Some insurgents of the Boko Haram sect are enforcing a new order in some communities of Shiroro local government area of Niger State, directing parents to marry off their daughters at the age of 12.
This dispensation makes Boko Haram the governing authority in these communities, having warned the people not to recognize any constituted authority, besides them.
A resident of the area, and Co-Convener of Concerned Shiroro Youths, Bello Ibrahim, volunteered that the Boko Haram insurgents had previously occupied Kawure, the village of former senator representing Niger East, David Umaru, before being dislodged by the joint military task force.
Bello said: “So now, they are not only in Kawure, they have also extended their tentacles to communities like Kuregbe, Awulo, and a host of other communities.
“In Awulo and Kuregbe communities, they assembled the locals, both Muslims and Christians, and gave them marching order that any girl that is 12 years old should be married off.
“There is no other form of law in the area, aside Boko Haram’s… If locals have any feud, they report to them for resolution.
“No case should be reported to police or court or any constituted authority for resolution.”
“In the entire Chukuba and Kuregbe ward, it is Boko Haram elements that are operating there, not bandits that we know.”
The Chairman, Shiroro Local Government, Suleiman Chukuba confirmed the influx of Boko Haram elements, saying “On the issue of influx of Boko Haram in Shiroro, only four wards have been affected.”
“They told villagers that they have money to help them and that they have guns to give them to fight government. And that is the same doctrine we know Boko Haram elements promote,” he said.
