Insecurity: Terrorists Kidnap WHO Staff in Borno, Sources Confirm
- A staff of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Borno state, sources have confirmed
- It was gathered that the victim was captured by a group of suspected terrorist on Wednesday, July 3
- Meanwhile, security experts have warned staff of international NGOs to be cautious of their mobility in Borno state
Legit.ng reports that a group of suspected terrorists kidnapped a staff of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Borno state on Wednesday, August 3.
According to reports, it was gathered that the name of the victim held captive by a group of a suspected terrorists is Babagana Bulama.
Source: Twitter
A source who pleaded anonymity confirmed the incident to Legit.ng.
The source said:
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"I just got word that another local staff of the World Health Organisation has been kidnapped in Northern Borno. This should be expected. It is also a challenge for the DSS to put more effort into intelligence gathering and sharing; these hostage takers have local informants and people who help them with planning and logistics. We need to burst their ring.
"Better still, the government must not ignore the carrot approach to conflict management and peacebuilding. They must make use of back door channels to reach out to these.”
Security experts appeal to INGOs to apply caution in mobility
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reached out to a security expert, Dr. Abubakar Muhammed who gave his thoughts on the incident.
Dr. Abubakar advised all staff of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) to be cautious of their movement in times like this.
He said:
"This is an advisory to all expatriates especially staff of INGOs to be cautious and if possible avoid movement outside state capitals in the north, especially the northeast region.
Terrorists and insurgents under a different umbrella that I can't mention are looking for them. Not because they want to kill them but because they can exchange them for bigger ransom payments.
“Now if we truly want to bring this terrorism and banditry to an end, we must make effort to stop the payments of ransom to these armed groups. And we can start by preventing the kidnap of high profile persons like expatriates and so on.”
“Why we do not need mercenaries to combat insecurity” - Security expert
In another development, the Nigerian government has been urged to improve the funding of military operations.
Security experts have appealed to the government not to choose the path of recruiting mercenaries to fight insurgency.
These experts have described the Nigerian Army and its personnel as one with the full potential to combat insecurity.
Source: Legit.ng
