The Nation Newspaper

Tag: amnesty

  • Amnesty or bribe for peace?

    SIR: The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines amnesty as ‘an official statement that allows people who have been put in prison for crimes against the state to go free’ or ‘a period of time during which people can admit to a crime or give up weapons without being punished’. From the above definitions, it follows that we have been misapplying the word.

    Amnesty as it has been used here largely means giving money and other material benefits to troublemakers in exchange for cessation of violence. In other words, a euphemism for ‘bribe for peace’. In a place where injustice and impunity reigns supreme and nearly everything is measured in naira and kobo, this disingenuous tactic is gaining acceptance as the most pragmatic means to appease individuals or groups who seriously threaten to upset the apple cart.

    It is not at all surprising that some persons recently came out boldly to advocate amnesty for the Boko Haram Islamic sect. There have been muted calls for that all along. The advocates mostly from the North have often tried to draw a parallel between the group and the Niger Delta militants. According to some, if the boys from the creeks could be granted amnesty, why not those from the Sahel; what is good for the goose is equally good for gander. For most of them, it matters little what atrocities the sect has perpetrated against fellow citizens; the most important thing is that if other people were paid to halt violence, then there own people must also be paid.

    However, only a mischievous fellow will claim not to see a difference between the two movements. There may not be any need to make that differentiation here for the group seems set to make it themselves. The advocates of ‘monetized amnesty’ must be really naïve if they really thought that that is the solution to the recurring violence in the north. Of course the reality is that the idea is as seething with ulterior motives as it is devoid of any sense of justice. Whenever amnesty is declared, millionaires and perhaps billionaires are bound to emerge.

    Did those calling for amnesty for Boko Haram actually consider their aims? Did the group tell anyone that they’ve done any wrong talk more of being penitent? What the advocates perhaps did not realize is that they in a way imply that the North has been deliberately murdering other Nigerians for over three years either to embarrass the government or extort money from it. Well, Boko Haram seems to have made it clear that they are far from similar to the Niger Delta militants.

    Recent information have it that the group has rejected the proposed amnesty even going on to tell government that it is it not they that is in need of pardon. Their stance should not be surprising to the perceptive. Only a man grossly lacking in insight does not appreciate the ideological cum religious bent of Boko Haram’s agitation and indeed many of the violence in the North. Poverty is not just the problem!

    An unprincipled man believes everyone has a (monetary) price. Boko Haram seems to be saying that they cannot be bought that cheaply. If indeed they have rejected the bribe for peace which amnesty actually represents here, then it shows that they are perhaps more honourable than those advocating pardon for them. Let’s search for a honourable and enduring solution to the problem –that’s if key stakeholders really desire to see an end to it.

     

    • Nnoli Chidiebere

    Aba, Abia State.

  • ‘Amnesty cannot stop Boko Haram’

    ‘Amnesty cannot stop Boko Haram’

    Bishop Josef Bassey is President of Cross River State Christian Leaders’ Forum and Bishop of God’s Heritage Centre, Gloryland Calabar. He spoke with Sunday Oguntola on terrorism and other issues. Excerpts:

    One has not heard from you lately. Are you hiding or something?

    No, we are not hiding. We are doing our job. We are speaking but probably you have not been in places where we talk.

    How is the church doing?

    We are doing well, trying to look at our core values. We are trying to restore our core values of humanity.

    Are you in support of the proposed amnesty programme for members of the Boko Haram sect?

    Amnesty for Boko Haram? What is Boko Haram? What cause are they fighting? They burn churches and kill Christians yet we are talking about amnesty! Is it because of the utmost restraint that kept Christians from retaliating? So, if there is amnesty for Boko Haram, what becomes of their victims? The government that pledges to protect the existence of the nation should not be giving amnesty to a group that threatens the very existence of that nation.

    But don’t you think since the sect has done its worst, isn’t it time to just forgive them and move on?

    Yes, they have done their worst but we are missing something. While they were killing and burning churches, a lot of efforts were going on on the part of Christians to pacify and restrain them from avenging. It takes two to have a war situation. What they have been doing is a direct attack on Christianity; they were burning churches and bombing worshippers during services. All that was required was a response, which we did not do.

