Borno State governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, has raised concerns over the proliferation of drones in the hands of Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists used in carrying out recent attacks.
Our correspondent recalls that terrorists had on the Wednesday night launched coordinated assaults on troops’ positions in Dikwa, Mafa, Gajibo, and Katarko, situated in Sector 1 (Borno State) and Sector 2 (Yobe State), respectively.
The governor equally commended the intelligence division, noting that credible information was duly circulated that the terrorists were planning to attack Mafa before the incident.
Zulum spoke on Friday while sympathising with the officers and men of the Nigerian Armed Forces, as well as residents of Mafa, over the Wednesday night attack, where the terrorists attacked 112 Task Force Battalion military base Mafa, and as well burnt truck loads of goods belonging to individuals during the attack.
The governor, who slept in Mafa, his hometown, after the attack, said the essence of his visit on Thursday was to commiserate with the men and officers of the Nigerian military and members of the community, to build their confidence and assure them that both the State and the federal governments were doing everything to avert future attacks.
He noted that the sad aspect of the attack was that Mafa in Mafa local government of the State, within the last eight years, has not fallen to the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists before the recent attack, saying that Dikwa which was equally attacked had witnessed relative peace for in the recent time.
Zulum urged members of the community to remain very vigilant and give credible information to the Nigerian military, and as well tasked members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) to be more resilient to complement the efforts of the military.
“I don’t want to comment much because the Brigade Commander is doing very well. The Commanding Officer (CO) of Mafa is also doing very well. These are winning teams and we don’t want to discourage them. However, we are appealing to the Nigerian military to look into the missing link in this general area in order to equip troops.
“I want to commend the Intelligence division because we had credible information duly circulated that the terrorists are planning to attack Mafa. We have to put heads together with both the federal government and Service Chiefs and examine the gaps with a view to addressing them.
“To my own observation, I felt there might be a sabotage along the line that has to be addressed. This has to be corrected. We need not blame each other.
“Another thing I want to raise is the issue of drones. I was informed that drones were used by the terrorists. The proliferation of drones in the hands of the non-state actors is a matter of concern to all of us. Let’s do something to stop the proliferation of drones, not just in Borno but within Nigeria.
“Our borders have to be strengthened, the Air Force has to be strengthened. I want to see the safety of the country. The security architecture in the country has to sit down and discuss the proliferation of drones that are in the hands of the non state actors,” the governor stated.
