The Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Zulum, said on Tuesday that the number of repentant Boko Haram insurgents in the state had risen to 160,000.
The governor said though there were still Boko Haram insurgents around, “they are not strong.”
“Generally, the security situation in Borno State has tremendously improved,” he declared.
Zulum spoke on Tuesday when he received the Minister of Defence, Muhammadu Abubakar, and his entourage, who paid him a courtesy call in Maiduguri.
He said, “About 160,000 Boko Haram (insurgents) have so far repented. This could not have been possible without the continuous onslaught of the military on them.”
He, however, called for the control of light arms proliferation in the Lake Chad basin, saying it had the potential of reversing the gains made in the counter-terrorism war.
“The influx of ISWAP and proliferation of light arms from the Sahelian region through the porous borders of the Chad Basin countries, especially Borno State, is worrisome.
“The Sahel is now our major problem. We have to make sure that there is no safe haven in Borno State to succeed in the terror war.
“The only way we can degrade the insurgents and clear the Chad Basin of insurgency is by upscaling and continuous military operations,” Zulum said.
He added “We have to be very careful about the way we disseminate the terror war information.”
Earlier, the Defence Minister said he was in Borno State, accompanied by the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, and all the service chiefs to assess the progress in the terror war.(Punch)
