Story from Kenneth AFOR, Lagos
In a bid to curtail the incessant attacks on farmers and the destruction of their lands by insurgents in Borno State, Governor Babangana Umara Zulum on Thursday inducted 1,000 hunters to secure farmers and their farmlands.
READ ALSO: Bauchi Security: 10,000 hunters to help fight insecurity – Umar Aliyu
The hunters have been charged to protect farmers who cultivate crops in the outskirts of Jere, where over 70 farmers were killed in November 2020 as well as farms in parts of Maiduguri metropolis, Konduga and Mafa Local Government Areas.
Zulum has since 2019, engaged the services of thousands of hunters drawn from different parts of northern Nigeria, to join volunteers in the Civilian Joint Task Force (C-JTF) and vigilantes.
The Governor also increased and automated monthly allowances of all volunteers, provided kits, surveillance tools and allocated hundreds of vehicles to units in all of Borno’s 27 Local Government Areas.
Induction of the latest 1,000 additional hunters was done at Gongulong ward, weeks after each of them completed security vetting by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the military. The event was attended by Secretary to Borno State Government, Usman Jidda Shuwa, Head of Service, Barrister Simon Malgwi, commissioners and other government officials.
“Our local hunters have become part of our success story because of their active involvement in trying to address the security challenges we have been facing in the state. This largely prompted us to engage in the recruitment of more hunters to assist our gallant military in their undeniable and commendable efforts to end the insurgency” Zulum said.
In a welcome address, a member representing Jere at the House of Representatives, Satomi Ahmed, lauded Zulum for his foresight and determination to secure the lives and property of the Borno people.
The Governor has been combining mass recruitment and equipping of more counter-insurgency volunteers into the C-JTF, hunters, and vigilantes, with support for the Nigerian Armed forces, and provision of education, and socio-economic support to vulnerable persons across the state.
The move by the governor in months to come could see a reduction in prices of foodstuff produced in the North that is transported to the Southern part of the country where prices of food commodities are on the high side.
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