Boko Haram : Jonathan to declare emergency rule

Posted by admin Adamawa, Benue, Boko Haram, Borno, Gombe, Top Stories, Yobe Saturday, July 16th, 2011

THE attacks that rocked two state capitals in the North East; Maiduguri, Bauchi, last week were typical Boko Haram terror acts.

And the effect as expected further sent chills through already jarred nerves of the residents of the states; the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja inclusive. Feelers from the Presidency indicated that the country’s number one citizen, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan may not tolerate such attacks anymore as he has threatened to declare a state of emergency in the affected states. The states in view are Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi, Borno, and Yobe where security reports have shown heavy presence of the Islamic sect.

Aides informed that strong warnings have already been sent to these states where the fear of the sect has turned the Governors of these states into forced seclusion.
The Presidency sources revealed is peeved at the slow pace of policing and various investigations already initiated.
Frustrating also is the inability of the Federal Government to broker any meaningful peace initiative with the sect whose members have remained faceless after the 2009 killing of the visible leader of the group Sheikh Muhammed Yusuf.

It would be recalled that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, advised those handling the country’s security matters to embrace dialogue in solving crisis and said that it is a tool for enhancing national security.
According to the Deputy Director Information in the office of the SGF, Salisu Na’inna, Anyim stated this when former members of the House of Representatives visited him in his office in Abuja.
He said, “We can overcome the crisis through dialogue. Through dialogue we can create understanding and solve problems and our country will be better for it”.

The Chairman of the Forum, Hon. Musa Elayo Abdullahi aslo urged all those engaged in violent agitations in the country to lay down their arms and embrace dialogue with the view to ending such crises. “Dialogue will solve the problem instead of resort to arms” and specifically called for an end to the security threat from Boko Haram. He called on the Federal Government to absorb the Islamic Schools in the country into the educational system with the view to ensuring that all school age children receive both Islamic and Western education with the view to ending the Boko Haram crisis in the future.

But reports made available have shown that the days of Islamic ideals are probably over for the Boko Haram. Investigation details are pointing to the possibility of the group been converted to a handy tool in the hands of some retired military officers and politicians who are bent on making the country ungovernable for the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan-led administration.
Security chiefs who briefed the Senate at a closed session last Tuesday were close to saying this.

Senate engages Security Chiefs
The parley between the Senate and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen Owoeye Azazi; the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin; the Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr. Hafiz Ringim; and the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS), Mr. Ita Ekpeyong, followed a resolution by the senators the preceding week to invite them to brief the upper chamber on the security situation in the country.
The security chiefs intimated the senators of the need for the judiciary to be integrated into the effort to contain the sliding security situation, especially in the area of generous granting of bail to the suspects.
Senate Majority Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (PDP, Cross River), who briefed correspondents, confirmed that security operatives had been making arrests.

Ndoma-Egba said: “They (the security chiefs) gave us detailed briefing mentioning names of those they have arrested, but you know after arrest, they are obliged to take those arrested to court and most often they are granted bail and they return to their nefarious ways.”

He stressed that one of the issues discussed was the need for the judiciary to be integrated into the effort to fight terrorism, saying: “One of the challenges is that there was no law under which some of the infractions could be charged, but with the promulgation of the Anti-terrorism Act, I think we now have an appropriate legal framework within which to deal with the situation that we have.”

The Senate Leader noted that the promulgation of the Anti-terrorism Act had also given confidence to the international community of the readiness of Nigeria to combat terrorism.
“We were assured by the security chiefs that they are on top of the situation,” he said, adding that the briefing was extensive and covered every aspect of the security challenges currently facing the country.

He said: “Questions were asked, clarifications sought and they were given. At the end of the day, I can say with certainty that the security chiefs have assured Nigerians that they are on top of the situation and that these challenges especially the challenge of Boko Haram will be contained sooner than later.”
Ndoma-Egba also disclosed that the Senate at the session promised to assist in any way possible to arrest the situation.

