The Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, on Monday met behind closed doors with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The meeting, it was learnt, afforded the governor the opportunity to brief the President about the recent killings recorded in the state.
The state government had last week confirmed that 81 people were killed in an attack that was carried out on the Gubio Local Government Area of the state.
Seven persons, including a village head, were also said to have been abducted by the insurgents.
In condemning the attack, the Presidency, in a statement by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, had given an indication that the President would be meeting with the state governor on the matter.
Shehu had said the President, who was expecting a detailed briefing by the state governor on the outcome of his visit to the affected communities, said the “primordial nature of the killings is particularly shocking because it happened not long after the Ramadhan and Eid, and the country is preparing to celebrate the Democracy Day.”
In condemning the incident, Buhari charged the armed forces to sustain their “recent string of successes against the terrorists to extract a heavy price from the attackers, and bring back all those they kidnapped as well as the large number of cattle rustled.”
After the Monday meeting, which was held inside the President’s office, Zulum refused to entertain questions from State House correspondents.
As of the time of filing this report, the Presidency had yet to issue a statement on the meeting.
Zulum’s spokesman, Isa Gusau, had in a statement last Wednesday confirmed the casualty figure in the attack and said the governor visited the affected area to commiserate with the people.
He said a survivor informed the governor that “81 residents were killed during the attack on Tuesday with 13 persons injured and seven others, including a village head, abducted.
“While sympathising with the people over the attack, Governor Babagana Zulumu urged the Nigerian military to undertake a final onslaught that should put an end to the insurgency on the shore of Lake Chad.”
