Our Reporter
BOKO Haram terrorists’ killing of another four aid workers shows, yet again, the risks that such workers face in the course of their selfless service to humanity.
The aid workers were abducted by the terrorists in July, on their way to a remote community in the northeast, to provide humanitarian support to victims of Boko Haram violence.
They were held by the insurgents in spite of efforts to secure their release. The terrorists said they killed them following a breakdown of negotiations with the Federal Government.
The Federal Government has rightly condemned the killings, with President Muhammadu Buhari expressing optimism that “evil will always be defeated by good at the end of the day. Whatever seeming victory evil records, eventually rebounds on the evildoer.”
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has joined the list of those who have condemned the killings. A statement signed by the national publicity secretary of the forum, Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim, and issued to newsmen in Kaduna expressed shock and sadness over the incident.
“It would be recalled that sometimes last year two female aid workers with International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were abducted by the terrorists during an attack on the military base in Rann, Borno State.
“They were subsequently executed by the terrorists on the grounds that the Federal Government failed to meet up some of their demands,” ACF said.
What all of these suggest is that Boko Haram terrorists are still capable of wreaking havoc. But the Defence Headquarters brought a new dimension into the matter when its spokesman, Brig-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, said the military has driven Boko Haram out of the country.
According to Nwachukwu, “Boko Haram is not occupying any part of this country… I want to make it clear that Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa (ISWAP) have been defeated and pushed into what we call the Tombus Island …”.
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Nwachukwu was apparently reacting to the claim by Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum that the Boko Haram terrorists were still occupying two local government areas in his state. As recently as December 22, some suspected Boko Haram terrorists reportedly attacked Damaturu, the Yobe State capital. Eye witnesses’ accounts said they stormed the town along Gashua Road, near the police force headquarters, at about 5.30 p.m.
To us, therefore, such arguments about pushing Boko Haram out of the country or not are neither necessary nor helpful. We understand the governor’s frustrations as well as the military’s position.
However, to the extent that the terrorists are still able to hit soft targets in Nigeria from wherever; there is still a lot to do to keep them at bay. We can only regard the terrorists defeated when they are no longer in a position to attack even soft targets or kill innocent Nigerians.
It is immaterial to people who lost their loved ones to terrorists’ attacks whether they are fighting from within or fighting from outside the country. Indeed, we would not be talking about aid workers being held hostage by the terrorists, not to talk of being executed by them, if Boko Haram had been defeated.
It is on this note that we urge the Federal Government and the military not to relent yet in the war against the terrorists.
The military still needs to work on their intelligence gathering to be able to keep the insurgents at bay. We cannot continue to lose people who willingly put their lives in danger so that others may live.
It is an act of man’s inhumanity to man which should be condemned by all right-thinking members of the society.
We agree with the ACF that the Federal government needs to review its negotiation strategy with the terrorists and ensure that all kidnapped persons still in the captivity of the Boko Haram, including Leah Sharibu and the Chibok girls are rescued and released to their families.
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