Zulum Orders Nine Armoured Personnel Carriers for Nigeria-Niger Border

Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri

Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, has ordered for nine armoured personnel carriers (APCs) for police operations in Malam-Fatori, a Nigerian border town with the Niger Republic.

Malam-Fatori, which was occupied by Boko Haram terrorists in 2014, is the headquarters of Abadam Local Government Area in Borno State, and has a number of communities sharing borders with Niger Republic. Insurgents had controlled the place for about six years before the military liberated it, but so far, without civilian population.

Zulum yesterday in Maiduguri inspected the first batch of three of the nine APCs, with more expected to arrive in the state capital later. He carried out the inspection in company of the state commissioner of police, Mr. Abdu Umar.

During the assessment tour of the APCs, Zulum said: “While the Borno State Government procured nine of the armored vehicles, the Inspector General of Police (IG) approved the installations of arms and ammunition on them,” since the state government has no constitutional powers to acquire such arms.

Zulum noted that the APCs would hopefully enhance operations of a special police unit towards the restoration of civil authority in Malam-Fatori in order to compliment the Nigerian military.

The governor had last month led residents and government officials to embark on the clearance of Malam-Fatori to pave way for the reconstruction of public facilities and private homes towards safe and voluntary resettlement of residents, who had fled to Niger Republic since 2014 in the wake of the Boko Haram attacks.

Zulum has in the last two years distributed about 1,000 surveillance vehicles to the military, other security agencies and volunteers in the state ongoing peace-building efforts.