Ndume tasks Tinubu on release of 400 abducted Borno community residents

From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja

Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has raised fresh alarm over the fate of more than 400 abducted residents of Ngoshe community, urging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately scale up federal intervention to secure their release and rebuild the ravaged town.

Speaking to journalists on Monday, Ndume said the victims, mostly women and children, were taken last month when insurgents from Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad stormed Ngoshe in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, razing homes and overrunning military formations.

The lawmaker warned that despite the Nigerian Army’s subsequent recapture of the community, residents remain displaced and anxious, with many currently taking refuge in Pulka but eager to return home.

“It is on record that the Nigerian Army has recovered Ngoshe and now occupies it, yet over 400 of our people remain in captivity,” Ndume said. “This is a painful reminder that we have not lived up to our constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and property.”

He called on the federal government to urgently intensify efforts to rescue those held captive, while also fast-tracking the reconstruction and resettlement of the destroyed community.

Going further, he urged the Tinubu administration to deploy key federal agencies, including the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), and the Ministry of Housing, to complement the Borno State Government’s intervention.

According to him, the state government has already committed N100 million towards immediate rehabilitation, but requires federal backing to ensure a coordinated and sustainable response.

“From my interactions with the people, they are willing to return immediately, even if it means living in temporary shelters,” he said. “They prefer to rebuild their lives in Ngoshe rather than remain in camps in Pulka.”

The lawmaker also commended troops of the Nigerian Army for what he described as “exceptional gallantry” in reclaiming the community, despite operational challenges. He, however, reiterated his long-standing call for improved military support through what he termed the “TEAM” strategy; Training, Equipment, Ammunition, and Mobilisation.

Expanding the scope of intervention, Ndume appealed to the international community, particularly the United States, to intensify surveillance and pressure on known terrorist strongholds in Borno State, including Sambisa Forest, the Mandara Mountains, and the Lake Chad region.

He stressed that counter-insurgency efforts must be sustained and not intermittent, warning that recent gains risk being reversed.

The senator further urged President Tinubu to reinvigorate his November declaration of emergency on security, noting that the initial momentum has waned.

“That proclamation, which was widely applauded, appears to have lost steam,” Ndume said. “Insurgents who initially retreated have returned to attack vulnerable communities. The President must act decisively to demonstrate that Nigeria will no longer be a safe haven for terrorists.”