Zulum urges establishment of military bases in Sambisa Forest, Mandara Hills

• Says Borno lost N1.9tr to insurgency before 2019
• Escalated ISWAP/B’Haram clashes claim over 100 fighters

Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has urged the Army to establish military formations in Sambisa Forest and the Mandara Hills, bordering Cameroon and Chad in the North East, to counter terrorism in the areas.

Zulum made the call, yesterday, during a visit of the House of Representatives Committee on Army led by Abdullahi Mamudu to the Government House, Maiduguri.

This was as he disclosed, in Ilorin, Kwara State, that the state had lost property worth about N1.9 trillion to insurgency before he assumed office in 2019.

Meanwhile, fierce clashes between Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) terrorists escalated in the Lake Chad Basin last week, claiming over 100 of the fighters of both groups.

The governor also canvassed the establishment of Army battalions on the shores of Lake Chad, including Marte and Gudumbali communities, to enable the troops of the various formations to protect people and farmlands from terrorists.

To end the over a decade insurgency, he told the House committee, the porous borders with Niger, Chad and Cameroon must be checked, with close monitoring on the smuggling of arms and ammunition into Nigeria.

Despite the killing of over 300,000 people since July 2009, the residents have remained without electricity for four years.

Zulum, however, commended the Federal Government, service chiefs, as well as the Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), Maj-Gen Wahidi Shuiabu, and other security agencies for working with the state government in ending the 15-year insurgency.

He pledged: “I will continue to support the military with patrol vehicles and other logistics, including political support, to restore peace in the state.”

Mamudu commended the governor for restoring peace, through supporting and working with the military in fighting terrorism in Sambisa Forest and the Lake Chad region.

He, therefore, urged Zulum to send a delegation to attend the National Stakeholders’ Conference on Security, next month, in Abuja.

At Ilorin, the governor was represented by his deputy, Umar Kadafur, at a programme organised by the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin (UNILORIN).

He said his resilience and that of the Borno people kept the state on its toes during the trying periods, making it imperative for them to wriggle out of the crisis.

Kadafur said: “It was a challenging moment for the governor when he assumed office. The state suffered from one degree of ruin to the other. But the governor faced it head-long, and with the support of all, the state is back on its feet.”

He described the governor as a peace-loving leader.

While expressing faith in Nigeria as a nation, he canvassed collective efforts to maintain peace and order in the country.

Vice Chancellor of UNILORIN, Prof Wahab Egbewole, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC), Research, Technology and Innovation, Prof Adegboyega Fawole, described the institution as an epicentre of peace, promising more support for the centre until it assumes its rightful position as a model in Sub Saharan Africa.

According to a counter-insurgency expert in the Lake Chad region, Zagazola Makama, from April 18 to 24, 2024, the clashes between Boko Haram factions and ISWAP swelled across the riverine Islands of the Tumbums, with the ISWAP gaining more footholds and dislodging its Boko Haram rivals.

The Guardian gathered that after ISWAP received a fresh consignment of weapons from Mali, through Niger to Dogon Chukwu Kangarwa, it declared a renewed war, issuing a stern directive to its fighters, on April 18, to completely exterminate the members of JAS Buduma Boko Haram faction.

Makama, according to a reliable source, said the clash of April 19 at Garin Mallam Ya’u and Mallam Karamti led to the killing of many Boko Haram fighters.

In another encounter, JAS elements reportedly cordoned and captured about 15 ISWAP members at Tumbum, Abuja.