You Must Bring Repentant Insurgents to Justice Or Set Others Detained Free, ACF Warns FG
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by Our Correspondent
The apex socio cultural northern group, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has warned the federal government to set a good example in its fight against insurgency by bringing repentant terrorists to justice or release the rest of them still in custody.
Chairman of the forum and former Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, in a statement on Tuesday, August 17th titled: “On Repentant Boko Haram Terrorists and the Principle of Equity and Justice”, said an apology was not enough to bring relief to Nigerians and the thousands that were killed and maimed.
The statement reads; “We are currently witnessing large scale surrender of large numbers of Boko Haram insurgents, among whom are bomb makers, commanders, arsorrists, rapists, and child snatchers.
“Do we have good reason 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 dead and maimed?”
He emphasized that the massive destruction of property by the insurgents, which has rendered many people homeless, prompting the ACF to pose further questions: “What of those victims bombed in the churches, mosques, schools, and markets? 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 Ighoho’s 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.”
The ACF chairman, declared that the path being toed by the federal government would make other Nigerians feel gullible.
Expatiating further, he said; “We join the Governor of Borno State, the Shehu of Borno, Senator Ndume and millions of Nigerians in pondering over this development and 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.”
