Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum has warned that the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) must not be allowed to grow as they are deadlier than Boko Haram.
Zulum spoke at the weekly briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team led by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, on Wednesday, in Abuja.
According to him, “One, I said it before, a growing number of ISWAP in some parts of the state is a matter of great concern to everybody.
“In the shores of Lake Chad, again in southern Borno State. Luckily, I was told there was military deployment yesterday to southern Borno state to fight the insurgents in the Tudun Katarangwa area.
“But I think this is an early warning. We shouldn’t allow ISWAP to grow. ISWAP are more sophisticated, more funded and they are more educated. And we shall do everything possible to defeat ISWAP. Otherwise, what Boko Haram did will be a child’s play. This is an early warning that the Nigerian Army has to restrategise and defeat ISWAP.
“ISWAP will be a threat to the entire nation. Because of its proximity to Sub Saharan Africa, they are coming from Libya and others resettling here.”
Zulum also reiterated his call for engaging mercenaries to complement the efforts of the nation’s security agencies, in tackling insurgency across Nigeria.
According to the governor, there was nothing wrong with government hiring mercenaries to address the challenges of insecurity, particularly in the Northeast zone of the country.
“While the challenge of insecurity is being solved gradually, it is not yet over. I have said it times without number that in addition to what we are doing, there is a need for government to rethink and look into the possibility of hiring mercenaries.
“I have said it times without number, there’s nothing wrong. America, Britain many more countries that are stronger than Nigeria, used to seek support from outside. There’s nothing wrong because this problem has been compounded.
“And it’s not easy for us to solve the security challenges that we’re having now. While Nigeria is providing a lot of things, the federal government is buying equipment, there is the need for us to seek support from external agencies, to defeat these insurgents once and for all, before the matter reaches other parts of the nation.
“This is very important whether we like it or not, we have an existing gap that we need to fill and this gap by now cannot be filled without external support’’, Zulum said.
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