Borno massacre: ACF, PDP, others attack Federal Govt, Presidency offers excuses, blames farmers

• Something is wrong somewhere, truth can’t be hidden forever – Arewa

• Killed farmers did not get military clearance to farm, says Presidency

• Explanations provocative, height of government irresponsibility – CSOs

Olalekan Adetayo, Eniola Akinkuotu, John Alechenu, Sunday Aborisade, Adelani Adepegba, Godwin Isenyo and John Charles

The Federal Government on Monday gave three different reasons why Boko Haram insurgents succeeded in attacking Kwashebe village in Borno State on Saturday and killing no fewer than 110 rice farmers.

The Coordinator of  Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche, in an interview with Channels Television, blamed some residents of the North-East for sabotaging the war against insurgents.

Also Monday, the Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in an interview with the BBC said the rice farmers did not get military clearance before going to their farms, where they were killed by the insurgents.

In Makurdi, the Benue State capital, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,   said  Boko Haram remained undefeated because Nigeria was denied access to adequate weapons to fight terrorists.

Recall that the Federal Government and top military officials had repeatedly said the insurgents and other criminal groups had been defeated.

In an interview with the BBC in 2016, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.),  said Boko Haram had been technically defeated.

In May last year, the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, said that the Boko Haram terrorist group had been defeated, adding that the military was fighting an international criminal gang known as Islamic State of West Africa Province.

Organisations such as the pan-northern socio-political group, the Arewa Consultative Forum, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, and the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, faulted government’s explanations and advised it to tackle insurgency.

Despite government’s claim of victory over the insurgents, the terrorists rounded up rice farmers on their farms at Kwashebe, Borno State on Saturday.

Although the government said 43 people were killed, the United Nations on Sunday stated 110 farmers lost their lives.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Mohammed, in an interview with journalists after paying a courtesy visit to the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, said that  Nigerians would remain at the mercy of terrorists.

The minister described the killing of the rice farmers as ‘unfortunate’ but noted that to decimate the terrorist group, the country needed more support from global partners as well as  acquiring  adequate weapons to fight them.

The minister said, “When we talk about terrorism, people don’t seem to appreciate that terrorism is not a local issue, it is a global issue and there is no part of the world that doesn’t experience its own pocket of terrorism.”

Nigeria denied weapons to fight insurgents – Lai Mohammed

“But you must also note that we are dealing with terrorists who are financed globally and we also need more support from global partners, for instance, Nigeria has made attempts to acquire better and more effective a platform to deal with the terrorists but for one reason or the other we have been denied this platform, these weapons and without adequate weapons or platform, we remain at the mercy of terrorists.”

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity,  Shehu, in his interview with the BBC on Monday, explained what led to the attack.

Shehu stated, “The government is sad that this tragic incident has happened. 43 or thereabout of innocent farm workers, most of them had their throats slit by a heartless band of terrorists. People need to know what it is like in the Lake Chad Basin area.

“Much of those areas have been liberated from Boko Haram terrorists but there are a number of spaces that have not been cleared for the return of villagers who have been displaced. So, ideally, all of these places ought to pass the test of military clearances before farmers or settlers resume activities on those fields.”

When asked if he was not blaming the farmers for going to the area, Shehu responded, “Not exactly but the truth has to be said. Was there any clearance by the military which is in total control of those areas? Did anybody ask to resume activity? I have been told by the military leaders that they had not been so advised and certainly therefore it was a window that the terrorists exploited.”

My explanation not a sign of lack of sympathy for victims – Shehu

But later on Monday, Shehu said his earlier explanation on the killing of the rice farmers did not mean  that he lacked  sympathy for the victims.

He said he was only explaining the military procedures on safe movement and not that he was supporting the massacre.

Shehu gave the explanation in a message he posted on his Facebook page and Twitter handle, @GarShehu, while reacting to criticisms that trailed his earlier comment in an interview with the BBC.

The presidential aide explained that Borno State still remained essentially a military zone, hence much of where people go or what they do are governed by the exigencies of security.

He wrote, “Routinely, traders, administration officials and even the UN agencies get the green light to go to many of the areas to avoid trouble.

“Information from security agencies says that the Zabarmari marshlands are infested with land mines and movements in around those areas subject to military oversight.

“No one is delighted with the massacre in Zabarmari and there is nothing anybody will gain by playing blame game.

“The question I tried to answer on BBC was: did the security sign off on the area as being free of mines and terrorists? The honest answer is, no.

I’m human with tons of compassion and empathy, and could not have said that the victims deserved their fate for ignoring security clearance.

“I was merely explaining the mode of military operations in the war zone of the Northeast. There are areas that are still volatile that require security clearance which is intended to put people out of harm’s way.

“When tragedies occur, questions arise in terms of how something happened in order to avoid a recurrence. Informing the military of our movements in an area of volatility and uncertainty is intended to preserve public safety.

“Explaining why something happened doesn’t mean I have no sympathy for the victims. I was just explaining the military procedures on the safe movement of the people and not supporting the death of the victims.”

North-East residents sabotaging military operations – DHQ

The Defence headquarters on its part   said some residents of the North-East sabotaged security operatives’ efforts to combat insurgency in the North-East.

The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Enenche,  said the people kept important intelligence away from the military.

Speaking on the Sunrise Daily programme on Channels Television at 7:30 am on Monday, Enenche explained that the military was working to build better trust with the populace.

