The governor of Borno State, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has claimed that there are people working as spies for insurgents within critical sectors of Nigerian society, like the military and political class.
Speaking during interview with News Central on Wednesday, the governor emphasised the need for renewed intelligence strategies and decisive action to tackle the ongoing insecurity in the region.
“We have informants and collaborators within the Nigerian armed forces, within the politicians, and within the communities. What we shall do is to strengthen our intelligence and to deal with them ruthlessly,” Zulum stated.
He called for a shift in the approach to the security crisis, condemning the influence of what he termed “contractocracy,” a system in which security contracts appear to override the goal of actual peace.
According to him, eliminating such systems could accelerate the return of peace.
“Let’s remove contractocracy. In six months, we can put an end to this madness. We need not politicise insecurity.
“I cannot completely say that 100% of those people who have surrendered are doing the right thing, but I want to assure you that over 99% are doing well and are not participating in the ongoing terrorism,” he assured.
Zulim added, “Insurgency will never be ended by kinetic measures alone. We must ensure that the non-kinetic measures are also properly put in place,” he said. “What I mean by non-kinetic measures is the social, political, and economic dimensions of the crisis. Our ongoing non-kinetic measures have yielded positive results with the support of the Nigerian military.”
Zulum also admitted that some former insurgents might return to criminal activities, but he said the chances were very low.
“Yes, I believe among the 500,000 or more that have repented, I cannot rule out the possibility of fewer of them going back to the bush,” Zulum stated.
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