There is no single human being in at least three local government councils of Borno because of the deteriorating security situation in the areas, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Abdulkareem Lawan, stated on Thursday.
The local government areas are Guzamala, Marte and Abadam, all in the northern part of Borno State, which suffered serious devastations owing to over 11 years of Boko Haram activities.
The speaker stated this less than 24 hours after reports emerged that at least nine soldiers and an unconfirmed number of Boko Haram fighters loyal to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) lost their lives in two separate confrontations in Magumeri and Kukawa LGAs on Tuesday.
When contacted on Thursday, the Coordinator Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche, refused to comment on the development.
How soldiers, fighters died
Daily Trust learnt from credible sources that a serious battle ensued on Tuesday when Nigerian troops confronted dozens of ISWAP fighters who wanted to take over a military base in Magumeri town in northern part of Borno State.
Sources said the fighters who had killed at least 9 soldiers were later subdued and more than 20 of them were killed following the arrival of troops from Maiduguri.
The terrorists had earlier gone to the military base around 4 pm, Tuesday, in about ten gun trucks and succeeded in destroying parts of the facility.
A vigilante from Magumeri, Mohammed Ali, said, “They (terrorists) burnt three vehicles at the military base including an armoured tank and [an earthmover] that was being used in digging trenches for protecting the area and other important places.”
A security source who does not want to be named, said, “They burnt down five utility vehicles and one Emrad bomb-resistant vehicle, carted away the ammunition in our facility and some gun trucks.
“They also destroyed some public facilities”.
“The whole military camp was destroyed by the ISWAP.
“Two APCs, two trucks and a Caterpillar excavator were destroyed.
“One ISWAP Hilux was destroyed but the terrorists also left with another Hilux loaded with foodstuff just supplied to the base,” another source said.
Magumeri had suffered several attacks of recent, including the destruction of the general hospital and secretariat in the area.
The militants robbed the locals of their belongings as well.
About the same time, the terrorists reportedly killed some soldiers in a separate confrontation along Baga in Kukawa LGA in the shores of Lake Chad.
The deadly confrontation continued on Thursday with sources saying the terrorists had attacked another military base in Gubio also in northern Borno at about 4 pm.
Details of the incident were still sketchy at the time of filing this report.
Deserted communities
The Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Abdulkareem Lawan, said there was no single soldier or civilian living in Guzamala LGA, which has its headquarters in Gudumbali, located approximately 125 kilometres north of the state capital, Maiduguri.
He said there was urgent need for the federal government to deploy more troops to secure the northern part of the state to enable thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) return home.
Lawan stated this while hosting a delegation of Guzamala Youth Forum and Students Association led by its chairman, Babagana Alkali, in Maiduguri.
He noted that it became imperative to lend his voice and the world deserved to know the reality on the ground that Guzamala, Marte and Abadam local government areas have no people living in them.
“I became very emotional this morning when I listened to the leader of the delegation.
“As your representative, I have no other option than to say it the way it is.
“Guzamala local government is not far from the state capital; we have two district heads and 16 village heads all of them are taking refuge here in Maiduguri.
“We also had 170 settlements in Guzamala but as I am speaking to you now, there is no single soul, there is no single military or any other security operative living in the entire territory of Guzamala LGA.
“There is no civilian in Abadam; there is military at the local government headquarters (Malam Fatori) guarding the land but there is no single civilian living there.
“Most of the people in Abadam had fled to Niger Republic and Monguno town.
“It is the same thing when you go to Marte.
“There is no single civilian in the entire community but the troops are guarding the headquarters.
“So, I am appealing to the government to deploy more troops to the northern part of the state.
“I will like to urge the federal government to urgently look into this insecurity we are facing in the state,” the speaker said.
He, however, thanked the military for their sacrifices in the region and urged them to scale up their onslaught against insurgents in the Lake Chad area.
Earlier, the chairman of Guzamala youth expressed concerns over the prolonged insecurity situation and pointed out that the indigenes were tired of staying at IDP camps and pleaded with the speaker to amplify their plight.
When locals will return
The Nigerian Military said Thursday it could not determine when it would be safe for IDPs in Borno State and other places affected by the Boko Haram insurgency to return to their respective villages.
While fielding questions from journalists during the weekly press briefing with journalists at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja, Gen. John Enenche said resettling the IDPs was the sole responsibility of the civil authorities.
“I cannot give you a yes or no answer whether it is safe for the IDPs to return or not, we will do analysis with other security agencies, even when we do that, I can’t give that to you.
“We are working together; we are ready to assist the civil authorities, which is our task as contained in Section 127 of the Constitution.
“We are aware that the chief security officer of the state is making efforts to resettle them; we will support him by creating the enabling environment.
“As you are all aware, the Borno State Government has remained resolute in its efforts to resettle the IDPs in the state in their home communities,” Enenche said.
‘Terrorists should sheath their swords’
Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State Thursday called on unrepentant Boko Haram members to lay down their arms while the government continued returning IDPs to their ancestral homes.
He said insurgents should remember that IDPs were directly or indirectly their parents or relations who were eager to pick up the pieces and continue with their normal lives.
Zulum stated this at Ajiri village of Mafa Local Government Area while addressing hundreds of returnee-IDPs.
He said the state government would do everything possible to ensure all returnees lived a comfortable life in their respective communities.
“I am using this medium to call on Boko Haram [insurgents] to lay down their arms for peace to reign in our dear state and the country at large,” he said.
