VC Faults Prioritising ‘Repentant Terrorists’ Over Victims

Vice chancellor of the Nigerian Army University Biu, Prof Kyari Mohammed, has faulted the deradicalisation process of the government which prioritises the affairs of the repentant Boko Haram terrorists over the victims of the insurgency.

The VC who described the “repentant terrorists “ as a few people who felt aggrieved and decided to surrender urged both the Nigerian military, the state and the federal government to work on a collective way of totally disengaging all terrorists as against receiving few aggrieved defectors.

He said this yesterday at his presentation as lead presenter at a two-day international conference on insecurity, reconstruction and rehabilitation in Lake Chad organised by the History Department and Strategic Studies University of Maiduguri at the Muhammadu Indimi International Conference Centre in the university.

He said most of the ones surrendering are not the fighters, but civilian populace that were taken to the forest against their will by the terrorists to be farming, stressing that the federal government should introduce a legal framework and clearly state whether it is granting amnesty to the terrorists or pardoning them.

“As it is now there is no clarity on how to disengage the terrorists. The way the federal government is handling the deradicalisation process appears as if the government is protecting the perpetrators over the victims. Federal government should introduce a legal framework and clearly state whether it is granting amnesty to the terrorists or pardoning them,” Prof Mohammed said.

In a keynote address, former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai (rtd) emphasized that Nigeria needs to pay serious attention to issues of security in the Lake Chad region and the Sahel owing to instability of the area.

Gen. Buratai recommended critical reforms in the Nigeria police in areas of technology, training, professionalism and integrity to effectively tackle emerging security challenges in the country.

He also called for the restoration of local government autonomy to ensure sustainable development at the grassroots level.

The vice chancellor of the University of Maiduguri, Professor Aliyu Shugaba, noted that the institution was a target by the insurgents, but said however,  it has remained open even at the height of the conflict.

He called on participants at the conference to thoroughly investigate historical events such as Boko Haram insurgency and come up with better solutions needed by the society.