The Nigerian government has said that the 43 farmers gruesomely murdered by the deadly Islamic terrorists, Boko Haram were not cleared to be on the rice farm.
Recall that about 43 farmers were slaughtered in the northern state of Borno on Saturday, with UN reports claiming that about 110 villagers were killed during the attack.
In an interview with the BBC on Monday, the President Major General Muhamadu Bihari’s (retd) Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said there must be military clearances before farmers or settlers resume activities on those fields.
During the interview, Shehu who denied blaming the farmers questioned their presence on the farmland without military clearance, stating that “the truth has to be said.”
Shehu said, “The government is sad that this tragic incident has happened. 43 or thereabout of innocent farmworkers, most of them had their throats slit by a heartless band of terrorists. People need to know what it is like in the Lake Chad Basin area.
“Much of those areas have been liberated from Boko Haram terrorists but there are a number of spaces that have not been cleared for the return of villagers who have been displaced. So, ideally, all of these places ought to pass the test of military clearances before farmers or settlers resume activities on those fields.”
When asked if he was not blaming the farmers for going to the area, Shehu responded, “Not exactly but the truth has to be said. Was there any clearance by the military which is in total control of those areas? Did anybody ask to resume activity? I have been told by the military leaders that they had not been so advised and certainly, therefore, it was a window that the terrorists exploited.”
The President’s spokesman said terrorists had planted land mines in several places in Borno State and nobody ought to go to these places until the military has cleared such places.
He added, “The military is not present in every inch of space in that area. Even if the people are willing to go back, a lot of those areas have been mined and mine clearance needs to be carried out and those areas must be cast as being ok for human habitation or agricultural activity.”
