Religious group wants amnesty for Boko Haram

– A religious group, the Northern Inter Faith and Religious Organization for Peace has advised the Nigerian government to grant amnesty to members of Boko Haram – The group said amnesty will encourage some of the insurgents to drop their weapons – the group also commended the federal government and the Nigerian military for absorbing 250 Civilian Joint Task Force members into the army

A religious group, the Northern Inter Faith and Religious Organization for Peace has urged the federal government to consider granting amnesty to members of the Boko Haram terrorists. Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Sunday, July 24, the national coordinator of the group Musa Fomson said amnesty will serve as an incentive for the terrorists to drop their arms. Fomson said: “Our suggestion is that the authorities strongly consider granting amnesty to members of Boko Haram that are not high up in its command structure as an incentive to make them drop their weapons without further human tolls since our humanity is on trial in addition to the security situation as the war on terror reaches an advanced stage.”

Fomson also the amnesty should specifically take in consideration the non-combatant members of the dreaded group. “We must also warn that the amnesty being suggested should be aimed at demobilizing Boko Haram members and must not be converted into a money dashing jamboree. It must also be monitored in a way that it is possible to keep track of those that sign up for the deal,” Fomson said. The religious group also commended the federal government for absorbing 250 former Civilian Joint Task Force members into the Nigerian army. The group said the recent recruitment is a confirmation that the fight against terrorism has gotten to the point where community solutions have to be engineered for terrorism, which is a global problem. Femson said the absorption of the CJTF has solved the issue of mopping up arms and demobilized the youths that were forced to bear arms due to terrorism.

“The Civilian JTF members are now gainfully employed by being absorbed into the Army and this will ensure that they are not lured into misusing the experience and weapons they acquired in the course of supporting the military to fight terrorists,” Femson said. “Their knowledge of the locality will also ensure that the mopping up of defeated Boko Haram members that are trying to morph into the community is easier and more thorough. “We commend President Muhammadu Buhari as the commander-in-chief for buying into this strategy and we also commend the military high command for recognizing and accepting the contribution of the youths towards the defeat of the insurgency,” he said. On Friday, July 22, the Nigerian army announced the absorption of 250 CJTFs into the institution. This recruitment, the army said comes after rigorous training of the CJTF who have been helping the military in its fight against insurgency in the northeast.