Boko Haram: Tinubu’s minister naive, says Borno gov

Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has pushed back against suggestions that the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, dismissed his recent warnings about the resurgence of Boko Haram attacks in the state.

Zulum had recently raised alarm over renewed abductions and assaults by the insurgents, lamenting that security forces appear to be losing ground in the ongoing fight against terrorism.

He voiced these concerns during a meeting with security agencies in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Boko Haram and its affiliate, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have long been active in Nigeria’s northeast, where they have launched deadly attacks on both military targets and civilians, displacing thousands.

Reports circulating on some platforms suggested the Information Minister dismissed Zulum’s claims. However, Mohammed Idris’s office refuted that interpretation.

In a statement released by his Special Assistant on Media, Rabiu Ibrahim, the minister insisted that his comments had been misrepresented.

“At no time did the Minister say, ‘Ignore Zulum, Boko Haram is not taking over Borno.’ Such a headline is not only sensational but deliberately crafted as a deliberate act of misinformation to stoke public misunderstanding and distract from the serious work the Federal Government is doing to address security challenges,” the statement read.

In a media chat, Governor Zulum said the Minister lacks a proper understanding of the situation in the country.

He said: “I don’t want to join issues with the Minister of Information. I believe he is naive of what is happening in the country, he doesn’t know what is ongoing in the country. Our discussions during the Security Council meeting were not bad. We just raised an alarm that there is resurgence of Boko Haram activities in Borno State, and there is a need for Borno state government, the military as well as paramilitary, to work together in order to avert the looming situation. I think this is very good advice. Nothing has been said again.

“But most importantly, I want to assure you that we have been to Abuja. We met the service chief, especially the CDS, Chief of Army Staff, Naval Staff, as well as Air staff. We received assurances from them that they will do everything possible to control the situation, and we are so happy with the response that we had from the service chiefs and the government of Borno state will continue to partner with the Nigerian military and the federal government of Nigeria with a view to reducing the menace of the insurgency.

“And I want to assure the people of Borno that Inshallah, under my watch Boko Haram will not have the capacity to do what they did before. We shall do everything possible to curtail them. The Government of Borno State will provide more support to the Nigerian army. We shall strengthen the resilience of our civilian GTF, hunters and vigilante and most especially, I will live up to the expectations of the people of God by completely addressing the problem of insecurity.

“I believe, when we took over from 2019 to date, there is a very serious gap. What has been happening these days will not be allowed to remain unchanged.”