SSA, Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu
By Our Reporter
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, has come under heavy criticism over his statement that the murdered rice farmers in Borno State did not get clearance from the military before going to their farms. Some Nigerians took to social media and called Shehu unprintable names
The President’s aide had in the interview stated that the 43 rice farmers massacred by the insurgents had no military clearance to be on the rice farms when the attack happened.
Reacting to the torrents of criticisms, Shehu on Monday, says he is “human with tons of compassion and empathy”, adding that his explanation on Saturday’s killing of rice farmers by Boko Haram terrorists in the Zabarmari area of Borno State does not mean he has no compassion.
Shehu made this known in a string of tweets this afternoon following an interview he granted BBC this morning.
But in the statement posted on his Twitter handle this afternoon, the President’s aide, who was part of a Federal Government delegation to Borno today over the tragedy, explained that he did not blame the victims for the unfortunate incident.
The statement read, “Today, I found myself leading the trends in the social media for the wrong reasons.
“The State of Borno is essentially a military zone up till now that we are talking and much of what people do; much of where they go are governed by the exigencies of security.
“Routinely, traders, administration officials and even UN agencies get the green light to go to many of the areas to avoid trouble.
“Information from security agencies says that the Zabarmari marshlands are infested with land mines and movements in around those areas subject to military oversight.
“No one is delighted with the massacre in Zabarmari and there is nothing anybody will gain by playing blame games.
