The Borno State government has urged the media to refrain from publishing unverified information on the security situation in the state and stop raising unnecessary alarms which, it noted, could scare away people from pursuing their legitimate activities.

Commissioner for Home Affairs, Information and Culture, Mr Inuwa Bwala, stated this in a release made available to Gamji in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Bwala said the state government would be emphatic in declaring that there was no genocide in any part of the state, contrary to the impression being created by reports published by some national dailies to the effect that citizens were being targeted in an ensuing carnage.

The release reads: “While we reassure all citizens of their safety during and after the Eid El Fitir celebrations, we wish to state that government is up to its responsibilities and will not allow any individual or group to cause unnecessary panic among the citizenry.

We take exception to the headline story in Daily Trust of Friday, August 17th, 2012 in which remarks credited to the Borno Elders Forum, said genocide was going on in Borno and Yobe states.

“We hope that the revered elders were quoted out of context, or we may be compelled to conclude that they do not understand the meaning and weight of the word genocide; which is a very uncharitable way to describe the situation in the state.