‘No Boko Haram threat in South-west’
By Muazu Abari, Yola, and Musa Adamu, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has described the Boko Haram insurgents as a bunch of unbelievers who do not believe in God, saying no religion allows anybody to kill a fellow human being.
Buhari stated this at the weekend in Yola, while on an assessment visit to victims of the insurgency at the Malkohi IDPs camp , during which he assured that the crisis will soon become a thing of the past.
He said: “Those who are hiding under the pretence of religion to put us in this situation, have no religion and never believe in God. They are unbelievers because there is no religion that allows one to kill his fellow human being.”
“They practised killing of people in mosques, churches, markets, parks and other public places, shouting Allah Akbar which is un-Islamic and un-Christian. It is either they don’t know its meaning or they are unbelievers, even some unbelievers are better than them.”
Buhari further assured that : “Government would rebuild schools, hospitals and other public places destroyed by the insurgents, return IDPs to their homes and assist them rebuild their houses and pick up the broken pieces of their lives.”
Also speaking, the state governor, Bindow Jibrilla, solicited for more federal government’s financial assistance to enable the state cope with the influx of IDPs, who, he said, are currently being repatriated to the state by the two neighbouring countries of Cameroon and Niger.
Earlier, in his speech, the Director-General of the National Emergency and Management Agency(NEMA), Muhammad Sani-Sidi, said the Mallkohi camp, established in 2014, had so far recorded 68 death cases, mostly children and aged, 80 pregnancies, 40 marriages with 315 deliveries, 195 nursing mothers and 75 unaccompanied children.
Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) have debunked rumours making the round that Boko Haram insurgents had threatened to strike in the South-west region of the country.
A statement issued yesterday in Abuja by the Acting Director, Defence Information, Col. Rabe Abubakar, said the story was not only baseless, but lacked substance in its entirety.
It said: “This story is not only baseless, but lacks substance in its entirety; hence it should be disregarded. Of more worrisome is the claim that the terrorists have infiltrated the western states.
“While the military and other security agencies have made tremendous successes in degrading and decimating the terrorists who are now in disarray having lost their centre of gravity, camps and their source of logistics, it would be unthinkable to raise these unfounded rumours of Boko Haram terrorist planning attack not only in the west but any other part of the country for that matter.”
Continuing, it said: “The coordination and synergy between the military and other security services which led to the arrest of some ring leaders of the terrorists in some states is instructive to their
incapability to wage any coordinated attack.
“The Armed Forces is using this medium to appeal to the good citizens of Nigeria, particularly in the western part of the country not to lose sleep over the unfounded and fictitious reports and to go about their normal and legitimate businesses as the DHQ and other security agencies are monitoring the situation with all seriousness.”
Similarly, Director-General of the NOA, Mike Omeri, has expressed confidence in efforts by the federal government, the military and other security agencies to “contain all manner of threats to our nation’s peace, security and harmony,” adding that the agency was unaware of plans to attack any specific part of the country.
He stated this in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja by its Assistant Director, Press, Paul Odenyi.
Omeri said the agency “continues to advise citizens to be alert and security conscious and take the extra steps to report any suspicious movements, activities or persons in their neighbourhood.”
He also directed state directorates of the agency to always limit their public comments to sensitisation and mobilisation of citizens in support of government policies, programmes and activities and be guided by the provisions of the mandate and functions of the agency.
“We express our solidarity and confidence to the heroic effort of our military and all security forces who are working hard to ensure the realisation of the objectives of the present administration to rid our nation of all threats to peace and security which shall soon materialise,” he said.