The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, has urged the federal government to be cautious in granting amnesty to repentant terrorists, using the Rwanda and Sri Lanka models as an example.
ACF National Publicity Secretary, Prof. T. A. Muhammad-Baba, Leadership Newspapers reports, quoting him as saying that the terrorists should be prosecuted in court, where they will face their victims as penance for the crime they have committed against the country.
The ACF spokesman spoke amidst divisions among Nigerians over federal government’s amnesty policy for repentant terrorists. Not a few Nigerians, particularly leaders from the northern part of the country have condemned the programme, describing it to be very premature when terrorism has not been totally defeated.
ACF made the remark few hours after the insurgent group, Boko Haram issued a 72-hour ultimatum to the Nigerian government, threatening to execute 416 captives—mostly women and children—unless its demands are met.
The terrorists are demanding N6 billion ransom for the captives.
The development also comes following last weeks graduation of over 700 repentant terrorists under the Federal Government’s De-radicalisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration Camp under Operation Safe Corridor.
The Northern apex social group said the federal government has placed the cart before the horse by not ensuring the total defeat and surrender of the terrorists before granting them amnesty.
It said the terrorists are being pampered while the victims have been left on their own, asking, What of the victims? What happened to them?
The group said the federal government should have ensured that forgiveness is left to the victims of terrorism, who have the right to decide whether they want to forgive the terrorists or not., saying the terrorists must face the law before any other thing.
“This amnesty, these deals and so on with terrorists and bandits, in the first place, when you want to do that, there has to be accountability. What of the victims? What happened to them? The wrong was done to the state represented by the government, but the harm was inflicted on individuals, people, and families. What is their fate? It has been tried in Rwanda, but in Rwanda, the terrorists are taken before a Special Court and made to confess their sins, and they are confronted by their victims. And it was up to the victims to forgive or not. And if they don’t forgive, the law would take its course”
It noted that the amnesty programme is being carried out without adequate consultations with all necessary stakeholders, saying other countries who had faced insurgency ensured that the terrorists were only pardoned after they have been totally defeated.
“Now, when you do this kind of thing, in the first place, we don’t have enough details. The federal government just announced something. You know, who has wronged these people? And what of the unfortunate victims of their activities who have nothing? You go into a village, you burn, you loot, you kill, you maim, you rape. What for? Innocent people. Look, I think we have to go back to the experience of other countries first. Sri Lanka faced an insurgency, but the government ensured overwhelming success. When the insurgents realised they could not succeed, the peace process began. I would love to see this in Nigeria.”
It urged the federal government to use overwhelming force to defeat the terrorists before contemplating amnesty, adding that “the final person who will forgive is not the government, it’s the victim.”
ACF: “I would love to see a situation where the government shows unequivocally that it will prevail with overwhelming force to discharge its duties to citizens. And then we can talk about other non-kinetic measures. But that is, we don’t have enough details. We worry about the victims. We worry about the nature of a reorientation that these bandits and terrorists were put through.
“No details. So, in short, we urge extreme caution, one. Two, we add that the interests of victims should be taken into consideration. And the final person who will forgive is not the government, it’s the victim. If they so wish. There has to be retributive justice. You just cannot carry arms. It’s not even against the state. It’s against the people. We don’t have enough details. What can one say? We just express our opinion about it, and that’s all.”
Not a few Nigerians have raised alarm that some terrorists who have received amnesty, later went back to join Boko Haram and ISWAP, particularly those of them who were reported to have been recruited into the military.
The federal government has, however, denied recruiting repentant terrorists into the nation’s Armed Forces.
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