Gov Fayemi Says Boko Haram Escapees Behind Banditry In North-West, Kidnapping In South-West

Kayode Fayemi, Ekiti State Governor, says Boko Haram escapees are behind banditry in the North-West region and kidnapping in the South-West region of the country.

Fayemi made the claim when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme, on Sunday.

He said it would be a huge mistake “if we do not draw a correlation between what is going on in Borno State and what is happening in other parts of the country”.

“If a state of emergency were to be declared, I have no opinion on that, we haven’t discussed state of emergency as far as the Governors’ Forum is concerned. And that is not something that our colleagues who are at the receiving end of the insurgency has proposed to us. Governor (Babagana) Zulum or our North-East colleagues have not said anything about state of emergency,” the Governor said.

“Insurgency is not limited to Borno State. We will be making a mistake if we do not draw a correlation between what is going on in Borno State and what is happening in other parts of the country – banditry, kidnapping, militancy, they are inextricably intertwined. Some of the insurgents that escaped from the Boko Haram territory are the ones prosecuting the banditry in the North-West, some of them are involved in the kidnapping in the South-West.

“ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province) insurgents coming down from Sudan, from Niger (Republic) are involved in what is going on. How many states are you going to declare state of emergency on then? So, we must take a holistic view on this.”

Fayemi further advocated for state governments to be given more powers to handle the security of their domain as this will help overcome the insecurity in the country.