Some stakeholders have urged communities in Borno to ‘rise up’ and defend themselves against attacks by Boko Haram insurgents in the state.

Across section of the stakeholders told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri on Sunday that it was time that the people rose against the terrorists who had already been degraded.

Abba Kalli, one of the leaders of the local vigilance group, also known as Borno Civilian JTF,

said that the people must develop courage in fighting the terrorists.

Kalli said that the terrorists lacked sophistication as the military had already degraded them.

“Last week, about five or six of them attacked Mairi village using bicycles, but sadly, they left unchallenged because the residents had fled.

“Our people must begin to fight back, because the terrorists are no longer capable of doing what they were doing before.”

He said his group was working with the state government to sensitise the people to the need to

form clusters at night around communities with a view to repelling the insurgents’ attacks.

Alhaji Jubrin Gunda, the Legal Adviser to the Borno Civilian JTF, agreed with the vigilance group leader.

“We are all living witnesses to what has been happening around here.

“A handful of suspected terrorists will sneak into a community unnoticed and start causing havoc, unchallenged.”

“The truth of the matter is that the military has been able to degrade the Boko Haram terrorists to a level.

“But the insurgents are trying to show the world that they are still around.”

He also said that the terrorists were in the habit of melting into a community using blackmail.

The legal adviser, therefore, advised people in the affected communities to resist attempts by the terrorists to hide in their midst.

“They must resist them by getting information across to the authorities.

“They must also fight back by disallowing them to stay in their communities.”

Dr Bulama Mali-Gubio, the Secretary of the Borno Elders Forum, said that Borno people were known to be warriors from time immemorial.

“Our people have been known to be warriors for a very long time.

“That is why the people have remained in the state in spite of the killings and attacks by the Boko Haram terrorists,” Mali-Gubio, a former Borno Head of Service, said.

He said the terrorists’ capacity to attack had been decimated by the military.

“We are the people on the ground, we know that the terrorists have been technically defeated as they do not have the capacity for mass attack anymore.

“But sometimes a handful of them might want to cause trouble here and there.

“We are warriors, we must find a way of fighting them.

“People in the affected villages must develop synergy with security agents to repel Boko Haram attacks, because the insurgents are no longer strong.”

The Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Garbai, had urged districts heads and other traditional leaders in the state to enlighten the people on the need to be security conscious.

Garbai, who spoke at a security meeting with kingmakers and 58 district heads of the state recently, also advised them to educate people on the need to collaborate with security agencies

toward ensuring peace in the state.

(NAN)

•Photo shows Gov Shettima.

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