Borno Suicide Bombing: Senate Blames Intelligence Failure, Urges Military to Review Strategies

Borno Suicide Bombing: Senate Blames Intelligence Failure, Urges Military to Review Strategies

The Senate on Wednesday attributed the recent suicide bombings in Gwoza town, Borno State, to failure of intelligence among security forces. Senate President Godswill Akpabio made this statement during a plenary debate on a motion concerning the incident, sponsored by Senate Chief Whip Mohammed Ali Ndume.

The coordinated attacks on Saturday targeted a wedding, the victims’ subsequent funeral, and a hospital in Gwoza, near the Cameroon border, resulting in 32 deaths. In his lead debate, Ndume identified the Mandara Mountains, Sambisa forest and the Lake Chad region as remaining terrorists’ strongholds.

The Senate urged the federal government to direct the military to rethink its conventional strategies in fighting insurgency and other crimes by deploying modern technology and scientific tactics.

Lawmakers noted that relying solely on conventional methods, such as troop deployment, was ineffective as terrorists continued to use non-conventional approaches to kill Nigerians and destroy livelihoods.

Meanwhile, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), in a statement by its president, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, said there was a need for collective action to combat terrorism.