Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno state has tasked the Civilian JTF and Dikwa community to protect their ancestral homes against Boko Haram attacks. The terrorists attacked Dikwa border community with Cameroon in six gun trucks last Sunday by 5.30pm. Last Sunday’s attack brought three separate deadly attacks on January 30, February 20, March 1 & 2, 2021. Zulum tasked the residents at the weekend, while attending Friday prayers at the Central Mosque, Dikwa.
“You’re not supposed to leave your ancestral homes despite the insurgents’ attacks,” he declared during the Jumat prayers amid residents at the mosque.He urged the residents to be resilient as Maiduguri cannot accommodate over 500,000 people from Dikwa. He noted that the Maiduguri Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps are overwhelmed with displaced persons from Gubio, Monguno, Damasak, Gwoza and Pulka, the two border communities with Cameroon. While urging the residents to be resilient, he said: “Dikwa is your ancestral home; you should not allow anybody to send you leaving.
“It is surprising that only 20 terrorists in six gun trucks attacked over 500,000 people to flee their ancestral homes,” warning that if they leave Dikwa because of attacks, Maiduguri will not accommodate them. “You’ve over 300 members of Civilian JTF in this town, but they’re useless, as they cannot defend the community and its residents,” he noted. He added that when he visited President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, he assured that he will not allow a repeat of the ugly incident. According to him, no inch of Nigeria’s territory should be allowed to fall into hands of terrorists.He therefore urged them to “stand up and defend” their ancestral homes and community against any attack.
He also urged them to continue to be prayerful for the restoration of peace, while defending their communities against insurgents. He assured that more areas would be opened up for farmers to be engaged in their farmlands and herding of livestock. He visited Army Super Camp, 9, the Shehu of Dikwa’s palace, a Primary Health Centre, Muda Kaza and Alhaji Bashir IDP camps and the UN humanitarian hubs that were torched by the insurgents last Sunday. He pledged to rebuild all the torched structures in the Dikwa community. On how Dikwa was attacked, Ibrahim Bulama, a resident said: “Nine pregnant women delivered while fleeing Dikwa from the Mudu Kaza IDP camp along Ajiri road.
“The terrorists took control of the town for 17 hours until they left on Tuesday at about 10.30am. “Before leaving, they gathered people by the road side and preached to them and even distributed money to teenagers and aged people.”
It would be recalled that the insurgents attacked Dikwa four times in recent times with first on 30th January 2021, 20th February, 1st March and 2nd March, 2021.
