GBOKO HARAM; FG panel calls for amnesty

By Kinglsey Omonobi, Anayo Okoli,
Clifford Ndujihe & DANIEL IDONOR
ABUJA—THE Presidential Committee on
Security Challenges in the North-East
Zone, which was set up following the
bomb attacks by the Islamic sect, Boko
Haram, yesterday submitted its final
report, asking President Goodluck
Jonathan to consider the grant of
amnesty to members of the sect
wishing to surrender their arms to the
Federal government.
The committee submitted its report on
a day the security agencies commenced
manhunt for suspected Boko Haram
members who may have sneaked into
Abuja to carry out suicide bomb attack
on a national asset to dent the nation’s
51st Independence anniversary
celebrations.
The Federal Government panel headed
by Ambassador Usman Gaji Galtimari,
recommended that “the Federal
Government should fundamentally,
consider the option of dialogue and
negotiation which should be contingent
upon the renunciation of all forms of
violence and surrender of arms to be
followed by rehabilitation”.
The committee also told Vice President
Namadi Sambo, who received the final
report on behalf of President Jonathan
that the Jaamatus Ahlus Sunnah Lid
Daawatis Wal Jihad, aka Boko Haram,
has nominated the Sultan of Sokoto,
Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III or his
representative; the Emir of Bauchi and
Sheik Abubakar Gero Argungu, as its
representatives in any federal
government team that will negotiate
with its members.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad
Abubakar in his reaction said he was
not aware of the panel report and has
not been contacted.
Following the attack on UN House in
Abuja by Boko Haram on August 28
this year which claimed 23 lives,
spokesman of the group, Abu Kakah
accused the Federal Government of
insincerity in dialoguing with the group,
saying the only condition they would
accept to talk with government was
unconditional release of all their
members whom, he said, are in prisons
all over the country.
Claiming responsibility for the UN House
attack as well as the failed suicide
attack on Borno police command
headquarters and the attack on banks
in Gombi, Adamawa State which left
more than 16 people dead the
spokesman of the group said they had
not been contacted by Borno State
Government and the Federal
Government or their representatives for
dialogue.
The spokesman had also described the
Sultan as the ‘Seriki’ of Sokoto and not
the leader of the Muslims in the
country, accusing him of supporting the
Federal Government policies against
Islam.
The panel which had earlier submitted
its preliminary report to the Secretary
to the Government of the Federation,
Senator Pius Anyim Pius, said:
“Government may consider constituting
another committee with wider powers
and with increased membership to
handle the assignment within a
reasonable timeframe but not weeks as
was given to this committee”.
The committee which said it had
interacted with various stakeholders,
including the governors of Borno,
Bauchi, Kano, Niger and Sokoto states
and the Sultan of Sokoto among other
traditional rulers, also urged “the
Federal Government to diversify and
strengthen its means of creating
avenues for international intelligence
sharing and inter-agency cooperation
through diplomatic channels/pacts”.
It added that “the Federal Government
should create an informal forum at the
highest level, where Mr President will
discuss national security issues with
governors and other major stakeholders
from time to time. Again, there is an
urgent need for arranging an informal
forum where Mr President will grant
audience to each state governor on
one-to-one basis where issues on
security, could be addressed”.
It further recommended that “the
Federal Government and Borno State
Government should ensure that human
and organisational victims most
especially, churches and mosques
including schools, which were destroyed
during religious crises in the past and
even in the recent past, should be
compensated monetarily and by way of
resuscitating and reconstructing their
properties. Survivors of the deceased
victims should be compensated
appropriately”.
Causes of security challenges
The panel listed the remote and
immediate causes of the present
security challenges in the country, to
include among others: “High level of
poverty and illiteracy existing in the
North-East; massive unemployment of
youths, both skilled and unskilled; and
existence of private militias that were
established, funded and used by
politicians and individuals and then
dumped after having been trained to
handle arms”.
Other causes, according to the seven-
man panel, are “presence of large
number of almajiris who together with
those mentioned above could easily be
used as canon-folders to ignite and
sustain crises”; and “influx of illegal
aliens resulting from porous and
unmanned borders coupled with
provocative and inciting preaching by
some religious clerics”.
Also listed to be the immediate causes
of the ongoing terrorist attacks are “the
extra-judicial killing of the sect leader,
Mohammed Yusuf and some members
of the sect by security agents”; and
“weak governance and failure to deliver
services in the wake of huge resources
accruing to state and local
governments”.
The panel remarked that on the part of
the security forces there are palpable
operational lapses, service rivalry,
underfunding, under-equipment and
lack of collaboration; while
governments have failed to deliver
justice and bring immediate relief to
victims of the crises.
Also cited as a major discovery by the
panel is the “general failure of effective
and coordinated intelligence gathering
and its deployment to forestall events
with undesirable consequences”;
stressing that “in this direction, there is
no high level security network/forum
(outside the statutory national security
institutions) that will enable an
informal meeting between Mr President
and the governors as well as other top
level security stakeholders”.
Receiving the report from the
committee members, Vice President
Sambo who was joined by the National
Security Adviser, General Andrew Azazi,
the SGF, and Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Alhaji Aminu
Tambuwal, promised to implement the
recommendations as contained in the
report.
The Vice President, while commending
the committee for a job well done, said
that “some of the major issues you
have stated regarding the issues of
poverty, unemployment, breach of the
peace and the existence of private
militia are issues that this
administration is looking at seriously.”
Sambo explained that it was for this
purpose that the government had in the
2011 budget, made available a large sum
of money to tackle unemployment,
stating that the issue of inadequate
power supply which government was
addressing squarely was central to job
creation.
FG arrests suspects planning to disrupt
independence celebrations
Following ‘substantiated’ intelligence
reports that the Boko Haram sect had
concluded arrangements to carry out a
suicide bombing inside the federal
capital territory by hitting at a National
Asset to dent the nation’s 51st
independence anniversary celebrations,
topmost security organizations in the
seat of power have commenced a
manhunt for adherents of the group
who may have sneaked into Abuja.
Towards this end, Vanguard learnt
yesterday that more than 40 persons
suspected of having links with the
group, amongst them, some foreign
nationals from Niger, were at the
weekend arrested by a combined team
of military police and military
intelligence personnel attached to the
Guards Brigade at Dei-Dei, a district
located on the Kubwa- Suleija-Kaduna
axis of the FCT.
It was gathered that the operation to
round up suspects of the Boko Haram
group which is termed ‘top priority’ by
the security agencies, is being
spearheaded by the Army Headquarters
Garrison, the Military Intelligence, while
all the battalions under the Guards
Brigade have been put on a 24-hour
alert at all the entry points into the
FCT to ensure the sect members did not
find their way into the FCT.
A Major General, (names with-held), is
said to be coordinating the security
network in the FCT, in the wake of the
threats and the past experiences
whereby the group beat all security
cordons and successfully carried out
the bombing of the UN House in Abuja.