We Spent Over N10 Billion To Fight Boko Haram- Borno Govt.

Source: pointblanknews.com

The sum of over ten billion naira have since 2011 been expended to

procure Amourd Personnel Carrier (APC) and other logistics support to the

Police and the Military forces, Borno State has said.

In a statement  Issued by the Secretary to the State Government,Ambassador

Baba Ahmed Jidda , states that fight against the Boko Haram terrorists has

continued to drain the pause of the stage government.

According to the statement, the Borno  state government  wouldn't have

made public its financial assistance to the Nigeria forces if not for some

'  mischief makers, part of which claim that the State was not supporting

the military.
'First of all let me say we were pushed into making public, these things I

am about to say. For three years we dealt with these challenges without

any noise since the Government was doing it for Borno people. Some people

are being made to assume that a certain security vote is provided to State

Governments, this is not true.
'  No State gets a dime from FAAC as security vote. Every State makes its

own budget it intends to spend from its own normal allocations, for

security not that external funds froom the Federal Government accrues to

any State.
' For us in Borno, we have spent over ten billion naira in the last three

years to support security agencies in the counter-insurgency; this doesn't

include our losses. We have lost thousands of citizens and in terms of

material loss, we might be talking in tens of billions and in all of these

Borno has received only N200m from the Federal Government as support even

we have been co-funding the security that is exclusive preserve of the

Federal Government.
' These over ten billion naira has been spent in acquiring and donating

over 20 brand new ultra modern Armoured Personnel Carriers to the Nigeria

Police Force, the Government has acquired and donated about 400 brand new

Toyota Hilux Patrol Vehicles each costing between 6 to 7m, we have a

filling Station that is dedicated to regular fueling of these vehicles,

hundreds of trailers of fuel have obviously been consumed and still being

consumed, we maintain these vehicles, provide material logistics to

troops, we even pay for intelligence through the military by releasing

funds where they request, we have intervened in building hostels in one of

the barracks along Maiduguri-Damaturu road and provided beddings to ease

accommodation problems; we provide funds to families of soldiers killed in

combat as immediate palliative, there were instances we gave one million

naira to families of every soldier at a presentation in Maiduguri. The

only support we have not provided to the military is the acquisition of

ammunition and that is because the laws prevent us from doing so.

The statement added that the state government trained, kitted and employed

thousands of youth volunteers called civilian JTF' who offer tremendous

support to the military in terms of both intelligence gathering and even

combats in front lines. We have provided these youths with patrol

vehicles, pay them stipends, encourage them in other forms and they work

hand in hand with the military. When there was attack on Giwa military

Barack in Maiduguri sometime in March, 2014, these inspired, trained and

kitted youths came out in hundreds and rushed to Giwa barracks to support

soldiers, this was even when gun battles raged at the barracks.'