    We are not cowards and it is not as if we are incapacitated. There is no religion that has monopoly of violence. There is enough provision in the scriptures for us to fight and protect our faith. That we pursue the path of peace at a great cost, trying to protect the nation and keep it as one, does not mean we are timid. So, when you turn around to grant amnesty without justice, then you are really provoking us.

    Some people are saying since Christians preach forgiveness all the time, isn’t it time to demonstrate it?

    Amnesty is not forgiveness. When government begins to grant amnesty without qualifying it, then there is a problem. There are prisoners who are repentant across the nation, they are the ones government should grant amnesty to, not unrepentant terrorists. Boko Haram members do not deserve amnesty because they are bloody terrorists.

    I hear people saying the Niger Delta militants and Boko Haram members are similar. I beg to disagree. What the Niger Delta militants were fighting was well known. If you have a people who are being unfairly treated by the deprivations and degradations in their environment through explorations, they deserve to protest.

    But I agree how they protested was wrong because there were killings and kidnapping. But we all knew what they were fighting for; we knew the cause. Then, the struggle did not begin one day. The likes of Isaac Boro and Ken Saro- Wiwa died during the struggle. So, let Boko Haram articulate its cause; let it be appreciable and genuine, then we can talk about amnesty, provided they are willing to dialogue.

    But these people are fighting a religious cause. They are aggrieved because they want everyone to be Muslims. They believe non-Muslims are infidels and unfit to live.

    But isn’t it time to give peace a chance having taken them on militarily?

    No, they haven’t really taken them on militarily yet. You need to know what happened in the case of the Niger Delta. There was war in the entire region. There were shoot-outs for days. Many villages were run over by the Armed Forces. None of that has taken place in the north. There has been no meaningful military engagement in the north up till this point and then you turn around to say there should be amnesty? Please, the whole exercise is unfair and painful. In the Niger Delta case, it turned to guerrilla warfare. And there was wisdom because the soldiers were killing people of an entire region without much success. Ordinary people were also buying into the struggle. So, they needed to halt the offensive attacks. But we don’t see that in the north.

    So, the situation is totally different with Boko Haram. These people are pursuing total Islamisation of the nation. We have been seeing this pattern before independence. Boko Haram is just an offshoot of that agenda.

    I admit we have good Muslims who do not believe in their extreme agenda. Some of us believe there are many good Muslims, which is why we are engaging them. These Boko Haram guys are giving Islam a bad name and we believe Islamic leaders should call them to order. They should dissociate themselves from these blood-thirsty jihadists.

    So, amnesty will not work?

    It is a failure in progress. It cannot work. What these people want is impossible to achieve. They want Islamisation at all costs. And that will not work. There will always be Christians and Muslims in this country. Boko Haram members do not believe in amnesty. It is like asking Christians to deny their faith at the point of death. That will never happen, no matter what. It is the same with these Boko Haram members. You don’t dangle amnesty like a carrot before them. They don’t believe in it. They have an agenda and will not back down. No amount of inducement or appeasement will deter them. Amnesty is bound to fail.

    What will work then?

    I believe it is up to Islamic leaders to talk to these people. They are the ones that can dissuade them. They have to engage them and show them how what they are doing is denting the Islamic faith. That is the only way I see it. They are their subjects and should be able to debrief them from the radical views they have embraced.

     

  • Middle Belt Dialogue lists 10 conditions for Boko Haram to get amnesty

    Middle Belt Dialogue lists 10 conditions for Boko Haram to get amnesty

    •Opposes amnesty without justice for Christians
    •Protests killing of 1,250 Christians in three years

     

    A group, Middle Belt Dialogue, has objected to the planned amnesty for Boko Haram, citing the sect’s alleged atrocities against Christians in the north over the last three years.

    In a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday, the group claimed that Boko Haram torched 200 churches and killed over 1,250 Christians during the period.

    This, it said, is enough to deny the sect any reprieve.

    In the letter entitled “Please rethink that journey to nowhere with Boko Haram,” and signed by one Emmanuel Alamu, the group said there is no basis for comparing a political/economic, based agitation by Niger Delta militants with a religious/political ideological- based struggle of Boko Haram.

    Alamu did not say who he is, neither did he disclose the identity of other members of the group. Nothing was equally said about the group: its objectives, when it was formed, and when it met to take a position on the move by government to grant amnesty to Boko Haram.

