Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has expressed concern that some Boko Haram leaders serving jail terms may have escaped from the correctional facility in the state following a devastating flood that hit Maiduguri, the state capital.
The flood caused loss of life and extensive damage to property, worth millions of naira, in the city.
It also affected a portion of the old prison, from which many inmates were relocated to the new maximum security prison in Maiduguri.
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Reports indicate that during the evacuation, some inmates may have escaped.
When interviewed by the BBC, Governor Zulum confirmed his worry that some Boko Haram leaders might have escaped.
He said, “I’m worried, yes, I’m seriously worried. But you also have to bear in mind that Borno State Government has established what we call Borno Model of Rehabilitation that has allowed many insurgents to repent. Within the last two years, over 200,000 Boko Haram members and their families have repented and, I think, this has also yielded positive results in ensuring return of peace and stability to Borno State.”
Zulum lamented that the state faced yet another disaster amid its already difficult security situation.
“I can remember more than 300,000 people were killed in Borno State, thousands of classrooms were destroyed, hundreds of facilities were destroyed by the insurgency.
“We are just trying to get out of this problem and then now we witnessed another disaster-—a very serious calamity, another serious humanitarian crisis which the state governor cannot shoulder,” he said.
The governor added that the assistance provided to the flood victims was “insufficient.”
“There is no way we can provide food to millions of people in one or two hours. So, what we decided is to retreat and organise ourselves. The only way we can organise ourselves is to ensure that the affected victims are resettled in camps. Then we will take the support to the camps, otherwise many will die as a result of receiving food and non-food items in queues,” he said
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