The Federal Government has admonished “naysayers” to stop
spewing negative and false narratives around Boko Haram members who are
surrendering in droves in the North-East.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed
gave the admonition in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday
in Washington.
NAN reports that no fewer than 1,000 Boko Haram fighters and
their families have handed themselves over to army units in recent weeks in the
southern Borno towns of Konduga, Bama, and Mafa.
The minister berated those who were alleging that the
surrendered insurgents were not actual Boko Haram fighters and if they were,
they should be shot rather than granted amnesty.
He also described as “false and demoralising’’ the claim in
certain quarters that the surrendered insurgents would be recruited into the
Nigerian military
“The fact that we are witnessing insurgents submitting in
droves calls for commendation of our military for their doggedness.
“We must not forget that two months ago, Nigerians were
putting pressure on the President to recruit mercenaries to fight the war
against terror because they said we were losing the war.
“The President, however, remained focused and confident in
his belief in the Nigerian military that they have what it takes to defeat the
insurgents.
“We thank God that Mr President today has been proven right.
“We were able to achieve this, largely because of the
leadership of Mr President in providing the wherewithal continually to the
military and ensuring that their fighting morale is sustained by way of welfare
packages,’’ he said.
Mohammed added that the call for the prosecution and killing
of the repentant militants rather than granting them amnesty was against global
best practices.
“I personally spoke to the military authority before I left
Nigeria and they said what they were doing is what the global practice dictates
about soldiers that surrendered that should be treated as prisoners of war.
“You cannot just shoot them because there are international
conventions that give rights also to prisoners of war
“What the military is doing is that, when they surrender,
they profile them to ensure that they are genuine and reintegrate them into the
society,’’ he said.
(NAN)
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