Northern leaders ask Jonathan to release Boko Haram terrorists in exchange of Chibok girls As President Goodluck Jonathan ruled out the possibility of swapping abducted schoolgirls for members of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram detained by security agencies across the country, Nigeria’s Northern leaders have advised the Federal Government to accept the insurgents’ proposal. Leaders of the region said that no sacrifice was too much to bring back the girls. However, one of the parents of the abducted girls who spoke to one of our correspondents on the telephone from Chibok, Ishaya Abama, said government should only take decisions that would result in total eradication of the activities of the Islamic sect. Abama, who has been bedridden since 2010 due to a spinal cord injury, said the sect was a big threat to the society. He explained that the entire Chibok had been shot down by the Islamic sect, adding that the residents had no peace of mind. Besides, there are indications that Northern leaders are apprehensive about foreign forces’ direct involvement in the battle against Boko Haram, particularly moves to rescue the abducted girls. Over 200 girls were abducted by the terrorist group at the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, on April 14, 2014. Saturday PUNCH gathered that most of the leaders felt that foreigners’ direct involvement in anti-terrorism activities of the Federal Government and efforts to rescue the girls might make the option of dialogue, which they had always advocated, difficult to adopt. It was also learnt that some leaders were worried by the Federal Government’s turning down of the proposal by the sect to swap the girls for their members detained by security agencies. Particularly, the Northern Elders’ Forum said no sacrifice was too much to bring back the girls, even if it includes releasing Boko Haram prisoners. The spokesperson for NEF, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, said, in a telephone interview with Saturday PUNCH on Thursday in Abuja, “I believe every sacrifice is worth making to get these girls released from wherever they are kept. I would advise the government to look at this reasonably and dispassionately. Even if they have to release Boko Haram prisoners depending on how reasonably such a demand is.” The NEF, had in April, 2013 suggested the setting up of a dialogue and reconciliation commission. The Federal Government later, in 2013 set up a Committee on Peace and Resolution of Conflict in the North-East, headed by the Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Taminu.
Posted on: Sat, 17 May 2014 09:35:02 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015