Governor Babagana Zulum announced this during a media briefing on Friday after a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari at the statehouse.

According to him, he informed the President that the Chief of Naval Staff had ensured the return of the naval base to Baga last month, requesting additional support from the President to appropriately deal with the rising number of ISWAP members operating in the southern and northern part of the state.

The Baga naval base was attacked by Boko Haram insurgents in December 2018.

The terrorists carted away a cache of arms and ammunition from the armory, forcing Nigerian troops to withdraw from the region.

But in June, Governor Zulum urged the military to reopen the base saying it had become necessary to secure farmers in the Lake Chad region.

He further maintained that in view of the relative peace experienced within the state, the President had given an assurance to provide support towards ongoing efforts to return Internally Displaced Persons to their ancestral homes.

He added that the state has concluded arrangements to shut down all IDP camps within the Maiduguri metropolis by December 31, 2021.

Governor Zulum also stated that earlier in the year he had survived many attacks numbering over 40 by insurgents in the state.

“I was attacked more than 40, 50 times,” said the governor while responding to questions from reporters. “I know the magnitude of this problem.”

He decried the impact of the over one decade-long insurgency which he said has gravely affected the livelihood of the people of the state.

“We have estimated a total number of over 50,000 orphans and widows; these are official figures, the unofficial figures are more than these, and we were able to cultivate not more than three percent of our total arable land because of the insurgents.

“And right now, the whereabouts of not less than 10 percent of the people of Borno State is not known to all of us – at all. This is a very serious matter,” Governor Zulum lamented.

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Speaking during a public hearing by the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence in Abuja, the Director of Legal Services, Nigerian Navy, Commodore Jemila Malafa, said Chadian soldiers sell guns for as low as $20 (N8,200) and this endangers Nigeria’s security.

Chad shares a border with Nigeria in the North, just as Niger, Cameroon and Benin Republic are the country’s neighbours.

“Some of these countries that we have a border with have no armoury. They do not have armoury. So most of their arms that are being donated by — I don’t want to be specific — the developed countries in the name of assisting us to fight our problems — are compounding our problems in Nigeria because you find out that each average Chadian soldier has 20 to 30 arms underneath his bed,” she said.

“Since we are going to collaborate with ECOWAS and other countries that are donating such arms to these countries [African countries], I think we should insist that they should either enact laws to govern the handling of these arms and ammunition or build an armoury for these countries or else we will not see peace.

Commodore Malafa thinks a border war should be built between Nigeria and these neighbouring countries or we should have serious surveillance or “else we will not see peace in this country.”

In declaring the event open, Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, called on all stakeholders to make good use of the opportunity for the good of the country’s security.

The Chief of Air Force Intelligence, Air Commodore Friday Ogohi, lamented that fertilisers were being sold to “unscrupulous persons who use the chemical substance locally as explosive materials to manufacture IEDs.”

The hearing was organised by the committee to take the input of the public on four bills on national security.

The bills are A Bill to Establish the National Commission Against the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons; A Bill to Make Provision for the Integration of Private Closed Circuit Television (CCTV); A Bill to Repeal the Explosives Act, and A Bill to Designate the Month of November as the National Appreciation for Security Agencies Month.

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The board authorized the relocation of Command Naval Drafting to Lokoja, Kogi; School of Music in Ota, Ogun, and School of Communication and Information Technology to Ife, Osun.

It authorized the establishment of the Navy Logistics College in Kano; the Nigerian Navy Finance and Logistics in Owerrinta, Abia; the Nigerian Navy School of Armament Technology in Kachia, Kaduna, and the School of Health Sciences in Offa, Kwara.

A senior naval officer told PRNigeria that Navy bases serve different purposes for operations, training, logistics or administration.

The source explained that all naval establishments and units are called bases notwithstanding physical location.

“While operational bases are expected to have a waterfront, some do not necessarily need to be near water. In the Navy, these bases are called Stone Frigate”, he said.

The NN is currently involved in internal security operations beyond its primary maritime security roles.

Special Boat Services, the elite squad, is supporting military operations in the North-West and North-East, with the bases in Borno and Zamfara.

Army approves overhaul of obsolete logistics in Northeast theatre of operations.

The exercise is part of a series of U.S. engagements with the Nigerian military that provides opportunities for the Nigerian military and U.S. elite units to work together, learn from each other, and strengthen their relationships, the United States Mission in Nigeria said in a statement.

During the training, the American military trainers and the Nigerian Navyspecial operations forces trained together on a broad range of land-based skills and tactics, such as countering improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Delivering remarks during the JCET closing ceremony in Lagos, Acting U.S. Consulate Political and Economic Chief Merrica Heaton noted that the U.S. government works closely with all the services of the Nigerian military to provide technical assistance, equipment, and professional exchange and training opportunities.

According to her, the JCET is part of a close and continuous military partnership between the United States and Nigeria spanning decades to strengthen defense ties and promote regional security.

“The United States Mission to Nigeria is a steadfast partner — helping combat maritime crime in the Gulf of Guinea, counter violent extremists in the Northeast, and enforce the rule of law throughout the region,” Heaton said.

According to the U.S. Mission, the magnitude of this year’s engagements demonstrates the strategic importance of the United States-Nigeria bilateral relationship: the U.S. is delivering A-29 Super Tucanos as part of the largest defense sale to an African country; the United States Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps are scheduled for extensive programmes in Nigeria beyond pre-COVID levels.

These engagements build on a longstanding security partnership, particularly in the Gulf of Guinea, the statement added.

Nigeria participates in multiple bilateral and multilateral military exercises with the United States, including African Lion, Flintlock, and Obangame Express.

The U.S. and Nigeria cooperate on maritime security, military professionalisation including human rights, counterterrorism efforts against Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa, defense trade, and strengthening governance.