Contents of the letter on ways to
tackle the Boko Haram insurgency, presented by a Borno delegation to President
Muhammadu Buhari last Monday have emerged.
The delegation led by Governor
Kashim Shettima, had former governors, religious leaders, traditional rulers,
elders, national and state assembly members, local government chairmen, women
groups, the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and labour unions.
Governor Shettima explained what
was tendered to the president was the outcome of an extraordinary security
meeting which he convened in Maiduguri on December 31, 2018.
In the letter containing 12
security-related observations and 10 demands, the president was urged to ask
the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai why the 800 Civilian
JTF fighters recruited into the Nigerian Army by him, were not deployed to
Borno state to fight Boko Haram.
The seventh observation reads:
“That, as observed by the leadership of the Civilian JTF without contrary view
(from the military) at the meeting, majority of over 800 members of the
Civilian JTF enlisted into the Nigerian Army are currently not deployed to
Borno State where they can use their local knowledge of communities, in the
fight against Boko Haram”.
However, the fifth demand reads,
“Mr President should consider directing that the over 800 members of the
Civilian JTF enlisted into the Nigerian Army, be immediately re-deployed to
Borno State, be equipped and given specialized training where necessary, for
the purpose of contributing their local knowledge of the terrain in Borno
State, in the fight against Boko Haram”.
Furthermore, the letter told the
president that more than 26,000 Civilian JTF members who battle insurgents
alongside the military depend on sticks and knives and appealed to him to
liaise with the National Assembly in order to equip a selected number of fighters.
The demand which was the fourth
reads: “Mr President should consider working with the National Assembly towards
the speedy amendment of the Terrorism Act or coming under “a doctrine of
necessity” to approve the specialized and regulated use of non-prohibitive arms
for selected volunteers of the Civilian JTF, for the specific reason of
fighting the Boko Haram in specific locations. Such use of arms should be for a
specific period of time under strict monitoring by the Military”.
In another observation, the
letter informed the President that the Borno State police command urgently
required high calibre weapons to preserve constitutional authorities in
liberated and rebuilt communities.
The demand for this which is
second in the letter reads: “Mr President should consider and approve, as a
matter of special case, the specialized use of AA rifles for the Borno State
Police Command for capacity enhancement as against the current dependence on AK
47 rifles”.
The letter also informed the
nation’s leader that Civilian JTF members that have been involved in
intelligence gathering, identification and arrest of suspected Boko Haram
members, were worried about the military’s operation safe corridor programme
which releases repentant insurgents into the society.
Noting that not all apprehended
and freed sect members might honour their promise to turn a new leaf by staying
away totally from terrorism, the letter demanded that ”Mr President should
consider and approve the suspension of the ongoing de-radicalization and
reintegration of repentant Boko Haram insurgents until such a time they do not
pose serious threat to our fighting force”.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com