Borno Residents raised concern over plans to return IDPs after ISWAP attacked Governor Zulum Convoy in Malam Fatori

Borno Residents raised concern over plans to return IDPs after ISWAP attacked Governor Zulum Convoy in Malam Fatori

By: James Bwala, Maiduguri

Residents of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital in northeast Nigeria on Sunday raised concern over the reported attack of the governor’s convoy and his plans to return internally displaced persons back to their villages. The concern raised by some residents who felt that the governor was rather rushing the IDPs for some political reasons. 

According to them, with what is still happening and the attack on his convoy when he visited the northern part of Borno state is enough to know that all is not well. 

“Report on Saturday said that it took the intervention of a quick reinforcement to salvage the situation. The military fought for nearly two hours to repel the insurgence who attacked fiercely the governor’s convoy forcing him to cut short a trip to the northern part of Malam Fatori where he was to go for an assessment of the security situation in the area.” Lawal Ahmadu, a resident of Maiduguri said.

Governor Babagana Umara Zulum had earlier during the visit to some part of northern Borno pledged to return IDPs back home by the end of November 2021. 

However, the attack on his convoy in the northern part of Malam Fatori in Abadam local government area of Borno state indicated that much still needs to be done to liberate the area of the ISWAP elements who continued to show resistance by showing their presence in that part of the state.

“There are too many of them (ISWAP) still occupying parts of Abadam local government.” Umar Haruna, an indigene of Abadam and a civil servant in Borno state told ABC NEWS in Maiduguri. ” This attack shows that it would be suicidal as we often say for the governor to return the IDPs by November 2021 as he constantly remind them. I have over ten people living in my house. It is not that they do not want to go back but they know and we all know the situation on ground better than what the governor was being fed with.” He said

Also one of the military sources told ABC NEWS that people tend to refer to the conflict as 12 years conflict. By that many people are also thinking that the war was over in the last 12 years. But according to him, “We are fighting still from one phase of the conflict to another. Truth is the war is ongoing. The ISWAP elements are still coming out to show their presence.” He said.

On the governor’s plans to return IDPs back home he said, ” Well, no one can stop the governor of he thinks all is well and he wants to return his people back to their homes. Our job is to make security available to the people however we can. But the governor also know that the situation is not over. If he did not know then that is something everybody should be worried about.” He added.

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Sanusi Liman, a politician in Borno state while reacting to the issue and recent attack on the governor’s convoy said, ” There is the need for the government both at state and federal level to begin to see this beyond the eyes of politics and do the needful. The lives of the c’mon man cannot continued to be played with in this circumstances. Reports on ground was indicating heavy presence of ISWAP elements and their capacity to attack military bases and convoy for an one or two while reports on papers was indicating a different scenarios. I think this is becoming more of a problem beyond what people are seeing on the surface.”

A military source has said that, ” Troops have battle the insurgents for over an hour to bring the situation under control. Such a length of exchange of gunfire was not something to take lightly. It was a battle.”

John Amos, a resident of Maiduguri observed that, “with what happened if truth be told returning the Borno IDPs back home at this time could result in regrets, as such in as much as the governor desire the IDPs to be returned home as many of them also were convinced that they want to go back home, it is needful that the government put aside the governor idea now and pursue concrete steps that would result in ending the conflict first before moving people back to their ancestral homes.”

Malam Factory, which is located 5km away from the Niger republic border town of Bosso have been left empty since 2014 when the people were force to flee their homes and take refuge in Niger.

Governor Babagana Umara Zulum had earlier this month promised to shut down all IDP camps across Maiduguri the Borno state capital and has shown determination to ending continued stay in the IDP camps by people fleeing insurgency in the state. He reiterated his concern and determination last week when he visited Nigerian refugees in Bosso, Niger republic but whether the attack on his convoy will change his plan is what the people of Borno state are waiting to know.

In the last 12 years of insurgency about 350,000 people were estimated to have been killed. Also millions of people have been displaced according to United Nations Development Programme estimates. 

Both the governor’s spokesman Malam Isa Gusau and the Army Spokesman Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu however could not comment on the development.

Borno Residents raised concern over plans to return IDPs after ISWAP attacked Governor Zulum Convoy in Malam Fatori