The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) has said that Boko Haram terrorists and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) insurgents escaping from military onslaught in the North East, Sudan and Niger Republic are perpetrating kidnapping and banditry in other parts of the country
This was disclosed by Kayode Fayemi, NGF Chairman and Governor of Ekiti State on Sunday while speaking with Channels Television.
His statement comes on the heels of the recent killing of farmers in Zabarmari, Borno State, by suspected Boko Haram terrorists.
Fayemi said that the insecurity in the country has gone beyond the North-East as there is a connection between terrorists’ activities in the North-East and the banditry, kidnapping perpetrated in the southern part of the country.
He said, “If a state of emergency were to be declared, I have no opinion on that, we haven’t discussed the state of emergency as far as the Governors’ Forum is concerned. And that is not something that our colleagues who are at the receiving end of the insurgency have proposed to us. Governor (Babagana) Zulum or our North-East colleagues have not said anything about a state of emergency.
“Insurgency is not limited to Borno State. We will be making a mistake if we do not draw a correlation between what is going on in Borno State and what is happening in other parts of the country – banditry, kidnapping, militancy, they are inextricably intertwined. Some of the insurgents that escaped from the Boko Haram territory are the ones prosecuting the banditry in the North-West; some of them are involved in the kidnapping in the South-West.
“The Islamic State West Africa Province insurgents coming down from Sudan, from the Niger Republic are involved in what is going on. How many states are you going to declare a state of emergency on then? So, we must take a holistic view of this.”
Fayemi while making a case for state police said that state governments should have more control over the security of their domains, adding that the Federal Government must prioritise the safety of Nigerians.