43 farmers killed by Boko Haram were not cleared to farm – Presidency

Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, has said that the Zambari massacre could have been avoided, as the 43 farmers killed by Boko Haram on Saturday did not have military clearance to be on the rice farms when the attack happened.

Shehu said this in an interview with BBC on Monday. He said he was not blaming the victims but that the truth must be said.

The Special Assistant also said the government was sad about the massacre.

“Forty-three or thereabout of innocent farmworkers, most of them had their throats slit by a heartless band of terrorists, he said.”

Shehu while clearing the air stated that people needed to know what it is like in the Lake Chad Basin area.

“Much of the area has been liberated from Boko Haram terrorists but there are a number of spaces that have not been cleared for the return of villagers who have been displaced,” he said.

Shehu noted that all of these places ought to pass the test of military clearances before farmers or settlers resume activities on those fields.

The President’s spokesman revealed that terrorists had planted land mines in several places in Borno State. He said that nobody ought to go to these places until the military has cleared such places.

“When people are willing to go back, a lot of those spaces are to be cleared and cast as being OK for human habitation or agricultural activity,” he said.