Nigeria’s military has banned the use of horses in the
northeastern state of Borno to stop deadly raids by
told AFP on Tuesday.
Militants on horseback have in recent weeks attacked
remote communities in the troubled region, as an
extensive military offensive to rout the insurgents
intensified.
“Military authorities have banned the use of horses in
the entire Borno state to stave off Boko Haram
terrorist attacks,” said the military spokesman for
Borno, Colonel Tukur Gusau.
Horses are often used as a form of transport in
Nigeria’s Muslim-majority north but are also a sign of
social status, including royalty.
The ban was imposed after talks with the state
government and council of traditional chiefs, he
added.
Gusau said the military surge in the region had
thrown the Islamic State group-allied rebels into
“disarray”, cutting off their supply lines, including for
fuel.
“This has forced the terrorists to abandon their
vehicles due to lack of fuel and resort to the use of
horses in carrying out attacks in remote villages,” he
added.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has made
crushing the six-year insurgency his priority and in
August gave his new military top brass three months
to end the violence.
That prompted intensive ground and air offensives
against Boko Haram positions.
Buhari, a former military ruler, had sacked the
previous senior command team under whose watch
the rebellion intensified, threatening Nigeria’s
sovereignty and regional security.
Gusau said the state-wide ban on horse-riding will
allow soldiers to “distinguish locals from terrorists”.
“We know that only the terrorists will flaunt this ban
and our troops will take the appropriate action when
they come across such terrorists in accordance with
the rules of engagement,” he added.
Malam Ba’Kura, a local chief in the recently liberated
Dikwa district of northern Borno, confirmed the ban
and said it had been endorsed by the state’s most
influential chief and religious figure.
“The Shehu (of Borno) summoned and briefed all
traditional chiefs under the Kanem Borno emirate on
the ban on horses, which was decided to stop Boko
Haram attacks on villages in northern Borno,” said
Ba’Kura.
“We welcome this ban and we have spread the news
to all our subjects who are also happy with it because
it is aimed at ending the new wave of attacks by Boko
Haram gunmen riding horses
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