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| Baba Kaka Bashir Garbai (Senator, Borno Central) |
The Northern Inter-Faith
Religious Organizations for Peace, has blasted the Senator representing Borno
Central, Baba Kaka Garbai for his claims that Boko Haram still controls 50
percent of the state.
Leadership
newspaper report continues:
The
clerics said from his comments, it is obvious that Garbai is sympathetic to the
terror group.
Speaking
at a press conference, National Spiritual Leader of the group, Bishop Musa
Phomson said thankfully, the Borno State Governor and the highest ranking
Senator from the State, Senator Ali Ndume have condemned Senator Kaka
Garbai, for the alarmist claim that half of the state is still under Boko Haram
control.
He
however said the comment by Garbai must be investigated by the Department of
State Security and the police as it represents a deliberate propaganda by some
individuals to create disharmony within the military command and could well be
one of the strategies used in building new cells and recruiting young persons
into the ranks of the terrorists.
Phomson
said it is obvious that following the annihilation of the terrorists by the
military, the political wings have now stepped up their attacks in an attempt
to demoralize the gallantry of the troops
He
said, “The fallout of the political Boko haram is the on-going vituperation by
those acting the script. We have read what they put out in the public space to
mislead the public by suggesting that ‘Operation Lafiya Dole’, the Army
operations against the insurgents is at variance with the overall military command
as embodied by the Defence Headquarters. They even went as far as insinuating
rivalry between the Chief of Army Staff and the Chief of Defence Staff to make
things look like the CDS is being outshined by the successes of the Army in
curtailing the war against terrorism.
“There
are even the outrageous speculations that there are arrangements to use the
present crop of soldiers on the battle field, who are being coordinated by the
Army leadership, to visit the President with all sorts of negative stories just
to disconnect the President/Commander-in- Chief from his Service Chiefs and
when it was not forthcoming one of them rushed to town with the story that
Borno is under the control of Boko Haram.
“To
us, the Senator’s conflicting information is not the product of error but a
desired trajectory meant to be part of a campaign of disinformation in support
of Boko Haram’s propaganda. This is proof to those fighting the insurgency that
the political content is still active and growing strong even when those
fighting terrorists are being degraded. This clearly indicates that the fight
must again scale up on intelligence gathering.”
He
commended the Nigerian Army under the leadership of the Chief of Army Staff,
Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai as their gallantry made it possible for the
liberation of the communities formally under the control of the terrorists.
He
further commended General Buratai’s prompt inquisition into the attacks on
Dalori, Mairi and Malari communities in Konduga area of Borno state, saying it
demonstrated that the Army acknowledges attempts by the terrorists to regroup.
He
however expressed concern thar while the terrorists are being decimated at the
war front, the political content of the insurgency has stepped up its
attacks that come in form of media propaganda, planting of stories to divert
attention from the war scenes and hijacking legitimate platforms and assets to
attempt creating panic and public hysteria.
He
said, “The military, particularly the Army must work on the intelligence so
gathered to nip the activities of these political collaborators of Boko Haram
in the bud.
“We
have raised this concern because, beyond spreading terrorists’ propaganda, the
kind of utterances from Senator Garbai and others who may take this kind of dangerous
descent with him have strong impact to emotionally terrorize IDPs and take away
the last thing they hold unto, the hope that they will be able to return to
their homelands. This must not be allowed to happen. The faces we saw in those
camps are not just in need of relief materials. They are in need of
reassurances that all is being done to return their lives into balance.
“May we also appeal to the
Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin to debunk the
damaging rumour that these Boko Haram political elements have put in the public
space since such stories about cracks in the military constitute recruitment
marketing for the terrorists.”
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