Minister blames Lake Chad Basin for renewed Boko Haram attacks

Romanus Ugwu, Abuja

The Federal Government has blamed the resurgence of Boko Haram insurgents on the “remnants” operating within the Lake Chad Basin, insisting that the dreaded insurgents have been totally degraded.

Speaking with newsmen in Abuja after the groundbreaking ceremony and unveiling of the prototype design of the technology building to house the command and control centre of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau, said the project when completed would facilitate efficiency in the security of the country.

Asked to justify the claim that Boko Haram has been degraded, Dambazau said: “Of course, there is no doubt that Boko Haram has been degraded. Don’t forget the fact that in 2015 when this government came in, about 14 local governments were under Boko Haram control. That is not the case today.

“What is happening now is just within the Lake Chad Basin; and don’t forget that it is the responsibility of four countries – Nigeria, Cameron, Niger and Chad – and this is where we have Lake Chad Basin Authority.

“So, to be able to deal with this, this is why President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, was in Chad to discuss this fundamental issue on how to deal with the situation. You know the fact that some of them (Boko Haram) launched these aggressive attacks from the territory of Chad or Niger. So, absolutely to deal with this situation requires the efforts of the four countries, and this is precisely why the President is in Chad to discuss the issue.”

He said the essence of establishing the technology building is to bring all the data under one roof.

“First, it will protect our data; second, to have easy access to the data and thirdly, to be sure that by doing that we facilitate the efficiency in terms of service delivery.”

On how the technology building will address some of the security challenges the country is facing, he said: “One of the major problems the country is facing is cross-border criminal activities, trafficking in arms, trafficking in drugs, human trafficking and terrorism.

“These activities are done by human beings and there is human beings across borders. So security-wise, we will be able to distinguish between the right persons and the wrong persons.

“There is going to be an interface with Interpol, and above all, we will be able to capture the data of every human being coming into the country and going out. We also going to capture data of every Nigerian citizens and this certainly will go a long way in facilitating efficiency in terms of security of our country.”