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PHOTOS: Boko Haram distributes cash, Ramadan handouts to Borno, Yobe villagers

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The deadly Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram, has reportedly been moving from one village to another in Yobe and Borno States sharing cash and Ramadan packages to the residents.

The development, which is believed to be a subtle means of recruiting foot soldiers for the insurgents, has been regarded as a worrisome trend.

SaharaReporters identified the insurgents as a faction of Boko Haram – Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), formerly known as Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād).

It also revealed the contents of the distributed Ramadan handouts as foodstuff such as rice, beans, millet, maize, sugar, spaghetti and cash gifts.
“Imagine, they (insurgents) claimed that the gesture was aimed at assisting villagers to perform Ramadan fast and Sallah with ease and happiness, the same villagers they killed their friends and family members,” a source said.

The shocking move comes at a time the country is struggling to contain the alarming cases of insecurity owing to unchecked activities of terrorists, kidnappers as well as bandits which are gradually spreading from the north to different parts of the country.

ISWAP, which broke away from the Abubakar Shekau-led Boko Haram faction in 2016, has roughly doubled in the number using the subtle means to recruit members.

A 2019 report by the International Crisis Group stated that, “Although its leadership has been largely ethnic Kanuri, ISWAP has recruited significantly among lacustrine communities, notably the ethnic Buduma, many of whom earn a living from fishing.”

A senior researcher, Remadji Hoinathy, in May 2019 also noted that “the ideological aspect of the crisis must be dealt with. The ability of the group to recruit is one of the biggest reasons for its expansion, and so a deeper understanding of its recruitment patterns and operating mechanisms is crucial.”

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