By DAVID IORJA, Abuja –
President Muhammadu Buhari President Buhari has charged the armed forces to sustain their recent string of successes against the terrorists to extract a heavy price from the attackers, and bring back all those they kidnapped as well as the large number of cattle rustled.
The President who gave the charge on Wednesday as news of one the most brutal terrorist attacks on innocent people emerged from the Northeast, said he was deeply shocked by the brutal killing of tens of people by the Boko Haram/Islam in West Africa Province (ISWAP) in Gubio village, Borno State.
While condemning the incident, President Buhari also expressed the sincere condolences of the government and people of Nigeria to the bereaved families, communities and the government and people of Borno State, his Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity, Garba Shehu, said in a statement.
The President, who was expecting a detailed briefing by the Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum on the outcome of his visit to the affected communities, said the “primordial nature of the killings is particularly shocking because it happened not long after the Ramadhan and Eid, and the country is preparing to celebrate the Democracy Day.”
Governor Zulum had earlier confirmed the killing of 81 persons in a village by Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists.
The killing took place on Tuesday when the terrorists invaded Faduma Koloram village in Gubio Local Government Area (LGA) in Nigeria’ north-eastern state on Tuesday.
Last Saturday, Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists killed six Nigerian troops in a military base in Auno, a village that is 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Maiduguri, capital of Borno State.
Governor Zulum said on Wednesday when he visited the scene of the attack to commiserate with survivors that 13 persons were injured while fleeing the attack, while seven others sustained various degrees of injury.
The Governor further explained that 49 of the deceased had already been buried before his arrival, while 32 bodies of the victims were taken away by their families.
Zulum recalled that the terrorists, who attacked Gajiram LGA some months ago, were the same ones who carried out the attack, describing it as “very unfortunate.”
He stated that the only positive option to end the massacre on vulnerable communities was to dislodge the terrorists in their stronghold, which he identified as the shores of Lake Chad.
According to the Governor, “we have been advocating for this for a very long time. The Tumbus and other shores of Lake Chad must be cleared completely, then people will get rest of mind. Anything less than this is a temporary measure. That requires a lot of support from the Federal Government such as blocking of the leakage from our neighbouring countries by the Multi National Joint Task Force (MNJTF).”
DISCLAIMER
The OPINION / COLUMN is authored by independent contributors to the National Accord Newspaper. While contributors adhere to our editorial guidelines, they are not employed by the National Accord Newspaper. The perspectives and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of the National Accord Newspaper or its staff.