SHARI’AH COUNCIL TO SHEKAU: Come out of hiding

The Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria on Monday described the factional leader of the Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, as a coward and challenged him to come out of hiding.

The Secretary-General of the Council, Nafi’u Baba-Ahmed, who made the call at a media briefing in Kaduna, said the Boko Haram leader’s confession of the murder of an Islamic cleric, Sheikh Jafar Adam, exposed his complete ignorance of Islam and its laws.

He said: “Shekau should be bold enough to face the security forces, if he is truly the courageous leader of Boko Haram he claims to be.

“Shekau gleeful confession to the brutal murder of late Sheik Ja’afar Adam revealed his clear ignorance of the teachings of Islam which he claims to champion.”

Baba-Ahmed, therefore, issued what he called an intellectual challenge to Shekau on his group’s “crooked religious ideology.”

He commended the Federal Government’s efforts at tackling insecurity in the country, but said the current resurgence of crimes demands new strategies, alternative approaches and options in addressing the problems.

According to him, the service chiefs must be called to account over the resurgence of security threats including Boko Haram attacks and other threats across the country.

He noted that the video allegedly released by Shekau was a collective challenge to all well-meaning Nigerians desirous of peace and stability in the country.

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Baba-Ahmed added: “The release of the video itself is a sad indication of the evident failure of strategies and efforts of government in tackling Boko Haram insurgency in particular and the myriads of equally horrendous security threats bedevilling the country.”

He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to decisively crush Boko Haram insurgency and restore order in the country, in line with his campaign promises.

Shekau had last week warned President Buhari not to return to Borno State after his sympathy visit to the state following the horrendous killing of 30 travelers by Boko Haram fighters the penultimate week.

He said in the video released a few hours after the President’s visit that Boko Haram fighters are on ground in the North East to attack him if he visits the state again.

The Boko Haram factional leader also gave conditions for the release of the remaining 176 students of the Government Girls College, Chibok, Borno State, in the sect’s captivity.

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