    The Middle Belt Dialogue which gave its address as Suite 21,Silla Seka Plaza, Adebayo Adedeji Plaza, Utako, Abuja, and its e-mail address as info@middlebeltdialogue.com, said it does not see how the planned amnesty will work in view of Boko Haram’s link with Al-Qaeda.

    It, however, said that should President Jonathan decide to go ahead with his plan, Boko Haram must be made to meet 10 conditions.

    These are: the leadership of the group(s) must come out of the closet; all factions of the group must be involved in the negotiations; renunciation of violence by Boko Haram; they must undertake to submit to the federal government a register of all their members; they must surrender to the federal government all arms and ammunition in their possession; they must disclose their source(s) of finance and arms; they must sign an undertaking to never revert to violence; they must undertake to repay the assessed cost of damages wreaked on private properties and places of worship; and they must offer unconditional apology to Nigerians for the damage that has been done to their psyche through their activities.

    The Middle Belt Dialogue also called for the rebuilding of all churches and houses destroyed by the sect and the resettlement of all displaced communities.

    It said: “The Boko Haram, even as the champions of this amnesty are on the campaign trail, has in the last seven days attacked and destroyed Middle Belt communities in Southern Kaduna State, Adamawa State (where the village of the Deputy Governor and the house of the deputy Governor, a Christian were targeted and destroyed), Riyom in Plateau State, parts of Taraba, Nasarawa and Benue states.”

    The group attributed the Boko Haram attacks to the outcome of 2011 general elections and said: “Indeed, statistics released by international agencies show that more Christians were killed in Nigeria in the year 2012 for their faith than the rest of the world combined. It may be noted that the Boko Haram attacks spiked after the April11, 2011 elections.”

     

  • Boko Haram: Niger Delta activist warns FG over funding of amnesty

    FORMER President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Dr Chris Ekiyor, has said any plan by the federal government to grant amnesty to members of the Boko Haram sect will be a fraud, warning that the people of the Niger Delta will resist any attempt to use resources from the area to finance amnesty for members of the sect.

    Ekiyor, who asserted that it would be a misplaced argument to compare the activities of the sect members with that of the Niger Delta militants, said that the focus of the Niger Delta militants was to attract government’s attention to the degradation of the area due to oil exploration and poverty of the people but that the sect members have embarked in the mass killing of Nigerians and had remained faceless.

    His words: “But beyond the technicalities of talking about amnesty for a group of people who are murderers, I think that government has misplaced its priority in terms of what it is saying. Dialogue with the people, yes; amnesty no. Amnesty is not an exit window for criminals. These are people who have murdered over five thousand people in cold blood. People are in churches, they bomb the church, killing people who are equally victims of bad governance like you.

    “Again, 80 per cent of these people are not Nigerians. So, if you are granting them amnesty, where will you take the resources for which you are going to reintegrate them. Is it the Niger Delta resources, our oil money to integrate criminals and murderers in the north? That money should be put on infrastructure across the country if the money is too much in the government coffers. They should develop Nigeria, but I have a great issue in taking Niger Delta people’s money to rehabilitate a bunch of elements who are extremists in their activities.”

     

  • Amnesty: Northern leaders seek OIC, others’ help

    Amnesty: Northern leaders seek OIC, others’ help

    NORTHERN leaders are exploring the option of enlisting the support of some Islamic countries and organisations to persuade the leadership of Boko Haram to accept the amnesty offer from the federal government.

    Sequel to last week’s rejection of the amnesty offer by the sect leader, Abubakar Shekau, a committee of respected clerics and traditional rulers from the north is to be constituted to reach out to sympathetic Islamic countries and organisations to convince the militants to allow for peace.

    Top on the list of countries and organisations under consideration for the peace initiative are: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Brotherhood in the Maghreb (IBM), Shia Itna-Asheri Islamic Jamaat.

    The membership of the committee, which is expected to commence its assignment immediately, is currently being fine tuned in line with suggestions at the stakeholders’ meeting.

    The Nation gathered that as soon as Boko Haram rejected the amnesty offer, influential northern leaders launched into series of meetings to salvage the situation.

    It was at one of such meetings that the idea of enlisting the support of some Islamic countries/organisations was mooted.

