By Wale Odunsi on April 7, 2013
There are indications that the committee on amnesty for the Boko Haram sect; set up by President Goodluck Jonathan may be headed by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar.
Dailypost gathered that other members include Major Abdulrasheed Aliyu, a former Chief Security Officer (CSO), to former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasauki (rtd), Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim, the Director-General of the Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA), and a representative of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF).
President Jonathan’s parley with NEF led by Dan Masani of Kano, Alhaji Maitama Sule in the State House last week, concluded on a note that the violent northern group would receive the controversial pardon.
Jonathan later met with
service chiefs on Thursday for about four hours to intimate them of his decision. The announcement of the committee on the amnesty was made knonw after the meeting.
In the meantime, northern leaders have called on the sect and other groups operating in the region to accept the amnesty being offered by the President.
The appeal was made by Jama’atul Nasril Islam (JNI) and the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF).
General Secretary of the JNI, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, said, “We welcome the idea and wished that the committee set up by the president will do a better job.
“If the government had taken this step since, they would have prevented the killings of innocent lives through the act of bombing and terrorism.
“The action is good and it is a right step in a right direction. But we will wait to see the commitment of the committee members.”
“We urge them to come out and dialogue. Because, we believe amnesty is the only way we can restore peace in the country. They should accept it,” he advised.
On its part, ACF through its spokesman, Mr. Anthony Sani, said that, “though the forum will also make its input to the committee, we believe that the president has shown serious commitment to the issue.
“We strongly believe the Boko Haram sect will accept the offer at the end of the day.”
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have lauded President Jonathan for constituting the Amnesty Committee on Boko Haram.
In a statement issued by PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, the party said the president, “is indeed a listening leader and that the unity of the country is paramount to him in line with the vision of the founding fathers of our nation.
“We believe the initiative of the President in setting up the Amnesty Committee is the best decision at the moment and we are optimistic that this drive will yield the desired results in the general good and restore the unity of our nation,” he noted.
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