Former Senate Majority Leader, Ali Ndume, has urged Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately scale up efforts to secure the freedom of more than 400 residents of Ngoshe community in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, who are still being held after a recent insurgent raid.
The abductees, largely women and children, were taken last month by militants of Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad (JAS), a Boko Haram faction, during a coordinated attack that also devastated the community, including military installations in the area.
Ndume, who addressed journalists in Abuja on Monday, voiced deep worry over the condition of the victims and what he described as the sluggish federal response, stressing that the crisis requires swift and firm action.
The senator, however, noted that the Nigerian Army has since retaken Ngoshe from insurgents and is presently in control of the locality.
He added that several residents who managed to flee are now sheltering in Pulka, but remain determined to return home despite the destruction.
According to him, displaced persons have indicated readiness to go back to Ngoshe without delay, even if they must stay in makeshift shelters while their homes are rebuilt.
Ndume appealed to the Federal Government to support the Borno State government’s intervention, which includes a N100 million commitment towards immediate reconstruction, resettlement, and rehabilitation of the affected community.
He also called on key federal agencies, including the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), and the Ministry of Housing, to urgently deploy resources to Ngoshe to aid recovery efforts.
Meanwhile, the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) has signalled its preparedness for the 2027 governorship election as part of a broader plan to tackle the persistent insecurity in the state.
The party argued that recurring governance failures have contributed to the renewed surge in Boko Haram activities at both state and national levels.
Speaking in Maiduguri, State ADC Chairman, Kolo Bukar, shortly after inaugurating the party’s executive members, stated: “The security challenges and resurgence of attacks in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, and other parts of the country are caused by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration incompetence in governance at both the state and national levels.”