    A source close to the group said: “We are of the belief that everything must be done to ensure the success of the amnesty project. It is worrisome that after all the efforts to get the amnesty offer from the federal government, the leadership of the Islamic sect has been misled into rejecting it.

    “As part of effort to salvage the deal, we are now going to talk to fellow Muslims to help us appeal to Boko Haram to give peace a chance. The idea is that since theirs is an Islamic agitation, it should not be difficult for them to listen to our religious leaders from various parts of the world.

    “We are putting together a committee which will go round and get Islamic organisations involved in appealing to the leaders of Boko Haram to take another look at the amnesty offer.

    “We are doing this because all efforts to make them embrace the deal by our leaders here in the north did not yield any fruit. Otherwise the sect would not announce its rejection of the offer at a time we were still rejoicing over our success at getting the federal government to proffer the deal.

    “We have identified a lot of organisations. We are talking to every organisation and institution that can help us with this difficult assignment of bringing the sect back to the table so as to talk about the amnesty offer. It is not good for us to fold our hands and watch the project fail even before starting.

    “We are also going to be imploring some leading Islamic countries like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to make official statements in favour of the deal. We want Boko Haram to get assurance from fellow Muslims outside Nigeria that the amnesty deal is workable.

    “Perhaps, this will help them to retrace their step and take another look at the offer in order for peace to return to our region. We are very optimistic that with the calibre of people expected as members of the committee, we will get more and more people and institutions to help in appealing to the sect to give peace a chance.”

    The Nation gathered that the move is the brainchild of a group of northern elders with membership from the Northern Union, Northern Elders Forum, Arewa Consultative Forum and the Northern States Governors Forum.

    The source added: “This is beyond a particular organisation. The rejection of the amnesty offer by the sect jolted the entire north. We were already hopeful that peace will return with the amnesty announcement. The rejection got everybody talking about the way forward and that gave birth to the stakeholders’ meeting in Kaduna on Friday.

    “Attendance cuts across all groups and interests in the north. Leading groups like the Northern Union, Northern Elders Forum, Arewa Consultative Forum and the Northern States Governors Forum were ably represented. Traditional rulers and the Jamaatu Nasril Islam were also represented. They all endorsed the move.”

    Meanwhile, it has emerged that Boko Haram’s decision to reject the amnesty deal might not be unconnected with the refusal of the federal government to discuss the modalities for the peace deal.

    According to an inside source, the group had demanded that exhaustive dialogue on the pros and cons of the deal between it and the federal government should precede the announcement of amnesty.

    “Though we had thought we would be able to prevail on the sect to accept the amnesty the way the federal government went about it, it should however, be stated clearly, that the sect had made it clear that it would want to discuss the terms of the deal before it was announced.

    “But the federal government put the cart before the horse by announcing the amnesty offer before discussing with the sect. This is one reason why the leadership of the sect is wary of the deal. They feel they cannot trust the federal government to respect agreements.

    “We are optimistic that we will get them to change their mind. We are just hoping that if we get another opportunity, the horse will come before the cart for peace to reign.”

     

  • Ribadu in Ikenne, urges Boko Haram sect to accept Amnesty

    Former Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) presidential candidate, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu has  appealed to members of Boko Haram sect to yield grounds in the name Allah, and accept the amnesty offer being planned by  the Federal Government.

    The former Anti – corruption Czar  also urged the Federal Government not be discouraged by the stance of the militant Boko Haram sect on Amnesty but to persevere in its peace moves towards making the group to lay down their arms.

    Ribadu,  who spoke in Ikenne home of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo on Saturday while fielding questions from reporters, noted that the Boko Haram insurgence in parts of the North in the last couple of years had cost the country fortunes in diverse areas.

    The former EFCC boss  was accompanied Ikenne by the former Aviation Minsiter, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode and  former Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Alh. Aliyu Moddibo, to the matriarch of Awolowo family, Chief (Mrs) Hannah Idowu Dideolu(HID) to commiserate with her on the death of her son, Evangelist Oluwole Awolowo.

    He said  dialogue with members of the sect would bring much sought hope putting an end to the spate of killings and destruction from the sect.

    Ribadu said: “it is very sad when I heard that the Boko Haram sect rejected the amnesty offer, but that does not mean that government should totally relent in the move. Personally, my view from the onset is we should pursue the direction of dialogue and not closing any door against peace.

