…Says ‘Apologizing Is Not Enough’
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has called on the Federal Government to decide on how it will properly deal with the recent trend of Boko Haram terrorists repenting and surrendering.
ACF said in a statement said the federal government will set a good example by dealing decisively with the recent trend and the insurgency in the country by either bringing repentant Boko terrorists to justice or releasing the rest of them still in custody.
The statement was signed by the chairman of the forum and former Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, and is titled: “On repentant Boko Haram Terrorists and the Principle of Equity and Justice”.
He said an apology was not enough to bring relief to Nigerians and justice to the thousands that were killed.
According to Ogbeh, “We are currently witnessing large scale surrender of large numbers of Boko Haram insurgents, among whom are bomb makers, commanders, arsonists, rapists, and child snatchers. Do we have good reason to cheer and hope for an end to this decade-old insanity? Is ‘I am sorry enough to bring relief to Nigerians and the thousands of dead and maimed?”
Ogbeh also wondered, how the government is planning to make up for all the destruction and death that had been unleashed by the terrorist group over the years.
“What of those victims bombed in the churches, mosques, schools, and markets? What of all the men and women in uniform murdered by them?
“Who can count the thousands of widows and orphans they have created? And what is the difference between them and the Ighoho’s or ESN of Nigeria? None. So what do we do with them? Should we just embrace them and trust them wholesale? Are their moves informed by altruistic repentance? We seriously doubt.”
Ogbeh said the federal government decisions about the repentant Boko Haram terrorists made other Nigerians feel gullible.
“We join the Governor of Borno, the Shehu of Borno, Senator Ndume and millions of Nigerians in pondering over this development and our simple advice is: Bring them to trial, or free all others presently in custody anywhere, while we Nigerians plead guilty of naivety and gullibility in the extreme, punishable by more insurrection and anarchy,” the statement said.
Recall The New Diplomat had recently reported that the Islamic State of West Africa (ISWAP)’s recent territorial onslaught against Boko Haram had led to the death of the spiritual leader of the monstrous sect, Abubakar Shekau, who killed himself to escape capture by the rival Jihadists in his Sambisa enclave.
ISWAP, which many security intelligence sources had predicted to lead the transition phase of Jihadism in the country alongside the guerrilla herdsmen, would later reveal in a viral message by its leader, Abu Albarnawi that it killed Shekau on the order of ISIS for deviating and killing “believers.”
Security experts had said the alleged death of Abubakar Shekau could be the main reason why there has been a surge in the number of Boko Haram terrorists who are surrendering to the government’s forces.
