Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum Thursday expressed optimism that Boko Haram activities would before 2023.
He was fielding questions from reporters in Abuja after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa.
On whether this would happen in his administration, he said: “Insha Allah. Even now in Borno State, we’re doing very well, extremely well.”
Asked if he meant that Boko Haram activities would end before 2023, he said: “Insha Allah. You know what I mean by Insha Allah, God willing.”
He said 30,000 Boko Haram and ISWAP members had so far surrendered.
Zulum noted that he visited the State House to brief Buhari on the ongoing massive defection of Boko Haram members and efforts being made on the plight of the internally displaced persons.
“This time around, we’ve also started witnessing defection of ISWAP members. This is a welcomed development. Under closed-door session, we discussed a lot of issues on how the government of Borno State as well as the federal government, will manage the ongoing surrender by the insurgents,” he added.
He reiterated his position that kinetic measures alone would not end the insurgency, saying “the social and political dimension of this crisis is very important.”
“So, we’ve decided to engage them through dialogue and mediation with a view to ensuring that many of them lay their arms down and so far, so good, the objective has started yielding positive result.
On whether the insurgents were surrendering because of any promise, Zulum said: “We don’t have any promissory notes to defectors, honestly speaking. There’s a difference between those that have been captured and those that have surrendered.”
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