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Zulum reveals how military ignored warnings of Boko Haram strikes in Kirawa
Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum has raised alarm over the recent escalation of Boko Haram attacks in Kirawa, located in Gwoza Local Government Area, following the departure of Cameroonian troops previously stationed in the town.
On Friday, Zulum mobilized Nigerian soldiers and Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) members to reinforce security in Kirawa.
He revealed that he had previously alerted the Nigerian military to the risks of leaving the town undefended, given its strategic position along the border.
“I duly notified the Nigerian military of the dangers of leaving this town without security. This is a border community. Wilgo, Kirawa, Baga, Damasak, Malamfatori, among others are border communities that have to be protected because of their strategic importance,” Zulum stated, as reported by DailyTrust.
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Despite his efforts to highlight the issue, Zulum noted that his concerns were not adequately addressed, leading to a devastating attack by insurgents on Wednesday.
“Unfortunately, my request did receive the deserved attention, and the insurgents came on Wednesday and vandalised everything we worked so hard to rebuild,” he said.
The attack claimed two lives and caused extensive damage, including the destruction of 50 homes, heavy machinery, and eight vehicles.
“Two lives were lost but 50 houses and our heavy duty equipment, and eight vehicles were burnt down. We thanked God the casualties were not much,” Zulum remarked.
In response, the Nigerian Army has agreed to redeploy troops to Kirawa, and the state government has committed to equipping local vigilante groups with additional resources.
“The second measure we have undertaken is in the area of providing support to our gallant civilian JTF and vigilante. I listened to them and we will provide them with the needed equipment to safeguard the town,” the governor stated.
Zulum also urged the federal government and the Chief of Defence Staff to provide urgent funding and equipment to enhance security operations, particularly with the end of the rainy season approaching.
“We are pleading with the federal government, and the Chief of Defence Staff to release funds and procure equipment so that the military operations should begin in annex since the rainy season is about to be over,” he said.
He further emphasized the need for sustained military commitment, stating, “I’m also pleading with the Nigerian military to be more committed, because what matters is not the number of soldiers we need to keep here but how committed they are to fight back the terrorists during military operations.”
Zulum warned that intermittent military operations have contributed to the recent surge in attacks, noting, “Above all, we need Military operations, for sometimes, military operations were not conducted in Borno State, and that has been instrumental to what we have been witnessing now. The renewed insurgence attacks.”
Addressing residents, Zulum called for calm and resilience, saying, “You need not to panic. I see no reason why very few members of Boko Haram will come to defeat the entire community without resistance.”
According to recent reports, the attack forced over 5,000 residents to flee Kirawa into Cameroon.
The assault, which occurred late Thursday, saw Boko Haram overrun the town, burning the palace of the district head, Abdulrahman Abubakar, along with a military barracks and numerous homes.
“I was left with no option but to flee to Cameroon,” Abubakar told Reuters. “Residents boarded trucks to seek refuge across the border, while others ran to Maiduguri.”
Boko Haram claimed responsibility, releasing a video showing fighters setting the barracks ablaze while chanting, “victory belongs to God.”
A resident, Dauda Hassan, who escaped to Pulka, confirmed the insurgents’ control, stating, “Boko Haram is in control.
”This attack follows a similar incident on September 19 in Banki, where Boko Haram overran a military barracks, seized weapons, and forced soldiers to retreat. The ongoing violence, driven by Boko Haram and its splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), has intensified in Borno State, the epicenter of a 16-year insurgency.
The echoes of the drums rolled out to celebrate the rescue of the 44 teachers and students, kidnapped from some schools in Oyo State, after 56 days in the bush, would surely be disrupted abruptly, with the divergent echoes of a fresh abduction, this time coming from Kogi State.
Reports indicate that the gunmen, struck on Tuesday at the Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member.
Authorities of the Kogi State Police Command, who immediately unleashed their operatives in hot pursuit of the abductors, said the attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. while the students were writing their NECO examination.
Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and spokesman of the command, said a combined team of police personnel and other security agencies has launched a search-and-rescue operation following the incident.
Informing that one of the students was actually rescued immediately, she said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers, adding that Naziru Bello Kankarofi, the state Commissioner of Police, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, Commodore Jerry Omodara (Rtd), were already on the way to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
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