Maiduguri On The Brink

all began like a protest against the system and to ensure the enforcement of Sharia in the northern parts of the country, and then it spread to other parts of the country. Now the Boko Haram insurgency is assuming a new dimension and threatening the territorial integrity of Nigeria.

  From operating in their notorious Sambisa Forest fortress, the group has come to the open, capturing swathes of territories, particularly the strategic border town of Gwoza.

  Buoyed by the successes, the sect has gone ahead to take more territories, including Bama, the second largest town in the state, and still counting, with Maiduguri in their sight.

  In Maiduguri, the situation has been tense with residents from neighbouring communities trooping into the state capital, just as Nigerian troops move to curtail the Boko Haram onslaught.

  The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said yesterday that as the military attempts to reclaim Bama, more residents of the besieged border town continue to flee to Maiduguri, the state capital for safety and other basic needs of life before returning to their respective community and villages.

  Speaking yesterday in a telephone interview on the state of resettlement camps, its Northeast Zonal Coordinator, Mohammed Kanar, disclosed that the increase in the number of displaced persons has made the state government to establish another camp at Government Girls’ Secondary School, Yerwa in the metropolis.

  “We have no alternative other than to accommodate an additional 2, 050 fleeing persons from Bama, Konduga and Kawauri and provide them with the basic needs of life, like food, water and healthcare services before they could return to their respective homes after the military must have ensured security to these displaced persons.

  “At the existing IDPs camps in Maiduguri, we have registered 26,391 displaced persons, as at yesterday afternoon, with the Yerwa camp accommodating over 3, 000 persons,” Kanar said, adding that women and children constitute 75 per cent of the camps’ total population.

  In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT),

residents who spoke with The Guardian, said they are in the FCT because they really have no other alternative.

  Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima on Thursday said the federal government has assured him of improved intervention against the insurgents.

  Speaking to internally displaced persons in some public structure in Maiduguri, he added that the federal government has promised the deployment of military personnel and equipment to curtail the threat of the terrorist in the Northeast.

  Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters yesterday assured that everything would be done to reverse the situation and defeat the rampaging terrorists.

  This is in reaction to the current challenges in the counter-terrorism efforts in region, which has understandably elicited a sense of apprehension among citizens and even foreign allies.

  Director Defence Information, Maj-Gen Chris Olukolade, in a statement in Abuja yesterday, while welcoming all the concerns shown by Nigerians and a section of the international community, following the increased menace and activities of terrorists, stated: “It is necessary to reassure all that the Nigerian Armed Forces is more than ever determined and committed to the defence of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Nigeria, regardless of any odd. It is not only the pride and reputation of the military that is at stake, but also that of the entire nation.

  “We, therefore, urge our citizens not to lose hope or be disenchanted, but to remain steadfast and supportive of the military, as all steps are being taken to ensure the success of the counter-insurgency operations, especially at this crucial time when our sovereignty is being challenged.”

  He reiterated that the Nigerian military was fully conscious of its obligations to the Nigerian state and remains willing and ready to perform its duties with utmost diligence.  

  He added: “Therefore, what the military requires at this critical period in the nation’s history