• ‘Three councils under insurgence’
• ‘64 Plateau villages under bandits’
Boko-Haram insurgents are overrunning Borno State, Governor Babagana Umara Zulum said yesterday.
He decried attacks on communities, daily killings, dislodgement of military formations and abductions by the terrorists.
According to him, the insurgents operate without confrontation or resistance, which he said indicates they are gaining more ground.
Terrorists had attacked four military formations in the state and dislodged troops.
Many civilians and security agents were killed.
Zulum bared his mind at the Special Expanded Security Meeting (SESM) in Maiduguri, the Borno capital.
He lauded the Federal Government and the security agencies for their efforts in the battle against insurgency but said more equipment and technology should be deployed to stem the tide of renewed attacks.
Zulum said: “It is unfortunate that the renewed Boko Haram attacks and kidnappings in many communities almost on a daily basis without confrontation signal that Borno State is losing ground.
“My administration has been very supportive to the military and other security agencies in the fight against Boko Haram and other terrorists, leading to relative peace in the last three years.
“However, it is disheartening to note the recent attacks and dislodgement of military formations in Wajirko, Sabon Gari in Damboa, Wulgo in Gamboru Ngala, Izge in Gwoza local government areas, among other related killings of innocent civilians and security agents, call for serious concern.
“It is a setback in the fragile state of Borno and the Northeast region.
“In as much as Borno government under my leadership commend the Federal Government under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the security agencies for their unwavering support in the fight against Boko Haram, more efforts have to be put in place through equipping and deploying of technological warfare to the military to stem the tide of all renewed attacks bedevilling parts of the Sahelian Borno, which shares international border with Chad, Niger and Cameroon.”
Zulum urged the authorities to take decisive action to restore stability in the state.
“We cannot allow these criminals to undermine our security further.
“We will ensure that the relevant authorities work together to put an end to these activities,” he said.
The governor expressed concern over the proliferation of unregulated event centres across the state.
“These illegal structures are contributing to crime and social vices in the state, and we must act to ensure that all venues comply with safety and planning standards,” he said.
The governor also vowed to dismantle criminal hotspots.
“Some of these criminals are not even from Nigeria, and we are working with immigration authorities to ensure that those who do not belong here are deported,” Zulum said.
The Shehu of Borno and Chairman Borno Council of Chiefs, Alhaji Abubakar Garbai Al-Amin El-Kanemi, hailed security agencies, but stressed that about three local government areas – Guzamala, Marte, Abbadam and some parts of Mobbar are still under the total control of Boko Haram.
He said most of the communities were without civil authority.
He also called on the Federal Government to reconstruct the dilapidated Biu-Damboa-Maiduguri, Maiduguri-Dikwa-Ngala, Maiduguri-Monguno-Kukawa and Biu-Damaturu federal roads.
The meeting was attended by the General Officer Commanding 7 Division, Maj.-Gen Abubakar Haruna, sector commanders, the Commissioner of Police, other heads of security agencies, and other first-class monarchs.
Muftwang: Plateau villages overrun
Plateau State Governor, Caleb Muftwang, decried the attacks in some communities in his state, saying bandits have taken over 64 communities.
Speaking on national television last night, he said: “These communities that have been recently attacked were part of the communities that were attacked in 2023 but they survived it and rebuilt themselves.
“The Ruwi community that was first attacked lost about 17 people in 2023 but they bounced back to show you the resilience of the people.
“If these attacks have been going on for close to 10 years, it tells you that there is a deliberate, conscious attempt to clean out populations and to reopen.
“As I am talking to you, there are not less than 64 communities that have been taken over by bandits on the Plateau between Bokkos, Barkin Ladi and Riyom Local Governments.
“They have been taken over, renamed and people are living there conveniently on lands they pushed people away to occupy,” the governor said.
According to him, the attacks are sponsored and targeted at wiping off communities in the state.
“I can tell you in all honesty that I cannot find any explanation other than genocide sponsored by terrorists.
“The question is, who are the persons behind the organisers of this terrorism?
“This is what the security agencies must help us to unravel.
“We must come to the point where we know the sponsors because it is not just the work of ordinary people.
“This is being sponsored from somewhere, and I am sure that in the coming days, the security agencies will work together – not at cross purposes but in unison – to be able to bring out the requisite intelligence that will help us to put this matter behind us.”
Kukah’s brother, deputy director, 58 others rescued
Also yesterday, National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, handed over 60 kidnapped victims rescued by security agencies to their families.
