NEW LAW IN BORNO STATE: Horses Now Banned In Borno After Boko Haram Attacks

Nigeria’s military has now banned the use of horses in Borno State in an attempt to stop deadly raids by Boko Haram gunmen, according to a regional military spokesman speaking to AFP on Tuesday.

In recent weeks, militants on horses have attacked remote communities in the region, as an extensive military offensive to rout the insurgents intensified.

Speaking on the issue, military spokesman for Borno, Colonel Tukur Gusau said

 Military authorities have banned the use of horses in the entire Borno state to stave off Boko Haram terrorist attacks. The ban was imposed after talks with the state government and council of traditional chiefs

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According to Gusau, the military surge in the region had thrown the Islamic State group-allied rebels into “disarray”, cutting off their supply lines including for fuel.

Gusau said that this act "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".

Gusau also says that the state-wide ban on horse-riding will allow soldiers to “distinguish locals from terrorists”. He said:

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

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.

Ba'Kura said:

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 

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