The Shehu of Borno, Dr. Abubakar Ibn Garbai, yesterday declared that the leaders of the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram are not indigenes of the state.
The Shehu of Borno made the remark yesterday when the Presidential fact finding committee on Chibok, led by the Spokesperson of the Committee, Kingsley Osadolor, visited him in his Palace.
He described the abduction of over 200 secondary school girls in Borno State as unfortunate, saying, “What is happening now is unfortunate.
It’s entirely new to us. None of the leaders of Boko Haram is from Borno. They cannot claim to be from here. The problem was brought to us from elsewhere.”
The traditional ruler said the people of Borno were peace-loving people, and that the Borno Empire had been in existence for about 1,200 years.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the committee, Brig.-Gen. Ibrahim Sabo (rtd) recalled that Maiduguri which was a famous centre in the Trans-Sahara Trade, regretted that the city and the state had suffered severe socio-economic dislocation as a result of insurgency in recent years.
He said: “We are now in the main theatre where the Chibok schoolgirls were taken away against their will. The whole world is mobilized against the abduction, and we cannot be happy while our daughters remain in captivity.”
He said that the committee had an open mind to the assignment, saying, “We are not here with preconceived notions. We are here to find facts that will lead to a resolution of the current hostage crisis involving the schoolgirls.”
He called for the cooperation of all concerned, saying, the Committee, while in Borno State, would engage with a broad spectrum of stakeholders, to enable the Committee have a holistic appreciation of the matter at hand, and advise the Federal Government accordingly.
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