As the security situation continues to deteriorate in the North-east and North-west, the senator for Borno South Senatorial District, Ali Ndume, has advised President Bola Tinubu to employ the services of military contractors to wipe out Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State, who continue to pose a threat to the region.
Ndume hailed the gallant performance of the military and Civilian JTF, but said they were ill-equipped to carry out the task of eliminating the remaining insurgents operating within the region.
The senator, who is currently in Benin Republic for an ECOWAS Parliament engagement, spoke by telephone with journalists yesterday in Abuja. He was reacting to the Boko Haram terrorist attack on Ngoshe, Gwoza Local Government Area of BornoState, on Monday.
The terrorists had launched a fresh attack on the area, leading to the killing of six farmers and abduction of five others, including women.
It was learnt that during the attack, the commander of Civilian JTF in the area, JubrilDada Zarana, was killed by the terrorists.
No military officer died, though they tried without success to repel the attackers.
The fresh attack came few weeks after the same terrorists killed many civilians in a bomb blast. Hundreds of civilians were also injured.
Ndume said the military superpowers also hired military contractors to aid them in warfare.
He listed the United States of America, Russia, United Kingdom, and France, among others, as countries that often engaged the services of military contractors.
In the long run, he said, able-bodied Nigerian youths could be drafted to raise the number of military men in the country to at least one million.
Ndume lamented that the farmers, who were the regular victims of the attacks, were being forced by Boko Haram terrorists to abandon their farm harvest at a time when the country was facing a serious food crisis.
The senator stated, “All across the world, governments hire the services of military contractors to engage in certain places. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu can consider this as a short-run measure. These contractors will work with our military and Civilian JTF, who understand the terrain.
“These contractors will come with their equipment and military hardware. In a very short time, they will eliminate those Boko Haram terrorists. The contractors can also be used to eliminate those bandits operating in the North-west.
“Over a period, the federal government can now recruit youths to join the military and raise the number to at least one million. In the interim, I think the president should consider this option of hiring military contractors.”
A councillor at Ngoshe ward, Gwoza Local Government Area, Filibus Yakubu, said the commander of the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) in the area, Jubril Zarana, was killed in the attack.
Yakubu said the terrorists ambushed farmers on their farms, killed some of them, and abducted others.
He stated, “The Boko Haram terrorists released three women from which this information was obtained. The released women further stated that the victims were being kept hostage by the terrorists.
“Moreover, some people were still missing as at this time that we are talking, as a result of this incident. The people did not return to Ngoshe during the catastrophe, and as reported by the released women, they were not part of the ones abducted.”
Yakubu lamented, “Our people are severely suffering due to lack of essential life support, but they have chosen to remain in their fatherland because of the love they have for it.
“The state government has really tried for our people, but NGOs and others are not providing us with food supplies.”
Chuks Okocha and Sunday Aborisade
