Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum said he has survived more than 50 attacks from Boko Haram terrorists who tried to kill him in the last 12 years.
Zulum disclosed this while speaking on Tuesday with state house correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja.
The governor, who came to brief the president over the ongoing surrender by Boko Haram terrorists, said about 2,600 insurgents have laid down their arms and are now in custody, adding that not all of them are criminals.
“I came to brief Mr. President over the ongoing surrender by insurgents. I think, to me, and to the greater majority of people of Borno state, this is a very good development,” Zulum said.
“In the last 12 years thousands of lives were lost; people have completely lost their means of livelihood. We have a total number of over 50,000 orphans and widows; these are official figures. The unofficial figures are more than this, and we were able to cultivate not more than three percent of our total arable land because of the insurgency and right now, the whereabouts of not less than 10 percent of people of Borno state is not known to all of us at all.
“This is a very serious matter and I think the report of the surrendering of the insurgents, to me in particular and to the greater people of Borno state, is a very welcomed development. Unless we want to continue with an endless war, I see no reason why we shall reject those that are willing to surrender.
I’ve Survived Over 50 Boko Haram Attacks – Zulum
Governor Zulum says he has been attacked by Boko Haram insurgents “more than 40 to 50 times”, adding that over 100,000 people have been killed in the 12-year-old insurgency in the north-east.
“I’ve been in this. For the last 11 or 12 years, I was attacked for more than 40 to 50 times. I know the magnitude of this problem.
“More than 100,000 people were killed, I’m telling you. Therefore, I’m in total support of this ongoing surrender by the insurgents, we support them and those who have surrendered shall be dealt with according to the extant rules and regulations.
“But mind you, among those that have surrendered, some are innocent. They were forcefully conscripted into this programme. Some are teenagers, below the ages of 11, 12, who can handle AK-47 and there’s one very important thing that Nigerians need to understand; if this issue of Boko Haram insurgency is not resolved, I believe it will never end because it is a generation.”
Zulum added that no law prescribes the killing of surrendered insurgents, saying that they would be trained for the purpose of reintegration.
KanyiDaily had reported how thousands of Boko Haram terrorists and their families recently surrendered to the Nigerian army due to hunger, disease, and the perpetual fear of military offensives.
