The Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has cautioned against religious profiling or coloration of victims of the Boko Haram attacks in the North East region, saying the insurgents don’t kill only Christians.
Ndume, a former Chief Whip of the Senate in a statement on Wednesday faulted a narrative by an online medium (not Daily Trust) which claimed that all the victims of the Boko Haram attacks in recent times were of the Christian faith.
His reaction came on the heels of weekend attacks in Ngoshe village in Gwoza Local Government Area and Mussa community in Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State.
In the two separate attacks, the insurgents reportedly killed five farmers on Saturday in Ngoshe village, while three others were killed on Sunday in Mussa village.
While the online report indicated that only Christians were killed in the attack, Ndume clarified that five Muslims were killed in Ngoshe village while three Christians were killed in Mussa village.
The senator said, “It is unethical and unconscionable for any media outlet to drive the narrative that Christians are the targets of these attacks by the terror group in Borno, or anywhere in North Eastern part of Nigeria.
“The forces behind these mindless killings are blind to faith and tribe. We should avoid this dangerous profiling which can distract us. It has the tendency of doing us more harm. It can even inflame negative passion in our soldiers, dampen the morale of men, who toil day and night, determined to ensure that they wipe away this dangerous sect.
“Our people, whose only pursuit is peace and livelihood, continue to fall victim to the cruelty of insurgents. These men and women deserved to live, to farm and to dream, but their lives are being cut short by those who thrive on violence and destruction.”
While commending the military for sustaining the battle against the insurgents, he called on the federal government to pay attention to the welfare of the military and provision of adequate arms and ammunition to enable them overwhelm the insurgents.
