Rice Farmers’ Massacre: Borno Governor Zulum Wants Mercenaries to Clear Sambisa Forest

Following the gruesome murder of at least 43 rice farmers in Nigeria’s Northeastern Borno State on Saturday, the State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, made six recommendations to Nigeria’s federal government, including the use of mercenaries to clear the Sambisa Forest.

Speaking during the condolence visit, Zulum made six recommendations to the federal government on the ways to end the war.

He suggested the engagement of mercenaries to clear the Sambisa Forest.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration had utilised foreign mercenaries, including South Africans, against Boko Haram, which contributed to the successes the military recorded in the few weeks leading to the 2015 general election.

But the Buhari administration stopped the use of mercenaries, promising to equip the military to defeat the insurgents.

However, receiving the presidential delegation, Zulum suggested the use of mercenaries to rout the insurgents.

Zulum made six key recommendations to the delegation to resolve the insurgency.

He said: “One of our recommendations as possible solutions to end the insurgency is the immediate recruitment of our youths into military and paramilitary services to complement the efforts of the Nigerian forces.

“Our second recommendation is to engage the services of our immediate neighbours, especially the government of Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic, in clearing the remnants of Boko Haram hiding in the shores of the Lake Chad.

“Our third recommendation is for him to engage the services of the mercenaries to clear the entire Sambisa forest.

“Our fourth recommendation is for him to provide the police and the military, with armed resistant armoured personnel carriers and other related equipment.

“We are also soliciting the support of the federal government to support the Borno State repatriation of out displaced persons currently residing in Cameroon and Niger Republic.”

The governor also called on Buhari to increase federal support for residents of Borno State.

The governor said though the insurgency had dragged on for 11 years, it was persistent because efforts had not been well coordinated.

The governor said one of the major reasons the insurgency persisted was due to a lack of critical infrastructure like good roads in the region.

He said the Federal Ministry of Works had not constructed or rehabilitated roads in the last 25 years “in Borno State and most parts of the North-east.”

THISDAY

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