A Deputy Director in the National Assembly Service Commission and a brother to the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese Bishop Mathew Kukah were among those rescued.
They were kidnapped from their homes and farms
Ribadu cautioned against ransom payment to kidnappers, saying it only emboldens them.
According to him, even after a ransom was paid by the families, the kidnappers were unwilling to release the victims.
Ribadu said: “Once again, we are here to do what we have done a couple of times already, that is, to hand over rescued victims of kidnap and banditry to their families.
“Evil people turn our lives upside down. They are the victims. Many of them have been with them for a couple of months, but we thank God.
“Today, we are releasing 60, and hopefully that will be the final one from that part of Nigeria. Last week, we did about 50.
“Daily, we are getting freedom back to our people. We will continue to do so. We will not relent and we will not stop.
“We will make sure that justice is done. Anybody who is involved will never see peace.
“But I want to also use this opportunity to talk to our people to please stop giving money (ransom) to these people.
“It is one of the worst things that is happening.
“The families of many of these people, as you see them, gave monies to their abductors, but it did not lead to their release. It is we, the security forces, that still rescued them.
“I want to make a very strong appeal to all, it is understandable that when your person is in captivity, you will do whatever it takes for you to get him back. But this is counterproductive.”
National Coordinator, National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Maj.-Gen. Adamu Laka, said the 60 victims were rescued on Monday at about 1200hrs by troops supported by other security and intelligence agencies.
Laka said the victims were rescued from Lere, Zangon Katar and Kagarko Local Government Areas of Kaduna State and Abuja.
He said that the victims comprised 35 males and 25 females.
Another Plateau community raided
Gunmen again raided another Irigwe community and killed three residents.
The attack occurred late Monday while the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede was in the state.
Gen. Oluyede arrived following last weekend’s killing of over 50 residents in Bokkos.
In the latest attack, gunmen invaded Hwrra village of Bassa local government.
A statement by Sam Jugo, the national publicity secretary of the Irigwe Development Association (IDA) said: “The attack at Hwrra village on April 7, 2025, occurred at about 8:30pm.
“The three victims are Yakubu Mali, 48, Mangwa Ive, 40, and Israel Riti, 51.”
The Plateau Lawyers Bar Forum (PLBF) urged the Federal Government to consider allowing communities to arm themselves for self-defence.
In a statement by its Chairman, Mr. Ledak Dafer, and Secretary, Mr. Niri Darong, the association said: “These attacks, which have persisted since 2001, have resulted in countless deaths, widespread displacement, and the destruction of livelihoods, yet the response of Federal Government in whose custody all the security agencies in Nigeria, remains grossly inadequate.”
‘Super criminal camps’ blamed
Luca Pompe, a resident of Bokos, said “super criminal camps” were the driving force behind a wave of brutal attacks.
Speaking on national TV, Pompe, a former governorship aspirant on the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) platform, said: “These attackers are not ghosts, they reside in known enclaves.”
He pointed to the existence of what he termed “super criminal camps” – heavily fortified, well-established hideouts set up through land grabs – which serve as operational bases for the attackers.
These camps, according to Pompe, allow the militants to regroup and escape after carrying out violent assaults, complicating efforts by authorities to curtail the cycle of violence.
Pompe urged security agencies to dismantle these camps, which he believes have become a sanctuary for violent groups.
“The situation is getting worse, and we keep seeing the same pattern,” Pompe said.
“These attacks are not random—they are well-planned and coordinated operations.”
My wife killed in my presence, says victim
Deputy Director of the National Assembly Commission, Adeshinya Michael, said he saw ‘hell’ in the hands of his abductors.
“I was chained for 32 days,” he said, adding that his wife was killed in his presence.
Michael was abducted from his residence on January 26 in Kubwa.
He said the fear of death made many abductees dance to the bandits’ tune.
“When they kill someone in your presence you will give them anything they want,” he said.
“For instance, they killed my wife in my presence.
“If they request for your head in that situation you will give it to them.”
Ishaya Kukah, brother to the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Rev. Fr. Matthew Hassan Kukah, was among the 60 rescued victims.
He said: “I had already concluded that I would not see this world again due to how they were treating us in the bush.
“We suffered too much in the bush. They used to chain us together in twos.
“If you are going to defecate, you move with the other one. If you are going to urinate, you move together.”
Ishaya said they were forced to pay ransom due to the inhuman treatment the bandits subjected them to.
He said: “If you say you won’t give money, they will beat you. They will kill you.”
