CAN REJECTS PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN CONDITIONAL AMNESTY FOR BOKO HARAM..........THISDAY LIVE Determined to explore various options that can rein in the increasingly destructive attacks on Nigerians by the terrorist group, Boko Haram, President Goodluck Jonathan has announced the offer of amnesty to members of the outlawed Islamic sect.The offer may be patterned after the type offered the Niger Delta Militants who renounced violence, surrendered their arms and embraced dialogue; after which they were put through a de-militarisation process and non-violence training.The scheme is presently running in batches supervised by the amnesty office Abuja. But while the government in the days ahead will be working out the modalities of the promised amnesty scheme, the Bauchi State Chapter of CAN has urged President Jonathan not to succumb to the demand of northern elite of granting amnesty to the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, arguing that the genesis of terrorism in Nigeria is because power has shifted from the north.It said the dreaded group had previously rejected all offers of dialogue by the federal government, hence it would be a waste of time and resources to grant them amnesty.The Kabiru Turaki Committee, which was set up to seek out and dialogue with members of the sect toured the country but could hardly be said to have any meaningful impact as members of the sect shunned their rapprocahment.The Secretary of Bauchi CAN, Rev. Joshua Rai, while reacting to the offer of amnesty, lamented that the 15 years of democracy rule in the country had been marred by continuous spate of bomb attacks and killings of innocent citizens.He said: I strongly disagree with the presidents position of accepting unconditional renouncement of violence by insurgents and reintegrating them back to the society. What the president should consider is these people are not interested in repenting or negotiating with the government on realistic grounds.Continuing, he said: President Jonathan inherited this terrorism challenge from the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and he is battling with it because the north do not want him in power. So the northern elite formed this militant group to continue to shed blood all in the name of restoring power back to the north.According to the CAN secretary, the war against insurgency would linger in the north for a long time because some top security officers are aiding the operations of Boko Haram, particularly in Borno State.He advised northern governors to interact with the stakeholders in the region with the aim of bringing to an end the unrest in the northern part of the country.
Posted on: Fri, 30 May 2014 05:53:58 +0000
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