Borno Governor Seeks Renewed Military Push After  Lamenting Gaps in Security Response to Boko Haram Gains

By Abdulkareem Haruna

ABUJA, Nigeria – Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, who earlier this week publicly decried the Nigerian military’s efforts to contain a resurgence of Boko Haram that he said had led to the insurgents gaining control of three local government areas, held a series of urgent, closed-door meetings with Nigeria’s top military commanders in Abuja on Thursday.

Zulum met separately with the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Olufemi Olatubosun Oluyede, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Bala Abubakar, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

The high-level engagements came just two days after an expanded security meeting in Maiduguri, where Zulum voiced strong concerns about the escalating attacks on both civilian and military targets, warning that the security situation in Borno was spiraling out of control.

During that meeting in the state capital, Maiduguri, located in Nigeria’s restive northeast, Zulum had lamented what he described as a failure to adequately protect the state, pointing to the recent territorial gains by Boko Haram. His blunt assessment represented a significant public challenge to the military’s narrative on the progress of the counter-insurgency operations.

Sources indicate that Thursday’s discussions in Abuja focused on forging a renewed and more coordinated military strategy to combat the insurgents in the Northeast. Key areas of discussion reportedly included strengthening ongoing military operations, improving the crucial sharing of intelligence between various security agencies, and directly addressing the recent increase in Boko Haram attacks that prompted Zulum’s public outcry.

Governor Zulum was accompanied to the Abuja meetings by a powerful delegation of Borno State political leaders, underscoring the gravity of the security situation as perceived by the state government.

The delegation included the senators representing Borno South, Mohammed Ali Ndume, Borno North, Mohammed Tahir Monguno, and Borno Central, Barrister Kaka Shehu Lawan. Also present were members of the House of Representatives, Mukhtar Betera Aliyu and Engr Bukar Talba, as well as the Borno State Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, Professor Usman Tar.

The presence of such a high-ranking delegation alongside the governor highlights the growing pressure on the federal government and the military to demonstrably reverse the recent setbacks in the fight against the long-standing Boko Haram insurgency, particularly in Borno State, which has borne the brunt of the violence for over a decade.

The outcome of these crucial meetings remains to be seen, but they signal a potentially significant shift in the approach to the deteriorating security landscape in the region.