By Abiola Olawale
Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has raised an alarm over an escalation in the Boko Haram insurgency, revealing that the terrorists are now deploying sophisticated armed drones in their attacks against military formations and civilian communities.
Zulum specifically cited intelligence suggesting that recent deadly assaults, including one in the Wulgo area, were carried out with the support of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
Speaking in Mafa after an attack by the insurgents, Zulum urged the Federal Government to take immediate steps to review and strengthen Nigeria’s airspace security to counter the new threat.
“The major issue I want to raise here is the use of drones. I was informed that they used drones in Dikwa. This is extremely worrisome,” Zulum said.
He warned that the proliferation of drones in the hands of enemies of the state posed a grave danger to national security and called for urgent inter-agency collaboration to curb the emerging trend.
“The increasing use of drones by adversaries is highly dangerous. We must come together and act decisively to tackle this new dimension,” the governor stated.
Zulum also emphasised the need to tighten border security and enhance Nigeria’s aerial defence systems, stressing that such measures must be implemented without delay.
“We need to improve the protection of our airspace. This is an urgent step that should not be delayed,” he added.
The governor further appealed to residents of Borno to cooperate with security agencies by sharing credible intelligence that could help prevent future attacks.
“Frankly, we received information that there would be an attack in Mafa, and all the relevant security agencies were duly informed. That’s why I suspect there might be internal sabotage somewhere in the system, and it must be investigated and corrected,” Zulum added.
