Insurgency: Ndume Raises the Alarm, Says Nigeria Risks Losing Borno, N’East to Terrorists

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

A member of the National Assembly, Senator Ali Ndume, has raised the alarm that Borno state and by extension the North East zone may be lost to the threatening activities of Boko Haram insurgents.
He has therefore called on the federal government to ensure that the Nigerian Army is fully equipped to win the battle against insurgency and banditry.
The former Senate Leader, had over the weekend visited two of the affected areas -Ngoshe and Pulka – in company of the Borno state governor, Professor Babagana Zulum.
The Borno South Senator, who spoke with newsmen in Abuja expressed grave concern that the military were initially overwhelmed in some parts of Borno state by the superior firepower of the terrorist groups.
He said:”I am calling on the federal government to double its efforts in equipping the Army with sophisticated arms and ammunitions.
“I gathered that our soldiers lack adequate ammunitions and they ran away from Ngoshe and Pulka because the terrorists overwhelmed them. It was days after reinforcement thay they regained the place. Nothing was left standing in Ngoshe and Pulka by the terrorists.”
The ranking Senator who commended Governor Zulum for seizing the initiative to visit the ravaged communities and the displaced residents in their Internally Displaced Persons ( IDPs) camps, urged the federal government to assist the Borno state government in rebuilding the communities and giving immediate succor to the displaced people.
His words:” I have visited Ngoshe, it isn’t something you can describe but for somebody that has seen it, it has been brought down to ground zero.
” That’s what I have seen. The destruction is complete. There is nothing left standing except one small mosque. The people are resilient, the governor is determined to rebuild Ngoshe and there is an urgent need for federal government intervention.
“I will talk with my colleagues at the National Assembly and we will collectively in both Houses, do a motion but before then we are expecting that the federal government will intervene. This is necessary because the people are still resilient, I have interacted with them, they are determined, some of them even refused to go into the cities, they want to go back home. Since they have that determination, government must rebuild the place.
“I must commend the Nigerian Army for taking back Ngoshe again. After we came back, the Governor spent a night in Pulka and I must commend him. I see the psychological effect of that and we just want to thank him on behalf of my people. It is something that we will never forget. “