Armed ViolenceNews

Borno Governor Inspects Insurgency Hotspots, Distributes Relief Items Despite Attack

Senior officials of the Borno  Government, including the governor and his deputy, have visited areas within the state to share relief packages and money as well as inspect ongoing projects despite recent terrorist attacks.

The Deputy Governor, Umar Kadafur, on Sunday visited the Emir of Gwoza, Alhaji Mohammad Idirisa Timta, accompanied by Ali Ndume, the senator representing Borno South in the National Assembly, and Abdullahi Buba Abatcha, the representative of Gwoza in Borno State House of Assembly.

The deputy governor and his team inspected the renovation of the local government secretariat and encouraged the contractor to hasten the completion of the project.

He also inspected the ongoing reconstruction of a collapsed bridge at Limankara and later visited two camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Pulka, where he assured them of the government’s efforts to return them to their communities.


According to a release obtained by HumAngle, the deputy governor and his delegation made a cash donation of N2.7 million  to the IDPs.

The Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, on Friday supervised the distribution of cash and food  to over 80,000 IDPs in Monguno in continuation of a humanitarian tour of communities in the state, which he commenced on Monday, last week.

The governor also visited military officers at the Nasara Barracks in Monguno and inspected ongoing projects, including the High Islamic Secondary School, 1,000 housing  units, and Mega Primary School.

“I have seen your job in Uyo, I have seen that of Mbala. By and large, the work here is poor. We need to call your attention to stick to the quality. What matters is not mere construction but to deliver quality buildings,” the governor told the contractor at the High Islamic Secondary School construction site.

Two days before the visit, Zulum’s convoy was attacked by suspected members of Boko Haram in Baga, a town in Kukawa Local Government Area. He was on his way to Monguno to open a road that had been closed for two years because of attacks by insurgents.

The governor expressed frustration over the incident and doubted claims by the military that the area had been liberated from Boko Haram insurgents.

“You have been here for over one year now, there are 1,181 soldiers here; if you cannot take over Baga which is less than five kilometres from your base, then we should forget about Baga,” he told an army commanding officer.  

“I will inform the Chief of Army Staff to redeploy the men to other places that they can be useful. You people said there’s no Boko Haram here, then who attacked us?”

The army, however,  described the attack as an isolated incident and said that normalcy had been restored to the community, while it was investigating the circumstances that led to the attack.

Data from Nigeria Security Tracker showed that there were 148 reported violent attacks in Borno State between January and July. Out of these, 28 took place in Gwoza Local Government Area and 18 in Kukawa Local Government Area where Baga community belongs.


Support Our Journalism

There are millions of ordinary people affected by conflict in Africa whose stories are missing in the mainstream media. HumAngle is determined to tell those challenging and under-reported stories, hoping that the people impacted by these conflicts will find the safety and security they deserve.

To ensure that we continue to provide public service coverage, we have a small favour to ask you. We want you to be part of our journalistic endeavour by contributing a token to us.

Your donation will further promote a robust, free, and independent media.

Donate Here

Of course, we want our exclusive stories to reach as many people as possible and would appreciate it if you republish them. We only ask that you properly attribute to HumAngle, generally including the author's name, a link to the publication and a line of acknowledgement. Contact us for enquiries or requests.

Contact Us

'Kunle Adebajo

Head of Investigations at HumAngle. ‘Kunle covers conflict alongside its many intricacies and fallouts. He also writes about disinformation, the environment, and human rights. He's won a couple of journalism awards, including the 2021 Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Journalism, the 2022 African Fact-checking Award, and the 2023 Michael Elliott Award for Excellence in African Storytelling.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Translate »