    “From now, the feelers and body language of the sect is not encouraging, but that does not mean that we should abandon or give up. We should pursue the direction of peace.

    “I urged the Federal Government to continue in the line and direction of looking for a way of addressing and stopping this carnage and bloodbath. Even if means pursuing dialogue, even if there are stumbling blocks on the way, it is not to give up.”

    According to him, the Islamist sect were not doing the nation any good by shedding blood of innocent people at will in a country where  the act of terrorism is not acceptable and tolerable.

    He urged the sect to take cognisance of the fact that  no meaningful could be achieved in an atmosphere of violence and blood-letting.

    ” I am also making a direct appeal to those who are involved to know that they are destroying their own people. They must understand that it has not worked anywhere in the world and it will not work in Nigeria. What do they want to gain from this senseless killing. In the name of God let them stop,” Ribadu stated.

    Ribadu in condoling with Mama HID all left behind by the late Oluwole, he described the deceased’s death as a painful loss and urged the family to accept it as an act of God.

  • Fear in Presidency as Boko Haram rejects amnesty

    Fear in Presidency as Boko Haram rejects amnesty

    The Presidency has launched a desperate mission to salvage its shattered amnesty-for-Boko Haram programme.

    The fundamentalist sect rejected yesterday the planned clemency for its members, saying it should be the one to pardon the government.

    Some prominent Northern elders believed to be close to Boko Haram have been enlisted to prevail on the sect to embrace peace.

    But a rights activist, Comrade Shehu Sani, who once facilitated talks with Boko Haram, said the rejection of amnesty by the sect should be expected because the Federal Government failed to do its homework well.

    Also, a former military governor of Kaduna State, Col. Abubakar Dangiwa Umar, said dialogue with the sect ought to come first before amnesty.

    To him, the rejection is not surprising.

    After a parley with all service chiefs last week, President Goodluck Jonathan raised a committee to harness the various requests for amnesty for the sect.

    The committee was given two weeks to come up with recommendations on the possibility of granting the militants pardon.

    But Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said the group has not committed any crime to deserve clemency.

    In an audio statement, Shekau said his group had “not committed any wrong to deserve amnesty”.

    “Surprisingly, the Nigerian government is talking about granting us amnesty. What wrong have we done? On the contrary, it is we that should grant you pardon,” Shekau was quoted as saying by AFP.

    The rejection was made in an audio recording in Hausa language, which was distributed by email in a manner consistent with the previous messages released by Boko Haram.

    The voice was said to be similar to that of previous Shekau statements.

    The group says its members are fighting to create an Islamic state in the North where churches and many public places have been bombed. More than 1000 people have been killed.

    According to the statement, Shekau said it was the government that was committing atrocities against muslims.

    At the forefront of the clamour for pardon for the sect are the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, the Alhaji Maitama Sule-led Northern Elders’s Forum (NEF) and eminent Nigerians.

    They include Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) National Learder Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who backed the idea with a condition that those with blood on their hands should face justice and the candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the 2011 presidential election, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

    Gen. Buhari urged Nigerians to support amnesty if it will bring peace.

    The violence continued yesterday; with unknown gunmen killing four policemen in Babangida, headquarters of Tarmuwa Local Government Area of Yobe State.

    The killings, which took place near the slain officers’ station, was confirmed by the State Police Commissioner Sanusi Rufai.

    He said the gang also lost five of their members in the gun duel that ensued.

    Rufai told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the policemen were attacked as they took guard behind the sand-bags which provided barriers at the entrance of the station.

    The gunmen, who failed in their plan to raze the station, carted away some rifles, Rufai said.

    He said: “The gunmen came around midnight, trying to enter the police station with intent to burn it down, but were resisted by the police.

    “We lost four policemen and their rifles were carted away but the station was protected,” Rufai said.

    According to sources, there has been anxiety in the Presidency and security circles since the position of the sect was made known.

    It was gathered that the government got to know of Boko Haram stand on Wednesday night.

    A source said: “No one is happy in the Presidency and in the security agencies because the decision of Boko Haram leaders is a setback.

    “That is why everyone is wearing somber look because President Goodluck Jonathan and his security chiefs have been working round the clock to make the amnesty work.

