The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, has said 43 rice farmers who were killed by Boko Haram in Zabarmari village of Borno State, failed to get military clearance before working on the fields.
Speaking to BBC ‘Newsday’, Shehu said the government was sad about the tragic incident, but added that the “people need to understand what it is like in the Lake Chad Basin area.”
He said, “The truth has to be said. Was there any military clearance from the military who are in total control of the area? Did anybody ask to resume activity?”
According to him, the troops securing that area were left in the dark, because farmers did not get the instruction of the Nigerian Army before carrying out their farming activities.
“So ideally, all of these places ought to probably be allowed to pass through proper military clearance before resettlement or even farmers resuming activities on those fields.
“People need to understand what it is like in the Lake Chad Basin area – a window that the terrorists have exploited,” he said.
