The recent attacks by Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province on 27 Task Force Brigade of the Nigerian Army in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State, and the 153 Task Force Battalion in Marte LGA of Borno State, have vindicated the Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, on the alarm he raised that the terrorists were regrouping and had renewed attacks in the North-east,  reports

Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has endeared himself to many Nigerians by providing good governance, exemplary leadership and demonstrating unwavering commitment to the war against Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists in his state and the North-east at large.

At the risk of his life and personal safety, he has shown uncommon love for the people affected by insurgency by venturing into the terrorists’ den on several occasions.

No governor in the terrorist-ravaged states could hardly leave his heavily-guarded comfort zone and venture into the den of bandits and terrorists, no matter the level of security around him.   

But the video footage of Governor Zulum and his aides taking cover and lying flat on the ground while his security details exchanged gunfire with the terrorists at the war zones in his state was all over the internet.

Governor Zulum has also demonstrated that he is not a typical Nigerian political leader, who plays politics with the security of the masses.

It was, therefore, a rude shock to many Nigerians when the agents of the federal government, who were not on ground to know the correct security situation in the state, countered the governor when he raised the alarm on the resurgence of Boko Haram attacks in his state.

Speaking at a Special Expanded Security Meeting (ESM), attended by the heads of all the security agencies, and traditional rulers, including the Shehu of Borno, Abubakar El-Kanemi; Shehu of Bama; as well as emirs of Biu, Uba, Askira and Gwoza, the governor had expressed frustrations that the attacks were becoming frequent.

The security meeting took place a few days after the terrorists killed an unspecified number of soldiers, including an army captain and a corporal, in an attack on Igze community in Gwoza Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.

The Boko Haram commander in Gwoza, Ali Ngulde, is believed to be operating from his Mandara Mountain hideout

A credible online medium reported that no fewer than 12 soldiers were earlier killed during an attack on a military formation in Wulgo village in March. 

In the same month, another attack claimed the lives of four soldiers in Wajiroko near Sabon-Gari in Damboa LGA.

Earlier in January, the terrorists slaughtered about 40 farmers in the Dumba community near Baga.

Speaking at the security meeting, the governor also cited the attacks and dislodgement of military formations in Wajirko, Sabon Gari in Damboa LGA; Wulgo in Gamboru Ngala LGA; and Izge in Gwoza LGA.

Also speaking, the Shehu of Borno, El-Kanemi told the stakeholders that three LGAs — Guzamala, Marte, Abbadam and parts of Mobbar — were still under the control of Boko Haram.

Many security analysts were shocked when the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, was quoted as downplaying the concerns raised by the governor.

Though the minister later denied saying that Zulum should be ignored and that Boko Haram was not taking over Borno State, the governor, in his reaction, insisted that the minister was “naive” about the country’s security realities.

Zulum replied to the minister while reacting to a deadly Boko Haram attack on the Damboa-Maiduguri Road, which killed at least eight people, severely injured seven others, and left 14 more with minor injuries.

During a visit by the Minister of Defence, Badaru Abubakar; Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, and other top military commanders to Borno State, the undeterred Zulum reiterated his claims on the regrouping of Boko Haram insurgents in the Tumbus areas of Lake Chad and the Mandara Hills within the Sambisa Forest in the state.

He told the defence minister and the CDS that Boko Haram terrorists were freely breeding in Tumbus water areas on Lake Chad without much effort by the military to dislodge them.

Zulum said: “What we are facing now is, we do military exercises/operations, and after some time, we disengage. The Boko Haram and ISWAP members will again come and take over those areas that were hitherto regained.

“There was never a time since the insurgency started that operations were conducted on the shores of the Tumbus in Lake Chad. And, it has been a breeding ground for the insurgents. They can get money, livelihoods, and everything in that water.”

The governor urged the military to conduct operations in the waterway, stressing that all the terrorists that are operating in the North-west, North- central, and North-east normally return to the Sahel and Tumbus in Lake Chad for their livelihoods. 

Zulum has been vindicated with the recent devastating attacks on the 27 Task Force Brigade of the Nigerian Army in Buni Yadi, Gujba LGA of Yobe State, and the 153 Task Force Battalion in Marte LGA of Borno State, where Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters killed several soldiers, destroyed many military equipment and carted away others.

According to a soldier, who escaped the Buni Yadi attack, which claimed the lives of four soldiers, the terrorists had stormed the military location in the town around 2a.m. and “ransacked the armoury, looted what they could and burnt it down; they set ablaze the artillery, five MRAPs, anti-aircraft carriers, and over 20 Hilux vans.”

The Nigerian Army also confirmed the attack via its verified Facebook page but didn’t give further details.

In less than two weeks, several military formations have been targeted by the terrorists in Goneri, Wajirko, Sabongari, Izge and Wulgo, with many soldiers killed and military equipment looted or destroyed.

Between May 12 and 13, ISWAP fighters reportedly launched its most sophisticated assault in recent years, targeting Marte, Dikwa, and Rann, the headquarters of Kala-Balge LGA, and the Damboa–Maiduguri Road, where they dislodged the military, and captured equipment.

ISWAP also deployed drones in Rann, forcing the civilian population to flee to the Cameroonian border.

A member of the House of Representatives from Plateau State, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, claimed that the terrorists carted away 40 tanks and military platforms in these attacks.

Speaking last Tuesday at a media briefing in Maiduguri, the Theatre Commander of Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK), Major General Abdulsalam Abubakar, also confirmed the series of attacks on military bases in Borno State, but reassured the residents of the capacity of the military to subdue the terrorists.

He blamed the deteriorating security situation in the greater Sahel region as a major factor contributing to the resurgence of attacks.

Whatever might have caused the recent attacks, the reality is that Governor Zulum has demonstrated that his knowledge of the security situation and operations of terrorists in his state and the North-east cannot be challenged.