BOKO HARAM: Stop the lies, the truth is now in the open, Fayose tells FG

Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has said that it was high time the Federal Government stopped deceiving Nigerians on the insurgency fight if it must win the battle.

This was as he said that the United States “Country Report on Terrorism 2016” and the Transparency International Report revealing corruption in the military, have confirmed his earlier position that the Federal Government lied to Nigerians that Boko Haram was technically defeated.

He said; “With over 120 Nigerians killed by the Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State last month alone, it is necessary for the federal government to face the reality that it has a very long walk to victory in the fight against the insurgents.”

The governor stated this in a statement issued in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka.

Fayose further alleged a possible ‘arranged’ release of some Chibok Girls by the Federal Government to divert attention of Nigerians and give the impression that it was making progress in the fight against the insurgents.

The US Department of State’s Bureau for Counterterrorism and
Countering Violent Extremism had said in the report that the inability of security agencies in Nigeria to share intelligence because of animosity is affecting the success in the fight against Boko Haram.

It went further to accuse the State Security Services (SSS) of failure to share intelligence report with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), thus making it harder to investigate Boko Haram financing.

“This report by the US government has further lent credence to earlier revelation by the Transparency International (TI) that despite President Muhammadu Buhari government’s anti-corruption fight, corruption in the military was weakening Nigeria’s efforts to battle Boko Haram.

“The report is also a confirmation that the SSS has abandoned its core responsibility of intelligence gathering and turned itself into the instrument of political oppression, invading judges residences in the night,” the governor said.

Fayose said the first step the Federal Government will take in order to win the battle will be to stop lying to Nigerians.

“The government must let the people know the situation on ground so that genuine assistance can be offered. There should also be a periodic change in military personnel so that officers don’t become institutions to themselves.

“As revealed by the TI, fight against Boko Haram has become a cash cow for some top military officers and corrupt politicians in the Buhari’s government, with the creation of fake defence contracts and laundering the proceeds often laundered abroad in the UK, U.S. and elsewhere.

“The TI went further to state that the military is left without vital
equipment, insufficiently trained, low in morale andunder-resourced.

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“The federal government must therefore address the widespread corruption in the fight against Boko Haram as revealed by the TI and also see to the welfare of the military personnel involved in the fight,” the governor said.

While reiterating the need for the government to say the truth always, he added, “the government cannot keep telling the public that Boko Haram had been decimated and the same Boko Haram was able to kill over 120 people in just one state in one month.

“Few hours ago, the insurgents invaded a community in Madagali Local Government in Adamawa State, killing more than 10 people and sacking the entire community,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, on Wednesday, cautioned that the war against the terrorist group was neither won nor over.

Buratai, who was addressing officers and men of the Nigeria Army in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, added that more efforts are needed to crush the Boko Haram terrorists.

The military and Nigerian government had, before the recent spate of escalated attacks, continuously claimed that the terrorists had been technically defeated.

Ebere Ndukwu …

 

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