A
serving Local Government chairman in Borno State has found himself in
more trouble than he can handle after being caught harboring a Boko
Haram militant.
Nigerian soldiers
Shettima Mafa, a serving local government chairman in Borno State,
was last week arrested and detained by the military for allegedly keeping a suspected Boko Haram militant in his Maiduguri home.
News of his arrest, which began as a rumour, suddenly generated an
uproar in the state when it began to trend in the social media.
Premium Times reports the Borno State government confirmed the incident on Sunday, describing it as a “worrisome twist” in the war against Boko Haram insurgency.
At the weekend, the news got to the media that a council chairman,
whose local government was one of the strongholds of Boko Haram, was
picked by the military for allegedly keeping a suspected insurgent in
his house.
He was said to have been picked from his home to the military barracks. He has not been released since then.
The authorities at the 7 Division Nigeria Army, Maiduguri and those
in the Theater Command of Operation Lafiya Dole, have not issued any
statement to this effect.
Apparently embarrassed by the trending news about one of its most
“trusted” council chairmen, the Borno government released a statement on
the matter.
The statement, released by the Ministry for Local Government and
Chieftaincy Affairs, said the government doubted the complicity of the
council chairman in the activities of Boko Haram.
The commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs,
Usman Zanna, said the arrested council chairman had been in the
forefront of assisting security operatives in the fight against Boko
Haram. As such, he should not be the one being linked with the
insurgents.
The Commissioner said he had to speak because his ministry
supervises the chairmen of the 27 local government areas in Borno
State.
Mr. Zanna said, his Ministry “neither questions the judgment
and authority of the military nor exonerates the chairman of any
wrongdoing in order not to preempt the outcome of ongoing
investigation”.
“If not because of media reports on this matter, the Ministry
for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs which oversees the affairs
of the 27 local government areas in Borno State, would have preferred
not to make public comment over a matter that is still being
investigated by our competent and patriotic military establishment
involved in the fight against Boko Haram.
“It has become necessary that this statement is issued in order
to put some records straight. First of all, contrary to media reports,
the caretaker chairman in question was not arrested. He actually
reported himself to the military command in Maiduguri after he got
information that he was needed by the military.
“Secondly, contrary to reports by the media that he was
arrested at the 1,000 housing estate along Maiduguri-Damaturu road,
there was never any issue at all at 1,000 estate. The Chairman lives at
505 housing estate, which is located on an entirely different route,
along Dikwa and Mafa which is the way to the Chairman’s office in Mafa.
“The Chairman actually reported himself to the military last
week and was detained pending the outcome of ongoing investigations
being conducted by the military.
“While we do not intend to question the intelligence gathering,
judgment and authority of the military, to us at the Ministry for Local
Government and Emirate Affairs, the whole development is a worrisome
twist.
“It is a twist because, for years, the caretaker chairman has
been known for his courage in joining hunters to go into front lines to
battle Boko Haram fighters. His commitment in the fight against
insurgents is known to different Army Commanders that served in Mafa
local government area in the last two years. The likes of Major Manga
can bear testimony to this. It is mainly due to his passion for the
fight against insurgency that he has been successively reappointed as
caretaker Chairman of Mafa for renewable term of six months as provided
by laws of Borno State.
“The Chairman is also known to champion the course of citizens
fleeing from communities after attacks by insurgents. From information
available to the military, the Chairman recently got involved in
assisting some citizens trapped in a village within his local government
area and he is believed to have Internally Displaced Persons living in
his residence at 505 estate like most adults in Maiduguri, Jere and
parts of Konduga do have fleeing relatives and friends living with them.
“There is an information that a certain suspected member of the
Boko Haram might have joined some of the citizens he helped last week
but whether he knew the identity of the suspect and deliberately hid him
and for whatever purpose is what we look forward to being determined by
the military.
“This investigation is particularly important to us because it
affects the safety and integrity of the Ministry. As we acknowledge, it
would amount to sitting on a keg of gun powder if anyone dealing with
the Ministry, involves in harbouring any criminal, especially insurgents
that have killed our parents, wives, sons and daughters in addition to
sending our families out of their communities to now live with us in
pains.
“We assure citizens of the 27 local government areas; other
concerned Nigerians and the International community that we are usually
very thorough in identifying those appointed either as local government
chairmen, ward councillors, traditional rulers, vigilantes and members
of the Civilian JTF deployed to the 27 local government areas of Borno
State. As can be confirmed by security agencies, we do not engage any
youth as vigilante or in the Civilian JTF unless he or she is verified
by the Department of State Security in addition to fingerprints and
photographs of everyone captured into a database.
“We anxiously look forward to the outcome of the investigation
while we shall abide by publicly known position of Governor Kashim
Shettima that anyone found having any connection with insurgents is an
enemy of Borno State and it’s people,” Mr. Zanna, said.
No comments:
Post a Comment