Borno State’s Governor Babagana Zulum has been accused of deliberately excluding Christians from benefitting from the palliatives the Federal Government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu granted to residents.
Laying the accusation in a statement this week, the Centre for Justice on Religious and Ethnicity in Nigeria (CJREN), through its Director-General, Reverend Kallamu Dikwa, also alleged that Christians in the state were always excluded from any palliative and assistance brought to the state.
Specifically, CJREN said the discrimination included the N3 billion given by President Tinubu to assist those whose family members were killed by Boko Haram terrorists in the state.
Reverend Dikwa’s statement said: “Any assistance that came to the citizens of the state from the federal government, Christians in the state are always excluded, such as palliative.
“Last week, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu visited Maiduguri and gave N3 billion to help those whose family members were killed by Boko Haram insurgency and resurgence, still Christians were excluded from the data capturing.
“Christian Community in Gwoza Local Government Area in the state that were completely in IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps are still there unlike the Muslims who have been returned to their communities in the area since.
“EYN-Church of the Brethren in Nigeria, Moduganari in Maiduguri, the state capital last year were demolished by Governor Babagana Zulum, where he used security operatives that resulted to the untimely and unwarranted killing of one of our pastor’s son.”
“On this note, we clearly wish to inform the national CAN, the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to know that any breach of peace in Borno state is a handwork of the current Governor, Babagana Umara Zullum.”