    “The government is already exploring options to salvage the situation, including liaison with Northern elders who could help persuade Boko Haram leaders to open up talks with the government.”

    Asked why the Boko Haram leaders rejected amnesty, the source added: “I think they have reservations about the process. There was a lot of celebration in the media before the thing took off.”

    In Sani’s view, the rejection should have been expected because the Federal Government failed to do its homework well.

    He also accused the government of focusing on a monetised amnesty instead of a genuine type.

    Sani said: “Well, I am not surprised. In fact, it should be expected that they (Boko Haram leaders) should reject it because the government has put the horse before the cart.

    “First and foremost, the whole idea of amnesty is a charade. The concept brought by Northern elders is an amnesty modelled along the line of Niger Delta and it is attached to financial commitment from the side of the state. They wanted to buy peace at a heavy amount of money just the way it is being brought about in the Niger Delta

    “The committee being set up by the government would naturally be rejected by Boko Haram because it was not constituted after a consultation with the leaders of the sect.

    “The whole idea is about extracting billions of naira to be shared to insurgents and also giving out contracts, using the names of Boko Haram leaders.

    “They simply rejected being used by some persons who want to profit from the amnesty deal.

    “The way forward is for the government to go back to Dr. Ahmed Datti Ahmed peace talk which was facilitated by a journalist, Ahmad Salkida of which the group acknowledged and endorsed at that very time.

    “The outcome of that talk should then be preceded by a committee, which will have the input of the sect and also be recognised by the government.

    “The next stage will then be a six to eight or nine-month ceasefire, which will ensure justice for all the victims of Boko Haram.

    “So, any thought of using tax payers’ money to back up a fraudulent amnesty is an exercise in futility.”

    Col. Umar said dialogue ought to have come first before the Federal Government rushed into the amnesty offer.

    He said through dialogue, the  government ought to have allowed the people to identify themselves, present their demands, consider the demands and  open talks with the victims of Boko Haram insurgency whether they are ready to forgive or not.

    Col. Umar said: “Well, I have all been skeptical about this amnesty issue. I align myself with the fact that there should be dialogue between the government and Boko Haram so that we will know what the insurgents want before we jump into amnesty.

    “Without dialogue, we will not know whether they are ready for ceasefire or not. So, we need to create room for them to identify themselves, what their demands are and discuss with the Federal Government whether the government can meet these demands or not.

    “Also, in considering amnesty, the Federal Government must take into account that there are victims that have been killed, maimed and those that lost their property. We need to know whether the families of those killed and other victims are ready to forgive or not. President Goodluck Jonathan does not have the power to forgive, which is the whole essence of amnesty. There are victims who must be ready to forgive before we can talk of amnesty.

    “To be honest, I am not surprised that they (Boko Haram leaders) have come out to reject amnesty. This is the first time the nation must come together or be united to address this insurgency.”

  • ‘Stop politicising proposed amnesty for Boko Haram sect’

    A professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Lanre Badmus, has accused the Federal Government of politicising its planned amnesty for members of the Boko Haram sect.

    The don noted that the sincerity of the Federal Government in the matter was suspicious.

    Badmus spoke in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, after launching The Learned, a journal of the Law Students’ Association (LASA) of the state’s College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies.

    He said: “I’m not sure the Federal Government is sincere in the promise to give amnesty to Boko Haram members. All that the Federal Government is doing is politics and to play on the people’s intelligence.

    “When you want to set up a committee to take care of the interest of a certain disadvantaged section of the community and you are setting up people that have had their hands soiled with the blood of most of the members of such organisations as members in the amnesty committee programme, it is like you are putting the dog in charge and you are inviting people to come in and the dog would not allow them to come in.

    “Majority of the members in the government committee are people that may not be acceptable to Boko Haram members because they will be thinking that they are being set up. They will be looking at them as a way the government is setting a trap for them.

    “So, when the Sultan of Sokoto made an appeal to the Federal Government to grant the amnesty, the first fundamental mistake the President made was to reply the Sultan in public. The President forgot that the Sultan is a father figure of this country. He’s the spiritual head of the entire Muslims of this country, who are in the majority.

    “In my own opinion, Mr. President should have been wise enough to consult with the Sultan, saying: ‘Please, enlighten me on what you said earlier.’ Then, when he went to announce the committee, I don’t think the Muslim Ummah leadership was contacted. So, it might be that the wrong people have been put in place to do the work.”

