The Presidency on Monday said the Zambari killing in which 43 farmers were slaughtered would have been avoided if only the affected 43 farmers killed by Boko Haram on Saturday had made attempts to obtain military clearance to be on the rice farms in the first place.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the 43 farmers that were killed by Boko Haram didn’t have the necessary military clearance to be at the race farms.
Shehu who made this revelation in an interview with BBC on Monday said event though he was not blaming the victims, he however believe that the truth should also be told.
Garba Shehu who said the federal government was unhappy over the development said the killings was heartless.
He said: “Forty-three or thereabout of innocent farm workers, most of them had their throats slit by a heartless band of terrorists, he said.
“Much of the area has 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.”
Garba Shehu also noted that all of the designated farmlands and other determined places ought to pass the test of military clearances before farmers or settlers could resume economic activities on those fields.
The SSA to the president lamented that terrorists has planted land mines in several of those farmlands and other places in Borno State.
Consequently, he averred that based on this reality, people ought to go to secure necessary military clearance before venturing to those far-flung places and other determined areas in Borno state.
“When people are willing to go back, a lot of those spaces are to be cleared and cast as being OK for human habitation or agricultural activity,” he added.
