepresent the true position of things in Borno State as “hiding Borno’s sickness will amount to dying in silence”.
He recalled that in October, 2015 when a federal government delegation led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawal and media aides to President Buhari visited Maiduguri, he had said before them that two local government areas where as at that time still under the sovereign occupation of Boko Haram which he said was the situation then before the military set aside the Government of Boko Haram in those local government areas, making the 27 local government areas of the State, free of sovereign occupation by the insurgents.
Shettima added that the insurgents were now mobile across the state since they have no base. “They inflict havoc as they move around, they deploy suicide attackers because their population is on regular decline, they no longer move in convoy of 300 vehicles like they did in the past, but they still pose so much threat that puts public safety in jeopardy,” he said.
…Troops kill 10 insurgents, rescue 45 female captives
At least 10 Boko Haram insurgents were, at the weekend, killed while several others escaped with injuries as troops of the Nigerian military stepped up offensives that led to the rescue of 45 females in various terror camps around Borno State, officials said.
This was achieved even as troops of the Nigerian military had to drive through landmines that injured four soldiers on Friday.
Spokesman of the nation’s army, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, who made this known via a statement, said the ongoing “victory over Boko Haram” also enjoys a collaboration with the Cameroonian forces who would occasionally chase insurgents into Nigerian border where the home forces would effect a mop up of the dislodged insurgents.
His statement reads in part: “On Friday, a patrol team from 5 Brigade, traversing Dogon Gida and New Marte stepped on an undetected Improvised Explosive Device (IED) buried by suspected Boko Haram terrorists.
“Unfortunately, 4 soldiers sustained various degrees of injuries and their vehicle was badly damaged. The wounded soldiers have since been evacuated by Nigeria Air Force.
“Nevertheless, the team has been reinforced and have continued their patrols until they fish out the perpetrators and neutralize them.
“Similarly, to further buttress the collective resolve in the fight against Boko Haram terrorists between Nigeria and our neighbouring countries, troops of 25 and 26 Task Force Brigades in conjunction with Cameroonian forces carried out clearance operation against the Boko Haram terrorists around Ngoshe village.
“While the Cameroonian troops carried out the clearance, their Nigerian counterparts provided blocking forces at strategic points where they decisively dealt with fleeing terrorists that tried to escape.
“Consequently, troops of 121 Task Force Battalion also advanced to Mararraba, Angwan Fada, Dale, Wizha, Bokko Timit, Bokko Nasanu, Bokko Hide, up to Ngoshe village where they linked up with the Cameroonians.
“During the operations all Boko Haram terrorists enclaves within the area were cleared. In the process, the troops killed 10 Boko Haram terrorists and also rescued 45 persons who included 17 women and 28 children.
“The troops also discovered that the terrorists cratered the road linking Pulka, Mararraba and Ngoshe and safely detonated 5 IEDs buried by the terrorists. In addition, they also destroyed an IED manufacturing workshop in the village. They also cleared Sino village.
“The Cameroonian forces have also knocked out Boko Haram terrorists’ gun trucks, raided and cleared several IED making factories along the border towns,” said Colonel Usman, an Acting Director of Army Public Relations.”
-Leadership