But responding to questions on the failure of the military to prevent the attack, Enenche stated, “It’s a concern to us. You need a guide, you need information. Will they tell us? That’s a question that we have to ask. Yes, sometimes. And most times, no.

“And that was one of the issues we have been ensuring to overcome, with civil-military cooperation activities, reaching out to them, even sending people by proxy to talk to them. Those are the things that have been the bane of the final success in the whole of this operation.

“Our patrols will pass through a route, in a village. By the time you are going, some people are looking at you. When you are coming back, the next thing is that you meet an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) planted on the road. And people saw them (terrorists), they won’t tell you. So that’s the area I think we are all working together as stakeholders.”

Something is wrong somewhere, truth can’t be hidden forever – ACF

But the spokesman for the pan-Northern socio-political organisation, the ACF, Mr Emmanuel Yawe, in an interview with The PUNCH, argued that the excuse from authorities was an indication that “there is something wrong somewhere.”

He stated, “It is a national tragedy. As sad as it is, we have in the last one month said all that has to be said about the security situation in the north.

“We can only sympathise and pray for the consolation of families of the victims of the latest carnage and hope the Federal Government will take very serious measures to track and punish the culprits to deter further needless destruction of innocent lives.

“When you read these excuses and compare what the ordinary person on the ground tells us in the ACF, you know there is something wrong somewhere.

“What we know is the power of truth. Both the Holy Quran and the Bible tell us that no matter how long you hide the truth, one day it will be exposed.”

Borno  indigenes in Kaduna under the aegis of Biu Forum also expressed sadness over the massacre of the rice farmers.

The National Chairman of the Forum, Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim-Biu, in a statement on Monday, said the forum strongly appealed to the military and other security agencies to re-jig their intelligence gathering mechanism.

Govt’s attempt to rationalise attack, insensitive – PDP

On its part, the PDP berated  Buhari’s regime for allegedly blaming the murdered Borno rice farmers.

This was contained in a statement titled, ‘Terrorism: PDP berates Buhari presidency for blaming slain farmers…, says, remark smacks of support for Insurgency,” signed by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in Abuja, on Monday.

He said, “The Peoples Democratic Party is alarmed by the reckless and bizarre attempt by the Buhari Presidency to rationalise the gruesome beheading of 43 innocent Nigerians by insurgents in Zabarmari, Borno state.

“The PDP is outraged by the Buhari Presidency’s claims that the farmers were killed because they failed to get clearance before going to their farms; a statement which is also an admission that the Buhari administration has been overwhelmed by terrorists and can no longer guarantee our compatriots a normal life.

“Our party submits that it is weird, reprehensible and repulsive that the Buhari Presidency now seeks to turn itself into a mouthpiece of terrorists by this subtle attempt to rationalise the killing of innocent and hard working Nigerians.”

Ologbondiyan further said, “This unpatriotic stance smacks of support for acts of terrorism and mindless killing of our compatriots by a government whose Commander-In-Chief had promised Nigerians to lead the battle against insurgents from the front.

“Our party is forced to hold that attitudes such as the unpatriotic remark of the Buhari Presidency embolden insurgents in their ceaseless attacks in our country.

“Such also provides further insights into the escalation of acts of terrorism in our country in the last five years.“

The opposition party said it was as shocking that the Buhari Presidency had graduated from making bogus claims of having degraded terrorism to the embarrassing point of blaming unprotected and helpless Nigerians for falling victims of terrorist attacks.

This, the party said, was to say the least, the height of leadership failure of “the lazy, lethargic and incompetent Buhari administration.”

Ologbondiyan also said, “It is therefore insensitive for the Buhari Presidency to have shown this huge lack of empathy, which amounts to a spat on the grave of the slain as well as an unpardonable slap on the faces of the generality of mourning Nigerians.

“Perhaps, this also informs why their party, the All Progressives Congress, has not deemed it fit to have a word of lamentation for the death nor consolation for the bereaved.“

No country will sell arms to Nigeria for romancing terrorists – CSO

Also, the convener of  a civil society group, Concerned Nigerians, Deji Adeyanju, argued that the military did not want the insurgency to end hence the introduction of the de-radicalisation programme.

Adeyanji, in an interview with The PUNCH said, “The military doesn’t want the war to end, that is why they are deploying this strategy of reintegrating, releasing Boko Haram members. “

The Police Service Commission described the  killing of the farmers in Borno State as horrifying and barbaric.

The commission in a statement on Monday by its spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani, said it was disturbed that the victims of the callous act were ordinary and harmless Nigerians who were on their farms to seek their livelihood.

The Alliance for the Survival of Covid 19 and Beyond, led by Mr Femi Falana, SAN, asked  Buhari  to immediately change the service chiefs

ASCAB, a coalition of about 80 labour and civil rights groups, stated this in a statement signed by Falana on Monday, titled, “ASCAB asks Buhari to change service chiefs”

The Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, in an interview with The PUNCH, described Shehu’s explanation as provocative and insensitive.

Also, the Executive Director of CLEEN Foundation, Dr Benson Chinedu Olugbuo, said, “It is a tragedy that we now blame victims when it is the primary responsibility of government to protect lives and property of citizens.”

Meanwhile, the  United States has condemned in the strongest terms the November 28 violent attack in Borno and offered its condolences to the families and friends of those killed or kidnapped.

The US Embassy in a statement on Monday titled, ‘US condemns attack in Borno State,’ said, “The United States offers our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those killed or kidnapped.

PUNCH