The Governor of Niger State, Abubakar Bello, on Monday noted that Boko Haram insurgents are closer to the Federal Capital Territory.
Governor Bello while speaking with people in an Internally Displaced Persons Camp said the terrorists invaded a part of the state after the Federal Government refused to effectively secure the state.
He further stated that he reached out to the Federal Government on different occasions but nothing fruitful came out of the process.
According to Bello, terrorists are trying to make Kaure in Shirroro Local Government Area of the state their headquarters as they did to Sambisa forest in Borno State.
He, however, said while Sambisa forest is several kilometres from Abuja, Kaure is only two hours from the nation’s capital.
“I have been engaging the federal government and unfortunately it has gotten to this stage and if care is not taken, even Abuja is not safe. We have been saying this for long and all efforts have been in vain.”
The Niger State Governor while addressing the issue of displaced persons in the state said some of them have started returning to their homes.
He, however, noted that the majority of them will have to remain in the camp because their villages and towns have been taken over by bandits.
As at the time of the governor’s visit, there were 1,447 children, 119 pregnant women and 447 other women at the camp.