Politics
ACF raises questions over repentant Boko Haram terrorists
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), has called on the Federal Government to prosecute repentant Boko Haram terrorists who have voluntarily surrendered to Nigerian troops in recent weeks.
The apex Northern group, while expressing doubts over the sincerity of insurgents who have been giving themselves up, said rumours making the rounds that they will be rehabilitated and pardoned, said if that happens, then the governnent should as well free those captured and kept in custody by the military.
In a statement on Tuesday made available to Ripples Nigeria titled “On Repentant Boko Haram Terrorists and the Principle of Equity and Justice,” the ACF Chairman and former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbe, the forum questioned the morality in pardoning those who killed thousands of Nigerians, abducted school children, raped women and destroyed communities.
“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 reasons 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 the dead and the maimed? What of those victims bombed in churches, mosques, schools, and markets?
Read also: Reintegration of repentant Boko Haram members not serving its purpose —Zulum
“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 (Sunday) Ighohos 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.
“We join the Governor of Borno State, the Shehu of Borno, Senator Ali Ndume and millions of Nigerians in pondering this development.
“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 reads.
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...