BEVERLY HILLS, January 08, (THEWILL) – Persons internally displaced from Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State have contradicted a recent claim by the Federal Government and the military that no town is currently under the control of Boko Haram terrorists.
The IDPs, who noted that Gwoza and other towns within the area were still being held by the sect, claimed that they were being pressured by the federal government through the National Emergency Agency, NEMA, and the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, to return to their various communities in order to prove that the insurgents had been defeated.
Chairman of the IDPs camp in New Konchingoro, a suburb in Abuja, Mr. Filimo Emmanuel, made these assertions yesterday when Senator Dino Melaye, who is the Chairman Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory, FCT, celebrated his birthday with them.
According to him, “NEMA and the NHRC have continually told us we will go back to our villages that Boko Haram has been pushed out of our villages, which is not true.
“No military went to our villages. There is no military in Gwoza as our villages is controlled by Boko Haram. We are begging you to take our complaints to the National Assembly. You can help us to talk to the Chief of Army Staff so that he can send soldiers to our villages to flush out the insurgents. If we are able to confirm that Boko Haram has been flushed out from our villages, even, tomorrow, we are ready to go back.”
Meanwhile, the federal government has expressed its commitment towards restoring calm and normalcy to the troubled northeast and the country at large, noting that sustaining peace in the much devastated region is as good as winning the war against terrorism.
Minister of Interior, Gen. Abdulraman Dambazau (rtd), who disclosed this yesterday in Abuja while playing host to a delegation from the West Africa Conflict and Security Team, stressed that the activities of Boko Haram in the north-east have become a national headache.
According to him, “We know that the ministry has been up and doing in dealing with insurgency in the north-east but it does not stop at winning the war but also winning the peace.
“This is where the Ministry of Interior comes in. We want to assure you that we will do everything possible to support you to bring back peace in that region after the military would have won the war.
“So, for us here, whatever we can do to add value to the effort you are making we are ready to do that. Like I said, terrorism is a global problem and terrorism is beyond the north-east.”
