The governor says Ndume has been inciting in his comments.
Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has advised Senator Ali Ndume against criticising repentant Boko Haram terrorists who are being reintegrated into society.
During a courtesy visit by the Senate committee on army to the government house in Maiduguri on Wednesday, January 12, 2022, the governor said the lawmaker has been inciting in his comments.
He said such comments ideally shouldn’t be heard of from a patriotic Borno citizen of the Senator’s standing.
Zulum said, “I only have one discrepancy with Senator Ali Ndume. I heard him criticising the repentant terrorists and I felt that this should not have come from someone from Borno. I called him to register my disappointment with his comments. We know where we were before now. Ndume cannot go to his hometown without security escort.
“Ndume’s hometown, Hambagda has been deserted for the past seven years and no one is living there. 95 per cent of his people cannot go to their farms till this moment. But the situation is different since we started witnessing the surrender of the terrorists. Areas under cultivation have increased by seven hundred per cent and farmers have had bumper harvests this year.
“Whether we like it or not, we have to welcome these repentant Boko Haram insurgents. Although some of them may not be genuine, quite a number of them are genuine. Relative peace is gradually returning to the state as such we should encourage them to surrender not incite the locals against them.
“Out of the over 20,000 that have surrendered, about 5,000 of them are fighters. So imagine the destructions these fighters would cause if they haven’t surrendered. Until now, two local government areas of Borno State -Abadam and Guzamala, are still under the firm control of Boko Haram.”
The governor said that some communities in eight local government areas including Gwoza, Damboa, Bama, Chibok and a host of others still had elements of Boko Haram insurgents.
He added that his administration would continue to explore avenues to encourage insurgents to surrender their arms for peace to return to the state
