Zulum Makes History In Borno, Visits Area Previously Occupied By Boko Haram For 6 Years

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum has taken the bold step of visiting some areas in the state previously occupied by the dreaded Boko Haram terrorist group.

The move, which is a clearance operation is part of the preparations for the resettlement of some Internally Displaced Persons in Borno back to their ancestral lands.

The indigenes had been displaced for many years by the Boko Haram terrorists but the Governor on Thursday, led a clearance operation to Malam-Fatori, headquarters of Abadam Local Government Area in northern Borno in preparation to resettle the people after the Nigerian Military had reclaimed the area.

Ezenwoko’s Blog recalls Zulum had earlier announced a timeframe for the closure of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps within Maiduguri, the state capital.

The Governor announced plans to shut the camps on or before 31st December, 2021.

Zulum made the disclosure last Friday in Abuja after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock Villa.

As part of the steps necessary to fulfill his promise, Governor Zulum visited the displaced persons taking refuge in the Diffa and Bosso provinces of the neighboring Niger Republic and spent two days with them.

It is understood that Zulum traveled to Niger on Tuesday evening and passed the night at Diffa where he was received by the Governor of Diffa Province, Issa Lameen.

Both Governors on Wednesday moved to Bosso which is closer to Malam-Fatori and discussed collaborative efforts on resettling the displaced persons.

Later on Thursday, Zulum led the refugees in a tour of different parts of Malam-Fatori, about six years after they were displaced by the terrorists.

Previously, the Borno Governor has visited the area on assessment tours more than five times, Ezenwoko’s Blog understands.

Zulum thanked the government and people of Niger Republic, the Governor of Diffa Province, security agencies, NGOs and all other stakeholders as they continue to work out modalities to resetle the people and rebuild Malam-Fatori.

During the visit, Governor Zulum distributed a wrapper and N5,000 cash to female beneficiaries, while the male beneficiaries received N10,000 each.

In all, N28.3m was distributed to 3,911 families taking refuge in Bosso.

Of the 3,911 total beneficiaries, 2,150 of them were female heads of households, while the remaining 1,761 were male heads of households.