Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, has in defiance to series of attack on his convoy, attended the Jumma’at Prayer at the Central Mosque in Baga Community, led by the Chief of Baga town, Imam Umar Goni Bukar.
Hanoky Media has reliably gathered that the Jumma’at Prayer is part of the on-going programme slated for the resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons back to Baga Community.
Recall that the Governor had earlier (5th August 2020) inaugurated a high-powered committee for the resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons back to Baga, after he had gotten the approval of the Nigerian Army and had assessed the damages caused by the Boko Haram Insurgents on the town.
His words, “We have seen the level of interest that has been done by the resettlement committee, and we have seen the renewed efforts of the Nigeria Military and I think so far, we have achieved minimum threshold for the resettlement of the Baga Community under the phase one of the relocation exercise.”
“Most importantly, we have seen the primary health care facility that has been rehabilitated, we have seen water supply distribution networks, we have seen the educational facilities under renovation and most importantly, the establishment of civil authorities on the ground.”
He continued, “The renovation work on Houses of the Traditional Rulers, Police Station, Markets among others are ongoing. With this development, I think we are good to go.”
“So far, so good. As far as I am concerned, people have started resettling in Baga since the last two or three days. So, the issue is not when are starting resettlement, we have started resettlement and we shall continue the resettlement process tomorrow.”
Zulum further commended the efforts of the resettlement committee for the different roles they played in ensuring the resettlement process was a success.
He noted that with the success achieved, the district head of Baga Community, the Chief Imam and the DPO, Baga station had all relocated and returned to the Baga community.
In a seemingly emotional tone, the Governor stated: “What has happened today is unfortunate, but this will never deter us from pulling our objective on returning our people of Baga back to their community.”
Recall that earlier on Thursday, the Governor’s attack had come under attack by the Boko Haram insurgents in the Baga community.
The Governor, who for a second time had narrowly escaped death, did so because he travelled in a military aircraft.
The death toll from the attack has now risen to 30 persons from an initial 15 reported.
The Governor had since declared that the situation facing the state was a tough one and that the Boko Haram terrorists had an “ultimate wish to take over the state and bring it under a sovereign brutal administration.”
“We shall remain resolute, we shall remain courageous, and we shall remain determined to ensure that our people that are willing to return back to their ancestral homes are returned in a dignified manner.”
“Nigeria is not a party to Kampala convention but we shall obey all the rules and regulations inherent in the Kampala convention with a view to ensuring the return of the civilians to Baga on a voluntary basis, in a safe and dignified manner.”
“I commend the efforts of the Nigerian Military, Police, Civil Defence, Civilian Joint Taskforce and all other security agencies for their continued support and collaboration.”
“Insha Allah. Borno State Government will continue supporting them”, the Governor stated.
The event had other persons in attendance such as the Senator representing Northern Borno, Sen. Abubakar S Kyari, Speaker BOSHA, Hon. Abdulkarim Lawan, Hon. TM Monguno, and Hon. Malum Bukar Gana Kareto.