  • Jonathan cautioned on amnesty for Boko Haram

    Jonathan cautioned on amnesty for Boko Haram

     

    Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (YOWICAN) on Thursday told President Goodluck Jonathan not to grant amnesty to the Boko Haram sect.

    YOWICAN said Jonathan will find it difficult if he grants amnesty to the sect.

    The body added that the move will be potentially dangerous to Nigeria and Nigerians, and that it will be a clarion call to more terrorism in Nigeria.

    Addressing journalists in Abuja on the proposed amnesty offer, YOWICAN President, Dr. Simon Dolly, warned the Federal Government to be prepared to face more deadly and sophisticated response if the Boko Haram sects are granted amnesty.

    The Christian youths further warned Jonathan to desist from granting the amnesty and advised him to arrest the likes of Senator Zanna, Bukar Abba Ibrahim and others whose utterances and actions YOWICAN said have implicated them.

    Dolly advised Jonathan not to fuel the anger of Christian youths saying, “the fact that Christian youths have not reacted does not mean we are cowards.”

    His words: “We are worried by the clarion call and the subsequent setting up of a committee by President Goodluck Jonathan to work out modalities for granting amnesty despite his earlier position on the amorphous nature of this terrorist group. We the entire Christian Youths in Nigeria say no to any form of amnesty to members of Boko Haram sect or any such group.

    “In case Federal Government is contemplating granting amnesty to wilful murderers masquerading as political and religious insurgents who do not respect the basic tenets of humanity and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Federal Government should be prepared to face perhaps more deadly and sophisticated response.

    “We appeal to the President not to be cowed by politicians and few misfits and naturally rebellious persons in the north who are attempting to use the Boko Haram insurgency as a bait to correct what they have failed to do while they were in power. This planned amnesty for murderers is potentially dangerous to Nigeria and Nigerians because it is a clarion call to more terrorism in the country.”

     

     

     

  • Buhari backs amnesty for Boko Haram

    Buhari backs amnesty for Boko Haram

    NATIONAL leader of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) Maj-Gen Mohammadu Buhari has backed the planned amnesty for Boko Haram, the fundamentalist sect whose insurgency has claimed more than 1000 lives.

    He urged Nigerians to embrace whatever solution that would bring peace to the country.

    Gen. Buhari, who was his party’s candidate in the 2011 presidential election, described as a good thing the committee raised by the Federal Government to examine all requests for amnesty for members of the sect, which is against western education.

    Speaking with reporters at the Presidential Lodge, Abeokuta, Gen. Buhari said the terms of reference given to the amnesty committee remained unknown to him,

    He said if amnesty was granted to the group, it would not be the first of such a thing, citing the clemency extended to Niger Delta militants by the administration of the late Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’ Ardua.

    Gen. Buhari said: “Yes, it is good they have set up a committee and I haven’t seen the terms of reference, but it is the right thing to do. This is not the first time amnesty will be given to … eh.. what shall I call them, a violent group; remember what happened with Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua and the militants. So, this is not the first time. Whatever that will bring peace to the society, we should do it.”

    The former military Head of State was accompanied to Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, by the CPC National Chairman, Prince Tony Momoh, former House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Bello Masari, National Publicity Secretary Rotimi Fashakin, Southwest Chairman of CPC Mr Razaq Muse, Lagos State Chairman, Emibata Ajibade and Gen. Buhari’s running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare.

    Also in the entourage were: the CPC’s former governorship candidate in Ogun State, Mr Wale Okunniyi and the State Chairman, Mr Kunle Mudashiru.

    Gen. Buhari said his mission in the Gateway State was to commiserate with the matriarch of the Awolowo family, Chief (HID Awolowo, over the death of Evangelist Oluwole Awolowo, her son.

    He was also at Ijebu-Ode to pay homage to the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona.

    “I was in Ikene to commiserate with the Awolowo family and I also drove to see the Awujale of Ijebuland. I came here to Abeokuta to greet the mother of my friend, and colleague, Pastor Tunde Bakare.

    In the morning (today), I will drive to Ekiti State and condole and commiserate with them on the death of their deputy governor. This is the purpose of my visit.”