The Senator representing Borno Central senatorial zone, Baba Kaka Garbai, has alleged that Nigerian military authorities had a premonition of the Saturday, January 30, attack on the village of Dalori in which scores of villagers were killed by Boko Haram insurgents.
In the attack which took place at night, a witness who escaped by hiding on a tree spoke to the Associated Press and recounted how children were set ablaze by the insurgents.
Speaking when he paid a condolence visit to the village on Saturday with relief materials, Garbai said “I feel highly demoralized, devastated in the sense that this is the village we came during the election and they were going about their normal business. The activities that were ongoing was like confidence building.
“They actually got the signal a few days before the attack that the insurgents were likely to attack them, they reported to the constituted authorities but nothing was done.”
He also said it was a lie that the capability of the insurgents had been degraded, stating that the insurgents still hold half of the troubled state.
He added: “It is a wrong assumption that most of the local governments in Borno are recaptured from the Boko Haram. In reality this is not true in the sense that apart from Maiduguri Metropolis, Bayo and Kwaya Kusar, these are the three local government that are under the occupation of the Nigerian government where the military and police are maintaining law and order.
“Mobbar, Abadam and Kala Balge are 100 percent occupied by the insurgents. There are some local governments that are partially occupied by the insurgents especially as the local government secretariats have been liberated but their hither-lands are still controlled by the insurgents.”
He also advised against the planned relocation and rehabilitation of Internally-Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their original villages and towns, urging the Federal Government to wait till normalcy is returned to the areas.