Shetima lauds military recapture of areas from insurgents

Governor Kashim Shetima of Borno has commended the gallantry of the Nigerian military in recapturing some of the areas that were taken over by Boko Haram.

Shetima made the commendation in an interview with newsmen in Gombe on Friday.

He said that government would give the military all the moral and logistic support to accomplish the set goals.

``We commend them for the gallantry they have displayed in recovering some of the lost territories. We can only give them all the moral and logistic support for them to accomplish their goals.

``They have families, blood in their veins and are risking their lives for us to have sound sleep.

``I think they deserve to be commended not to be condemned, they need our support’’, he said.

According to the governor, Borno is the largest state in the federation in terms of land mass and the insurgents had a territory of more than 69,000 square kilometres.

``It’s the issue of hit and run; by and large, the military plus their counterpart from Niger, Chad and Cameroon, recorded a tremendous success’’, he said.

The governor said the insurgents had been driven out of Northern Borno and had also been squeezed into a tiny corridor towards the Sambisa forest.

He attributed the development to the precarious situation in parts of Southern Borno such as Gwoza, Chibok, Damboa, Hawul as well as Kaga in Northern Borno.

``It is a huge and vast land, huge territory largely semi-arid, these are sons and daughters of the soil who know the terrain very well.

``They can easily manipulate, it is easier to destroy than to build, it is easier to kill than to nurture a child.

``They get out of their way to foment mischief; Borno is gradually regaining her rightful place as a home of peace’’, he said.

According to Shetima, Maiduguri is relatively more peaceful than Lagos for now, and most of the displaced people in the state might likely cast their votes in the state capital.