Borno State governor, Babagana Zulum, met with President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday to apprise him of progress in the surrendering of Boko Haram terrorists, saying afterwards that given their massive laying down of weapons, the insurgency will end under his tenure “God willing.”
He told correspondents after the meeting with the president at the presidential villa, Abuja that over 30,000 former fighters have now surrendered and are in the custody of the authorities.
He said the Borno State government does not offer any incentive to the fighters to come out of the forests, rather, they have done so voluntarily.
Zulum disclosed that he discussed the continuing surrender of the insurgents and the case of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) with the president.
He assured that the security situation in Borno State has improved considerably, hoping that things will continue in that direction.
Zulum reiterated that kinetic measures alone will not end the war and therefore advised that a political solution be applied.
He argued: “As I’ve been saying before, the kinetic measures alone will never end the insurgency. The social and political dimension of this crisis is very important. So, we have decided to engage them through dialogue and mediation, with a view to ensuring that many of them should lay their arms.
“So far, so good, the objective started yielding positive results. Apart from this also, in the Borno State, for example, as I told you last time, we had problems on the shores of Lake Chad as well as in Southern Borno. I’m pleased to inform you that there was a very heavy military deployment into southern Borno. And I hope such a deployment will also take place in northern Borno, with a view to clearing the ISWAP insurgents in Lake Chad.
“So, this has also yielded positive results. And then on the relocation of the two local Government Area that last time, I said are not occupied by human beings. We are also doing very well with the military to see how we can return back the population.
“The military has also given us the go-ahead. So, we’re working with them to see how we can return them. Things are getting better in Borno State and this is the major reason why I came to see Mr President.”
While noting that members of the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) are also surrendering, Governor Zulum however said he could not guess how many more fighters remain in the forests, adding, “There are some issues that should not be discussed in the public. These issues are security issues.”
He further stated: “On the ongoing, massive defection of Boko Haram members, this time around has also started with a defection of ISWAP members. This is a welcome development and under a closed-door session (with Buhari), we discussed a lot of issues and how the government of Borno State, as well as the federal government, will manage the ongoing surrender by the intelligence.
“As of now, we have received nothing less than 30,000 from the beginning to date for both Boko Haram and ISWAP. ISWAP, we have started receiving them in few numbers, but Boko Haram, we have started receiving them in huge numbers.”
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