FG MUST TREAD SOFTLY ON AMNESTY FOR BOKO HARAM

There must be an endgame to the terror carnage in northeast Nigeria and it’s best that the federal government is on top of it

It has lasted for far too long already. In fact, it ought to have ended in 2009 when it started.  But after a long bloody decade, it really should end now. But government must tread most cautiously in order to get it right. 

The issue at stake is the ongoing deradicalization and amnesty programme by the Nigerian Government for allegedly repentant Boko Haram terrorists. 

The initiative which started over two years ago has seen over 1000 so called repentant Boko Haram members salvaged by the Government. However,  a recent photograph which shows supposedly repentant BH members being fed and feted in a very decent camp drew the ire of Nigerians. There was indignant uproar. Why are supposed mass murderers who committed heinous crimes against humanity and the state immediately begin to enjoy state privileges? How come their various atrocities against the government and citizens of Nigeria are being allowed to slip without any adverse consequences?

In the nearly 12 years the Boko Haram has foisted absolute terror on the Northeast corner of Nigeria, it is reported that about 35,000 Nigerians, including members of the military have been killed. About two million are displaced from their homestead with most of them living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps. Economic development has been stymied in the region over this period, even farming. In other words, the disaster wrought by the BH terrorists has been of immense magnitude. This is why many segments of the country have kicked against what seems like a most perfunctory process of renunciation, atonement and reabsorption into a society that they have destroyed and laid waste for over a decade.

The move by the authorities is particularly galling when one considers the fact that millions of Nigerians are still languishing in sub-human situations in neglected camps while the terror war continues to rage.

Of course there are solid arguments for peaceful reconciliation and closure of this tragic annal in the life of Nigeria. Analysts are calling for caution, for a structured and carefully delivered denouement.

First, they insist there must be a proper legal framework upon which to anchor the process. For instance, it’s not the place of any agency of Government or the military to lead the process. The Anti-Terrorism Act gives that role to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF.

Lawyers, including numerous Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, have cautioned against wholesale pardon and amnesty before trials and convictions. They want the process reversed.

The federal government has also been advised never to allow repentant terrorists into the military establishment under any guise. That may well amount to self-immolation.

The duty of the military is of course to provide proper holding bays, clinical biometric profilings, debriefing, deradicalization and possible imbuing the ‘captives’ with vocational capacities.

All of these are short to medium term measures. This newspaper seizes this opportunity to once again call on all levels of government to improve the delivery of social goods to Nigerians no matter the corner of the country they may be.

Again, why is Nigeria’s local government system dysfunctional and outright moribund? 

Leadership across board must meet minds and bridge this gap. Having the LGAs functioning optimally is bound to reduce by about half, the problems of acute poverty and underdevelopment in Nigeria. 

Yet another holistic handling of the challenge at hand is to ensure that all MDAs and institutions established to intervene in socioeconomic uplift of the citizens and concerns of the youth, are primed to function and deliver sustainable results.

Finally, Nigerians want an end to the terror scourge over the land but it must be undergirded by principles of justice and fairplay and the right lessons need be learned. 

If only to be sure this never recurs.