Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has expressed worry that some Boko Haram leaders serving jail terms at Maiduguri prison that collapsed might have escaped from the correctional centre following a flood disaster that ravaged Maiduguri, the state capital. Vigil360 reported how flood from a collapsed Alau Dam claimed lives and destroyed properties worth millions of naira in the city including correctional centre.
Accordingly, part of the destruction that was recorded in Maiduguri was the destruction of the old prison by the flood that led to the evacuation of inmates to the new maximum prison where some inmates were suspected to have escaped.
When the Governor was asked during an interview with BBC if he was worried that some Boko Haram leaders might have escaped during the evacuation process?
The Governor responded, “I’m worried, yes, I’m seriously worried. But you also have to bear in mind that Borno State Government has established what we call Borno Model of Rehabilitation that has allowed many insurgents to repent. Within the last two years, over 200,000 Boko Haram members and their families have repented and, I think, this has also yielded positive results in ensuring return of peace and stability to Borno State.”
Zulum decried how the state witnessed another calamity amid its challenging security situation.
“I can remember more than 300,000 people were killed in Borno State, thousands of classrooms were destroyed, hundreds of facilities were destroyed by the insurgency.
The Governor added, “We are just trying to get out of this problem and then now we witnessed another disaster-—a very serious calamity, another serious humanitarian crisis which the state governor cannot shoulder”.
While thanking all and sundry that has sympathised with the state over the disaster, the governor added that the support given to the flood victims was “never enough”.
“There is no way we can provide food to millions of people in one or two hours. So, what we decided is to retreat and organise ourselves. The only way we can organise ourselves is to ensure that the affected victims are resettled in camps. Then we will take the support to the camps, otherwise many will die as a result of receiving food and non-food items in queues,” he said.