“There are three factors that are
basically responsible for the consistent upsurge in deadly attacks in parts of
the North East of Nigeria by the armed boko haram insurgents. The first factor
is the continuous releases from detention by the military of boko haram
detained terrorists without thorough assessments. The second is the
opaque prosecutorial style by the office of the Federal Attorney General and
Minister of Justice which has ended up like a charade and a stage- managed
drama in which sizeable percentage of the detained boko haram terrorists are
set free even as the trial is done in secret with no representatives of
credible non-governmental groups or representatives of the victims present at
the trials. The third
and most strategic cause of the setbacks in the war on terror is rolled up in
two parts which are the secret payments of ransoms to terrorists, release of
key commanders as bargaining aspect of the entire package and the failure of
government to roll out effective media enlightenment programmes to dissuade
people in the North East from being sympathetic to the misguided cause of the
terrorists and to dry up the potential recruitment fertile grounds for
foot soldiers by the dreaded globally rated terror network of boko haram.”
In a media statement, the prominent
Non-governmental and pro-democracy group – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF
NIGERIA (HURIWA) through its National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and
the National Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf carpeted the Justice
Minister Alhaji Abubakar Malami for failing to decisively, efficiently and
effectively lead the prosecution of the boko haram terrorists even when these
suspected terrorists have unleashed devastating violence that is responsible
for the killings of over thirty thousand Nigerians.
The Rights group accused the office
of the Federal Attorney General and minister of Justice and the offices of
state Attorneys General of the affected states of the North East of downplaying
the scale of national catastrophic damage done to the soul of the nation by the
apparently unending terror attacks by boko haram terrorists.
“Recently, we were told in scattered
and incoherent press statements from the Federal Ministry of Justice that
government had concluded the prosecution of detained boko haram terrorists
somewhere in Niger State but from the same incoherently written but largely
deceptive media statements we were told that only few persons got what can be
considered a great deal of sentences. There was
however no indication of any of these mass killers been sentenced to death for
the unprecedented scale of violence and bloodshed that they committed in a
horrendous dimension and also, some of these terrorists were let off the hooks
due to want of evidence. This is gross irresponsibility and absolutely
condemnable.”
HURIWA also criticized the
intermittent releases of detained boko haram terrorists by the security forces
in the guise of deradicalization when the relevant laws in Nigeria on murder do
not have any of such provisions authorizing freedom for persons accused of
committing despicable offences. The Rights group accused government of
neglecting the thousands of victims who have lost loved ones to the activities
of armed terrorists and wondered why those arrested even in the battle fields
for fighting on the side of boko haram terrorists are granted pardon whereas
their dare devil mass killings are left without bringing decisive justice on
them for these despicable crime against humanity.
"This near – treacherous act of setting
free persons responsible for the destruction of North East of Nigeria and
bombed several parts of Abuja and North West/North Central in whatever guise is
treasonable and indeed is directly linked to the upsurge in the attacks by boko
haram terrorists that we are witnessing in the North East including the recent
kidnap of over 100 school girls in Yobe State.”
HURIWA said many of such releases
have happened even as very recently the Nigerian Army handed over 244
repentant Boko Haram insurgents released from detention to Borno Government.
HURIWA recalled that the Theatre
Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj.-Gen. Rogers Nicholas, disclosed this
while presenting the released detainees to Gov. Kashim Shettima, at the
Military Cemetery, Maimalari cantonment, Maiduguri.
HURIWA quoted General Nicholas as
saying that the detainees were released as part of activities to
commemorate the 2018 Armed Forces Remembrance Day. He disclosed that the
detainees comprised 118 males; 56 females; 19 teenagers and 51 children.
HURIWA quoted the General as stating
thus: “The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, ordered the release of
the repentant Boko Haram detainees and their family members. The
detainees have been de-radicalized for reintegration into the society. We are
handing over the detainees to Borno Government for administration."
HURIWA said the handling of these
alleged serial mass killers arrested by the armed security forces as part of a
ceremonial ritual is absolutely illegal because this action has denied both the
Nation State and the hundreds of thousands of victims of boko haram terrorism
of the required Constitutional justice because Justice has three sides- for the
victims, the State and the alleged offender.
HURIWA has therefore called for an
immediate end to this seemingly 'Father Christmas' gesture of releasing Mass
murderers to the society to reintegrate with relatives of those they murdered.
"The Federal government is by these totally thoughtless, irrational,
irresponsible and illegal releases of detained terrorists fuelling the
resurgence of terror campaign which has led to more devastating mass murders of
innocent Nigerians".
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