By Ndahi Marama, Maiduguri
Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, has said the state has lost infrastructure, electrical materials and metals worth billions of naira to metal scavengers, known in Hausa as Ajakuta.
Zulum said the losses, alongside other security concerns, informed the state government’s decision to ban scrap metal trading.
The governor spoke at the weekend while addressing scrap metal operators, urging them to submit proposals on how they could continue their businesses without contributing to insecurity or damaging public infrastructure.
He explained that the ban was imposed in the overall interest of the state and was not intended to deprive operators of their means of livelihood.
Zulum said the government had no personal interest in shutting down their businesses, stressing that the restriction was aimed at protecting public assets and strengthening security.
“It is deeply concerning to me if one person loses his livelihood for whatever reason in Borno. Believe me, there is nothing I stand to gain from banning scrap metal trade other than addressing the serious security concerns associated with your activities,” he said.
The governor disclosed that the state government spent more than ₦3 billion to connect an electricity distribution line from Damaturu to Maiduguri, but the wires were subsequently lost to metal scavenging.
“We spent more than ₦3 billion to connect an electricity distribution line from Damaturu to Maiduguri, but unfortunately, we lost all the wires to metal scavenging activities,” he said.
Zulum also said hundreds of scavengers had been killed while searching for metals in villages that were not yet safe for civilian activities.
He added that security intelligence available to the government indicated that insurgents were using scrap metal trading channels to sell looted metals.
“We have security intelligence that even the insurgents use your platforms to sell looted metals. So, no responsible government will ignore such intelligence just to be politically correct,” the governor said.
Despite the restriction, Zulum granted operators a waiver to evacuate stocks accumulated before the ban from designated locations.
The measure, he said, was intended to ease the impact of the restriction on genuine operators while the government addressed the security and infrastructure concerns associated with the trade.
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