Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno, says he is disappointed that security operatives cannot secure a distance of 20 kilometers along the Maiduguri-Damaturu expressway in the state. On Friday, Boko Haram insurgents abducted 35 commuters near Garin Kuturu in Jakana along Damaturu-Maiduguri road. Speaking on Monday when he visited the location of the attack, Zulum said majority of the attacks within the last two years happened between Auno and Jakana, a distance of about 20 kilometers. “I have had occasions to defend the Nigerian military in order to boost the morale of commanders and their troops at the front lines because I know the true picture of things,” he said. “However, I am really disappointed that despite all support from both the federal government and from us in Borno state, our military is failing to secure an area of 20 kilometers, which is the distance between Auno and Jakana. “And incidentally, majority of Boko Haram attacks along this Maiduguri-Damaturu-Kano road, keeps happening between Auno and Jakana. So, if the military cannot secure 20 kilometers, how can they keep us with the hope they will defeat the Boko Haram? “With all you (journalists), we drove from Maiduguri to here, Jakana. We did not see soldiers on the road. We did not see even our own Rapid Response Squad on this road and they were trained, employed, kitted and paid to protect all Nigerians within their areas of operation and these Nigerians include travelers plying this busy and important road.” Zulum, however, assured residents along the road that he would hold a security meeting and come up with more measures to secure the highway. The governor urged the residents to continually support the military by sharing information that would generate credible intelligence on the activities of insurgents.

House of Representatives, Monday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to earmark and release the sum of N3 billion as a special fund for the local production of firearms and ammunition to fight the rising wave of terrorism and insecurity in the country. This, according to the House was to be achieved through the the partnership of Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) and Kaduna National Metallurgical Development Centre (NMDC). The House also requested that a special team of professionals from the two agencies of government involved in the proposed partnership be set up for the the immediate take-off of the pilot project with the mandate to start the production within one year. This was as the parliament also mandated the committee on defence to coordinate the agencies of government involved. The resolution was sequel to the consideration of a motion of urgent national importance, sponsored by Hon. Abdullahi Ibrahim Halims at the plenary. Moving the motion, Halims noted the ugly trend of terrorism and insecurity was becoming unbearable. He said that the ugly development will impact negatively on the socio-economic trajectories of the nation. He said: ”That efforts by the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to import arms and ammunitions from some western countries have met brick walls. To me, this is a clarion call for us to look inwards with the view to harness our abundant human and material resources to commence full local production of arms and ammunition to meet our immediate needs and further drive our local content initiative. ”Dicon Kaduna through the local content initiative produced a military vehicle called Ezeugwu MRAP (mine resistance ambush-protected) which was commissioned by Mr. President some time ago. And today it is been deployed in the battlefield in Borno state with confirmed efficacy and preference is been given to it by our soldiers compared to the imported version due to its efficiency. (the cost far less than the imported version). ”There is already an existing memorandum of understanding (MOU) between these two important agencies of government with the view to achieving this objective. Therefore, the need for this legislative input. The benefits accruable to our country through this initiative will be enormous and indeed unquantifiable. “Among which are – boost research and promote self-reliance in the local production of armory, weapons and other military equipment, conservation of foreign exchange, wealth creation and employment Opportunities for our teeming youths, aid our security agencies to effectively combat crimes and criminality and many other benefits too numerous to mention”. The motion when put to voice vote received the overwhelming support of the House and was therefore adopted.