Boko Haram has politicians, soldiers as informants — Zulum

Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum has accused certain Nigerian politicians and members of the armed forces of acting as informants and collaborators for Boko Haram insurgents.

Speaking on Wednesday during an interview on News Central’s *Breakfast Central*, Zulum said the state government is working to strengthen its intelligence network to identify and address such sabotage.

“We have informants and collaborators within the Nigerian armed forces, within the politicians, and within the communities. What we shall do is to strengthen our intelligence and to deal with them ruthlessly,” he said.

Zulum also called for an end to politicising security challenges, stating, “Let’s remove contractocracy. In six months, we can put an end to this madness. We need not politicise insecurity.”

On the issue of surrendered insurgents, the governor noted that while not all have fully reformed, most are positively contributing to peace.

“I cannot completely say that 100% of those people who have surrendered are doing the right thing, but I want to assure you that over 99% are doing well and are not participating in the ongoing terrorism,” he said.

He emphasised that military force alone will not end insurgency and highlighted the importance of combining kinetic (military) and non-kinetic (social, political, economic) approaches.

“Insurgency will never be ended by kinetic measures alone. We must ensure that the non-kinetic measures are also properly put in place,” Zulum stated.

“Our ongoing non-kinetic measures have yielded positive results with the support of the Nigerian military.”

The governor acknowledged the challenges of completely reforming all repentant insurgents, saying, “Yes, I believe among the 500,000 or more that have repented, I cannot rule out the possibility of fewer of them going back to the bush.”

Zulum expressed concern over the military’s inadequate equipment for tackling insurgents, noting that the armed forces lack the necessary tools to effectively combat the insurgency.

However, he praised the military for their contributions to peace-building initiatives.

He acknowledged the Nigerian armed forces for their role in supporting non-military efforts to foster peace.

The governor urged President Bola Tinubu to focus on improving ground-level intelligence and relying on expert military guidance.

He stressed the immediate need for a forest guard and stressed that the president should heed advice from knowledgeable professionals.

Zulum cautioned against politicising security issues, urging the president to prioritise input from the army and those with clear expertise.