Zabarmari: Killed Borno rice farmers didn’t get military clearance – Presidency

The Presidency has blamed the 43 rice farmers killed in Borno over the weekend for not getting military clearance before going to their farms.

Recall that during the weekend, the Boko Haram insurgents had beheaded no fewer than 43 rice farmers in Zabarmari, Borno State, about 20 kilometres from Maiduguri, the state capital.

The United Nations described the attack as “the most violent attack” targeted at civilians in 2020.

Speaking with the BBC on Monday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said that the farmers should have waited for military clearance before proceeding to the farms.

He explained though the military is in “full control” of all parts of Borno, the farmers and residents ought to get clearance before visiting certain areas.

Mr Shehu, however, blamed the farmers the incident, saying they shouldn’t have gone to the farms without clearance.

According to him: “people need to understand what it is like in the Lake Chad area. Much of those areas have been liberated by Boko Haram terrorists but there are a number of spaces that have not been cleared for the return of villagers who have been displaced.

“Ideally, all of these places ought to probably be allowed to pass the test of military clearance before settlers or even farmers resume activities on those fields.”

When the BBC clarified if he was blaming the farmers for the attack, Shehu said: “Not exactly, but the truth has to be said.

“Is there any clearance by the military which is in total control of those areas? Did anybody ask to resume activities? I have been told by the military leaders that they have not been so advised.”

He argued visiting certain places in the north-east, which has come under the weight of Boko Haram insurgency for more than 10 years, is “a window that the terrorists have exploited”.

“The military is not present on every inch of space in that area,” he said, adding: “Even if the people are ready to go back, some of these areas have been mined and mine clearance has to be carried out first.”