Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, has been in Damasak, from Thursday to Friday, after the town was attacked on Tuesday, by Boko Haram insurgents.
A press statement issued by the Governor’s special adviser on Media, Isa Gusau, said Zulum travelled with Senator Abubakar Kyari, representing Borno North and who hails from Damasak.
While there, the governor held meetings with soldiers and other security forces, after which he presented 12 security vehicles, which included Armoured Personnel Carriers ( APCs), and 11 patrol vehicles, to strengthen the armed forces and volunteers, helping in the fight against insurgents in
Damasak, the headquarters of Mobbar Local Government Area in northern Borno, is located on the fringes of Lake Chad and shares a border with the Niger Republic.
Boko Haram had occupied Damasak in 2014 as one of their caliphates.
The insurgents seem interested in the town, apparently for its strategic access to raising funds through agriculture and for land routes to the Niger republic.
The statement added that, with Zulum spending the night at Damasak, ends speculation that the town had fallen to insurgents’ occupation.
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During his stay in Damasak, Zulum had interactions with soldiers and others forces involved in the counter insurgency operations.
The Governor also interacted with the residents, empathized with them, and assessed destructions caused by insurgents.
Thousands of residents who had fled to border communities in the Niger Republic returned on Friday.
Governor Zulum confirmed from the residents, that 18 people had died, with 21 injured, and he saw several property destroyed.
The UN humanitarian hub, private residential houses, a police station, the palace of the district head, a primary healthcare center, and a GSM Village were among the property destroyed.
The insurgents attacked the town with three gun-trucks, residents told Governor Zulum.
Tuesday’s attack on Damasak was the sixth in two weeks, by the Boko Haram/ISWP groups, residents recalled
Zulum assured of robust measures being put in place to avert future attacks on Damasak town, by the insurgents.
The Governor directed the strengthening of agricultural activities in Damasak, and he assessed a rice farm, which his administration facilitates, to enhance food security.
Editor : Paul Akhagbemhe