Political observers were quick to invite Nigerians to read between the lines. “Boko Haram will still continue to operate as long as influential Nigerians continued to pull strings on their behalf.” They felt that it is the reluctance on the part of the sect to betray their secret sponsors that has necessitated the group’s reluctance to dialogue with the Federal Government.

Stick and carrot
Aside the security implication, sources informed that the Presidency is not happy about the negative international image the activity of the group is projecting. It is a known fact that details of the group’s terrorist acts awash international media the moment they were carried out.

The President, aides disclosed, is very close to declaring a state of emergency in the concerned states and may soon order an increase in the strength of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) on the ground. They informed that he views the acts of the sect as an effrontery on his position as the Commander In Chief of the Federation, moreover the attendant embarrassment internationally and locally is deemed unfavourable.

Citing the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Part Two, Miscellaneous Provisions, section 305; subsection 3 which states that; “the President shall have power to issue a Proclamation of a state of emergency only when(c) there is actual breakdown of public order and public safety in the Federation or any part thereof to such extent as to require extraordinary measures to restore peace and security;” the aides pointed out that the situation in the North east of the country is already set for a major Presidential intervention.

The question is whether the JTF would be able to quell the menace of the Boko Haram.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo felt otherwise. He recently warned from his Abeokuta hill top residence that the deployment of military is not the solution to the Boko Haram upsurge in parts of the North. He canvassed what he called “deep” intelligence on the group.

Obasanjo said the type of training the military offers should be kept in perspective. “Asking the military to deal with them (Boko Haram), we need to know that the military are trained in a static way. The group should be known and identifiable when they are captured. In this way, the military would know how to deal them,” he said.
Advancing more argument to buttress his point, the former president said: “But when a man is on okada with a gun and kill people along the road, how do you deal with such person? We have to find out why they became so bloody. There is so much to know and so much to find out before you can deal with them.”

On the suggestion that the group should be offered amnesty for cessation of hostility, he cautioned those canvassing such to be mindful of the implication of their request so that “amnesty should not be abused”.
For this reason, he said: “A lot of information needs to be obtained from the group: should they be talked to and if they should be talked to, how should they be talked to and if they are to be dealt with, what means? Should it be stick and carrot approach or what?”
He, however, advised Nigerians to be circumspect in pushing for the amnesty as it was important to know “what you are giving amnesty for; you should know the people you’re giving amnesty to and you should know their grievances”.

The former president explained that he was neither against the amnesty package nor was he advocating that it should be ruled out, stressing that, “let us look at what we are faced with; suppose you give out amnesty, there will be more to be given out later at what time. We must get to the root of the problem before providing the solution.”

Pushing for the intelligence gathering option, Obasanjo said: “You may not necessarily know the reasons for their actions but you should find out why they are doing what they are doing. We need intelligence approach along with people who will find out what is happening both internally and externally. Also, fish out the people behind the scene and how do they become a menace to the society.”

He added that, “I believe if a man or group of people are not insane and believe that those who found themselves in Boko Haram are not insane, they must have reasons for doing so.”

National Daily investigation, however, revealed the the residents of the affected states are already tired of the heavy military presence in their areas. This is in view of the high handed manners of their supposed protectors.
It was gathered that case of extortion of money, gifts, hard labour or corporal punishment being unleashed on innocent civilians, harassment and molestation of motorist and riders including pedestrians by disembarking on bike, pushing their bikes and pedestrians raising their hands up to walk pass check points have become very prominent despite the respond by the authorities on the allegations or matters to bring to a total stop the actions and inactions against the fundamental human rights of the citizens of the state including visitors to the state from neighbouring countries of Chad, Niger and Cameroon Republics and states within the country that have course to be in the state for one thing or the other.

There is however airs of optimism going by the support the government is getting from international organizations, especially the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

-National Daily

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Posted by admin on Jul 16 2011. Filed under Adamawa, Benue, Boko Haram, Borno, Gombe, Top Stories, Yobe. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry