Governor Babagana Zulum on Friday congratulated Muslims on the occasion of Eid-el-Fitr, marking the end of the Ramadan fast. This was disclosed in a statement.

“Ramadan offered the opportunity for the Muslim faithful to renew their faith, boost spiritual depth, charitable giving, and other acts or worship,” said the Borno governor.

Mr Zulum, however, urged the residents to imbibe and sustain the lessons learned during the period to recharge their spiritual beings towards rebuilding a secure, peaceful, and prosperous Borno society.

The governor also described this year’s Ramadan as unique, “especially, with unprecedented charity reach-outs to the indigent population by his administration”.

He stated that his administration had reached over 300,000 vulnerable persons with food and other essential items across the 27 local government areas.

“Although the state has recorded a series of attacks, which have claimed the lives of some military men and civilians,” he added.

Mr Zulum saluted the courage, resilience, and commitment of the people to all initiatives aimed at deepening security and peace-building among the various components of the society, fragmented by the Boko Haram insurgency over the years.

The governor further expressed profound grief over the resurgence of terror attacks across the state, especially the triple suicide bombings of March 9, in Maiduguri, which claimed the lives of 28 people and injured over 100 people.

He, however, thanked President Bola Tinubu for sending Vice-President Kashim Shettima to condole with the people of Borno over the tragic incident and for deploying the Service Chiefs, with a charge to review and deploy strategies to end the insurgency.

Mr Zulum lauded the military for the ongoing offensive operations in the Sambisa Forest, adding that similar coordinated operations should be conducted in the Mandara Mountains, the Lake Chad area, and other hideouts of the insurgents.

He promised to double down on supporting the security agencies and volunteer forces in the prosecution of counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations.

The governor, however, recalled that the people of Borno have gone through harrowing situations over the last 15 years due to the Boko Haram insurgency. He urged them to sustain the impressive resilience they have built over the years against the impacts of terror.

Mr Zulum encouraged the people to uphold their decades-old personal and communal initiatives for their safety and protection in attack situations, as the security agencies deploy new and stronger strategies to plug all loopholes the terrorists seize to carry out their cowardly attacks on communities.

The governor expressed optimism that the security agencies were more than ever before, crafting and deploying the most successful strategies to combat the terrorists towards ending the insurgency.

Mr Zulum advised the residents to heed the warnings of security agencies to avoid crowded locations without security agents and to be mindful of suspicious persons.

He also assured the residents that the Eid-el-Fitr praying grounds will be heavily secured to allow Muslims to observe their yearly sacred ritual without fear of attack. 

(NAN)