The Senator representing Borno South Senatorial districts, Mohammed Ndume on Sunday lamented the surge in killings across the state, while stating that Civilian Joint Task Force and vigilantes cannot complement the effort of the military effectively using the provided “dane guns and sticks”

His comments follow a Friday night attack in Darajamal, a community in Bama Local Government Area of the state which led to the death of 58 civilians and five soldiers

In a statement by the lawmaker, he called for the deployment of technology, equipment, arms and ammunition, motivation in the fight against insurgency

He also advocated for the establishment of an armed community defence to complement the efforts of the military.

The statement reads in part,” In the past few months, several communities in Borno South, North and Central Senatorial Districts remained under siege by Boko Haram/ISWAP. The situation is worrisome

“Let me therefore use this opportunity to advocate for the setting up of Armed Community Defence to complement the efforts of the military.

“This is because men of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), hunters and vigilantes have been doing their best, but they have limitations, as they only carry dane guns, sticks, which they find very difficult to confront the terrorists” he said

Ndume, however called on the Federal Government to prioritise the security, safety and welfare of all Nigerians in this trying moment.

“More so, I want to reiterate my calls on the federal government and the Nigerian Military to deploy Technology, Equipment, Arms and Ammunition, Motivation (TEAAM), which is the only way to end the over-decade Boko Haram atrocities in Borno, North East and other parts of the country,” Ndume stated.

He appealed to the people of the state to continue to cooperate with the military and other security agencies, particularly in information sharing on the modus operandi of terrorists.

It could be recalled that the governor of the state, Babagana Zulum during a condolence visit to the community on Saturday evening lamented the shortage of military manpower while calling for the deployment of the newly trained forest guards

“We have to take note that the numerical strength of the military is not enough to cover everywhere, so far so good, two sets of Forest Guards have been trained, therefore one of the solutions that we need to implement immediately is to deploy the trained Forest

“Guards to most of the locations that are vulnerable, they will protect the forest and communities,” Ndume said. (PUNCH)