The Governor of Niger State in North-Central Nigeria, Mr. Abubakar Sani Bello, has said that Boko Haram terrorists are in Kaure and Shiroro Local Government Area of the state and that they have hoisted their flag there.
Speaking during a visit to over 3000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Shiroro and Munya local government areas taking refuge in Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) Primary School Minna, Governor Bello said: “I am confirming that there are Boko Haram elements in Niger state, around Kaure.
“I just heard that they’ve already hoist their flag in Kaure, which means they’ve taken over the territory and this is what I have been engaging the federal government with and unfortunately it has now gotten to this stage that if care is not taken not even Abuja is safe.”
While lamenting on the security challenges in the state, Bello expressed concern over the manner in which the wives of the locals have been taken over by Boko Haram members.
“They’ve taken over the territory, they’ve installed their flag. I am confirming that now. They’ve taken over the wives of people by force.”
“Boko Haram elements are trying to use these areas as their home just like they did in Sambisa,” the Guardian newspaper report on Tuesday quoted the governor as saying.
The governor also said the situation called for collective efforts by everyone and noted that the government has been taking steps and will not relent on its efforts to curb the situation.
Bello explained that he has not lost hope in the Federal Government, but he is not going to wait anymore because the situation requires coordinated military actions to take place.
Meanwhile, the spate of insecurity in Nigeria has assumed a more dangerous dimension with reports of killings and kidnapping daily across the country. On Monday gunmen killed two students of Greenfield University in Kaduna state, while the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State, Professor Richard Kimbir, said that kidnappers attacked the institution on Saturday night and abducted a number of students.
And in Kebbi State in northern Nigeria, the police said that nine of their personnel were killed by bandits in the Sakaba Local Government Area of the state.
Despite this disturbing development, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, assured journalists on Monday that President Muhammadu Buhari was dealing with a very difficult situation as it relates to the security challenges in the country.
Speaking to journalists after a closed-door meeting with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Speaker said: “We spoke about security, we spoke about the economy, we spoke about politics, and he has a listening ear when we proffer ideas; he tells us his own views and we come to some consensus one way or the other.”
He disclosed that the House of Representatives had passed a resolution and set up a special ad-hoc committee to find solutions to the nation’s problems.
GIK/APA