Borno Governor Doubles Down On Attack On Military, Accuses Soldiers of Deliberately Prolonging War on Terror and Taking Over Farmlands of Locals

Borno State Governor, prof. Babagana Zulum, has doubled down on his criticisms of the military for their role in the ongoing war on terror.

Speaking in Maiduguri on Sunday when he played host to the Governors of Kebbi and Jigawa states, Atiku Bagudu and Badaru Abubakar respectively who paid him a solidarity visit following the attack on his convoy by Boko Haram insurgents, Zulum again alleged sabotage by the military.

“Let me also re-echo my previous position with respect to the level of insurgency in Borno State, I earlier said that the gravity of the insurgency cannot be compared with what has happened between 2011 to 2015, and 2015 to date. Yes, it’s true. The President has done well.

“But there’s sabotage in the system that will not allow insurgency to end; the President has to know this very important point.

“When he came to Maiduguri two months ago, I said so because between 2011 to 2015, at a time, almost about 22 LGAs were under the insurgents.

“Out of the four main roads that lead to Maiduguri. only one was functional,” the governor added.

“Why Is Insurgency Not Ending?” he queried.

“There’s one very important question that we need to ask, why is the insurgency not ending? There’s sabotage in the system and there’s a need for the President to examine the current situation with a view to resolving it.

“We have a huge population and people do not have access to their agricultural lands, and poverty is one of the causes of insurgency; why are you not allowing people to go back to their ancestral lands so that they will go and earn their living?

“A situation where our Nigerian military are farming the lands, denying access to the common man to farm; what justification do they have for not allowing our people to go back to their ancestral homes?” he said.