Convince Boko Haram To Come
Out Of Hiding, President Tells
Proponents Of Amnesty
Posted: March 25, 2013 - 19:16
By SaharaReporters, New York
The presidency has called on
proponents of amnesty for
members of the Boko Haram sect
to take a cue from how the
amnesty programme in the Niger
Delta was brokered by initiating
contact with the leadership of
the sect and convincing them to
come out and dialogue with the
government.
The Senior Special Assistant to
the President on Public Affairs,
Doyin Okupe, offered the advice
today in a press statement issued
in Abuja.
Okupe argued that President
Goodluck Jonathan has nothing
to gain from the prolongation of
the wanton destruction of life
and property by members of the
sect, and expects leaders of
thought in the affected states to
prevail on the leadership of the
sect to abandon their destructive
pursuit and embrace dialogue
like the militants in the Niger
Delta did before amnesty was
granted.
He also warned against
politicising the issue of amnesty
and using it to blackmail the
President whose over riding
desire, he said, is the peaceful
and harmonious co-existence of
all Nigerians irrespective of their
social, religious and political
leanings.
In his words, “There is therefore
no need for the over
politicization of the demand for
Amnesty, nor to blackmail the
President for taking strong,
patriotic but contrary views to
those of some of our respected
elders.
“Such, sometimes is the nature of
statecraft and in many parts of
the civilized world, situation like
this are handled with equanimity
and further deepening of
consultation, certainly not
acrimonious misunderstanding
or open hatred.
He said he expected respected
leaders to go back to the
drawing board and increase
internal consultation and
networking with the aim of
reaching out to the leadership of
the insurgents and convincing
them “to do the needful and step
out to be counted."
The president's aide recalled that
prominent leaders of the Niger
Delta such as former Information
Minister, Edwin Clark; former
Governor Diepreye
Alameieyeseigha; former Minister
for Culture Alabo Graham Douglas
and a few others co-operated
fully with the late President Musa
Yar'Adua by visiting militants
camps and persuading them to
lay down their arms and allow
government address their
grievances in a civilized manner.
Naming people he called
“nationally-acknowledged”
leadership of Niger Delta
militants, including Asari Dokubo,
Boyloaf, Tompolo, Atake Tom,
Tamuno George, Soboma George,
Okupe said they negotiated
openly and transparently with
the government.
He also said that there was need
to be mindful that there are
other ethnic militias in the
country who have remained
essentially peaceful, and who
may by these calls for amnesty
for Boko Haram be encouraged
to now pursue violence, and that
grandstanding, undue
politicization, blackmail and
insincerity will not help us as a
Nation.

Em, where are they. Sultan of Sokoto, Ribadu, Hell Rufia, buhari, and other 'elders' of the north, over to you.
Go to the terrorists camps and convince the leaders to show their faces. Start with Shekau!
Do that NOW or forever hold your peace while our able JTF do what they do best.

Meanwhile, let me at this juncture be the first to ask for amnesty for MASSOB and Bakassi Boys (if they still exist). Not for what they have done, but for what they will do next!

what a nonsense!

the ones sitting in federal detentions, kabiru sokoto and the rest of them are faces of boko haram. they did not go on self-mission, they were on directives from someone, somewhere......get the connecting dots and link them all together.

the ones just arrested in lagos are on directives originated somewhere....link and track the footprints and markers to the origin.

what is the doofus president waiting on to find the face of boko, their faces are sitting in his jails. dummyie creekman!

Dudu_Negro: what a nonsense!

the ones sitting in federal detentions, kabiru sokoto and the rest of them are faces of boko haram. they did not go on self-mission, they were on directives from someone, somewhere......get the connecting dots and link them all together.

the ones just arrested in lagos are on directives originated somewhere....link and track the footprints and markers to the origin.

what is the doofus president waiting on to find the face of boko, their faces are sitting in his jails. dummyie creekman!

you dey mind them. Aso rock keeps playing politics with innocent citizens. Turn on more heat and crush on boko you nor gree,grant amnesty you nor gree. The innocent citizens are caught inbetween this gameplay. Right from GEJ campaign train till now, i must say this adminstration has so much blood stains of tis innocent citizens on its hands. Yet, all it cares bout and keeps shouting is that they want to spoil his govt. At what cost will the innocent masses continue to suffer and seen as collateral damages while a weak commander of the the armed forces continue not to give a damn bout them?