3 Borno council deserted as Boko Haram, soldiers face off
At least three local government councils in Borno State have been left deserted because of the deteriorating security situation in the areas, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Abdulkareem Lawan, stated on Thursday.
The local government areas are Guzamala, Marte, and Abadam, all in the northern part of Borno State, which suffered serious devastations owing to over 11 years of Boko Haram activities.
The speaker stated this less than 24 hours after reports emerged that at least nine soldiers and an unconfirmed number of Boko Haram fighters under the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) lost their lives in two separate confrontations in Magumeri and Kukawa LGAs on Tuesday
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When contacted on Thursday, the Coordinator Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche, refused to comment on the development.
Daily Times gathered from Daily Trust that a serious battle ensued on Tuesday when Nigerian troops confronted dozens of ISWAP fighters who wanted to take over a military base in Magumeri town in the northern part of Borno State.
Sources said the fighters who had killed at least 9 soldiers were later subdued and more than 20 of them were killed following the arrival of troops from Maiduguri.
The Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Abdulkareem Lawan, said there was no single soldier or civilian living in Guzamala LGA, which has its headquarters in Gudumbali, located approximately 125 kilometres north of the state capital, Maiduguri.
He said there was an urgent need for the federal government to deploy more troops to secure the northern part of the state to enable thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to return home.
