The Zanna Boguma of Borno, Alhaji Zanna Hassan Boguma has condemned the act of terrorism meted on returning communities by member of the ISWAP group in northern Borno.
The Zanna Boguma, who is the Chairman of the Borno Emirate Concerned Citizens Forum (BECCF), said the act of terrorising people and spilling of innocent blood did not reflect Islam, as Islam is a religion of peace and not of blood spilling, especially of the innocent.
The traditional titled holder, who was speaking to journalists at the NUJ house in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital on Tuesday, said his forum holds the same view with the Borno state governor, Professor Babagana Zulum to the effect that, there are tendencies of commercialising the conflict in the northeast as alleged in a report by the district head of Baga town in Kukawa local government area of the state.
The report, according to him, indicates that some miscreants within security forces may be engaging in all sorts of businesses with the terrorist at the shores of the lake to warrant the continuous lingering of the crisis in the region.
He said, “Progress can be made in the ongoing conflict if the approach by the military changes from defensive to offensive,” adding that, “The whereabouts of the terrorists are known from reports by local intelligence, as such the need for the Nigerian military to take the war to them instead of waiting for the terrorists to attack as often the case.”
He said when the Chadian military went after the terrorists, there were reported success stories, adding that the Nigerian military need to take lead and do as their Chadian counterpart in the operations led by the Idris Debby’s soldiers.
“Debby’s soldiers cleared and annihilated the terrorists from their own side in eight days. Boko Haram is no longer a story in their territory. I wonder why it is taking the Nigerian military over 10 years and not days to clear them,” he said.
