Borno govt says Boko Haram may capture entire North-East states in days

From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri

The Deputy Governor of Borno state, Zanna Mustapha, said in Yola on Monday, that going by the ease with which Boko Haram was capturing territories in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, the three North-Eastern states would soon be history.

“If the Federal Government does not add extra effort, in the next two to three months, the three North-Eastern states will no longer be in existence,” he said. “The Federal Government has tried its best but their best is not enough because rather than going after the insurgents, it is the insurgents that are going after us. It is a big crime that the criminals are better equipped than the military and they are just few kilometres from the Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states capitals.”

The deputy governor was in Adamawa to visit thousands of Borno indigenes that were forced to leave their state and schools following Boko Haram attacks in Mubi.

He said the continuous occupation of more towns by Boko Haram had confirmed the Borno state governor’s statement that the terrorists possessed superior weapons.

He disclosed that 13 local governments in Borno, three in Adamawa and others in Yobe were currently under the control of Boko Haram. He said, going by intelligence reports, if the Federal Government does not step up its security measures, the fall of the three states would only be a matter of days or weeks.

Mustapha expressed his doubts on the purported ceasefire agreement between the Federal Government and the terrorists, and accused the insurgents of committing war crimes, saying they deployed anti-aircraft missiles in killing the people against international rules and conventions.

Also speaking in Yola, the Adamawa state governor, Bala Ngilari, sympathized with the people of the affected states, saying, “We are under siege for now, although security agents are doing their best,” he said. “With prayers, very soon, Boko Haram will become a thing of the past.”