Presidential Spokesperson, Garba Shehu has cleared the air on his earlier statement on the Borno Massacre; calling it ‘a misconception.’
Following Saturday’s Boko Haram gruesome massacre against farmers killed at least 110 people, the United Nations said, raising tolls initially indicating 43.
Garba Shehu while reacting to the incident told the BCC Newsday that the farmers should have obtained military clearance before resuming farming activities in the area.
“The truth has to be said. Was there any military clearance from the military who are in total control of the area?” Mr. Shehu queried. “Did anybody ask to resume activity?”
“So ideally, all of these places ought to probably be allowed to pass through proper military clearance before resettlement or even farmers resuming activities on those fields,” he said.
His statement did not go down well with a lot of Nigerians who saw the response as inhumane and an attempt by the government to shun responsibility and blame the victims.
Many Nigerians took to their social media to criticize Shehu and the Presidency.
Garba Shehu told the BBC that the FG liberated the entire Borno state from Boko Haram but those farmers should have obtained military clearance before resuming farming activities in the area. 110 people killed and @GarShehu is blaming them for their murder.
— Ayobami (@dondekojo) November 30, 2020
https://twitter.com/DrOlufunmilayo/status/1333336640543207429?s=20
Responding to the criticism his statement generated, Garba Shehu has taken to his social media page to express his sympathy and clear the air on what he called a misconception.
He said Borno is a military zone, and the military had been regulating activities, assessing risks and safety of certain zones before giving people green light to go there.
The Zabarmari lands however were infested with land mines and was a dangerous environment.
Garba Shehu’s full statement is below:
Today, I found myself leading the trends in the social media for the wrong reasons.
— Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) November 30, 2020
“Today, I found myself leading the trends in the social media for the wrong reasons.
The State of Borno is essentially a military zone up till now that we are talking and much of what people do; much of where they go are governed by the exigencies of security.
Routinely, traders, administration officials and even UN agencies get the green light to go to many of the areas to avoid trouble.
Information from security agencies says that the Zabarmari marshlands are infested with land mines and movements in around those areas subject to military oversight.
No one is delighted with the massacre in Zabarmari and there is nothing anybody will gain by playing blame games.
The question I tried to answer on BBC was: did the security sign off on the area as being free of mines and terrorists? The honest answer is, no.
I’m human with tons of compassion and empathy, and could not have said that the victims deserved their fate for ignoring security clearance.
I was merely explaining the mode of military operations in the war zone of the Northeast. There are areas that are still volatile that require security clearance which is intended to put people out of harm’s way.
When tragedies occur, questions arise in terms of how something happened in order to avoid future recurrence. Informing the military of our movements in an area of volatility and uncertainty is intended to preserve public safety.
Explaining why something happened doesn’t mean I have no sympathy for the victims. I was just explaining the military procedures on the safe movement of the people and not supporting the death of the victims.”
