* As Ndume urges Tinubu to engage services of military contractors (mercenaries)
Boko Haram terrorists, on Monday in Ngoshe, Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, launched a fresh attack that resulted in the slaughter of six farmers and abduction of five, including women.
During the attack, the commander of Civilian JTF in the area, Jubril Dada Zarana, was killed by the terrorists.
No military personnel were reported dead. Try as they did, they could, however, not repel the attackers.
The fresh attack came weeks after the same terrorists killed many civilians in a bomb blast. Hundreds of other civilians were injured, according to Filibus Yakubu, councilor representing Ngoshe ward, Gwoza Local Government Area, in a telephone conversation with newsmen.
Yakubu said the terrorists sneaked in on the farmers while they were busy with their farming activities, explaining that security agents (Army and CJTF) “tried their best to protect the people, but they could not hold them for long.”
“Jubril Dada Zarana was killed with honor while defending his people and the other victims,” he said.
“The Boko Haram terrorists released three women from which this information was obtained. The released women further stated that the victims are being kept hostage by the terrorists,” Yakubu added.
“Moreover, some people were still missing as at this time that we’re 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 are not part of the ones abducted.
“It is Independence Day, a day of celebration of freedom, human rights, progress, and unity. But for our people, it is a day of sorrow, despair, infringement, destitution, helplessness, and total dilemma.
“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.
“The little farming on which they put their hope for survival, they have to put their lives on the line in order to harvest what they have planted. People of Ngoshe and the neighbouring villages (Gava, Agapalawa, Amuda, Chinene, Chikide, Dhugwade, Kwadale, Bokko, Barawa, Kughum, etc) only God can come to our aid. Part of the people of the aforementioned villages are currently living in Ngoshe.
“May Allah have mercy on the deceased. May Allah free the abducted. May Almighty God release the missing people. May Almighty Allah grant us lasting peace in our Gwoza, Borno State, and Nigeria at large.”
Meanwhile, the senator representing Borno South in the National Assembly, Mohammed Ali Ndume, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to temporarily hire the services of military contractors to wipe out the remnants of Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State.
Ndume, who hailed the gallant performance of the military and Civilian JTF, said they’re ill-equipped to carry out the task of eliminating the remaining insurgents who operate within.
He said the superpower of the world hired military contractors to aid them in their warfare. He listed the United States of America, Russia, the United Kingdom, and France, among others, as countries that often engage the services of military contractors.
In the long run, he said able-bodied Nigerian youths can be drafted to raise the number of military men in the country to at least one million.
Ndume lamented that the farmers who are the regular victims of the attacks are being forced by Boko Haram terrorists to abandon their farming harvest at a time when the country is facing a serious food crisis.
“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 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’ll 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. But in the interim, I think the President should consider this option of hiring military contractors,” Ndume, who is currently away in Benin Republic for an ECOWAS Parliament engagement, stated in a telephone conversation.
