Bishop Kukah supports amnesty to Boko Haram
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it is also gratifying to report that the troops morale remains high as they dominate the general area with a robust fighting patrol in continuation with the clearance operations he said1 bishop matthew kukah the fiery catholic bishop of sokoto diocese has supported the decision of president muhammadu buhari to grant amnesty to repentant members of the boko haram1 i think i was one of the first people to raise the issue of amnesty about five years ago i know how much we were vilified he said1 but i was pretty convinced about what i was saying that for me if you mention the word amnesty nigerians think it simply means shaking hands and telling everybody to go home1 on march 23 president muhammadu buhari unveiled that government was willing to offer amnesty to members of the outlawed group1 he had noted that while further efforts were ongoing to secure the release of every citizen abducted by the insurgents government was ready to accept the unconditional laying down of arms by any member of the group who showed strong commitment in that regard1 kukah on his part lauded the decision saying amnesty was the way to go as no war has ended with victory being declared1 if boko haram has been perceived to be as so weakened as it is we would not be talking about negotiation. so clearly those with superior information and superior knowledge which is what government is all about know something that the rest of us dont1 evaluating the war against corruption the clergyman said corruption is not something that government fights government might offer a lead but it will get you to nowhere unless you have the buy-in of the people kukah told1 the nigerian army had also asked boko haram insurgentsto lay down their arms and embrace the federal governments amnestyoffer1 a statement signed by brig.-gen. texas chukwu director army public relations said we wish to remind repentant boko haram fighters that the window of opportunity to embrace the federal government amnesty programme is still open for them to surrender and lay down their weapons1 bishop kukah revealed his position while appearing as a guest on televisions hard copy in abuja the nations capital1 chukwu disclosed that the troops of 23 brigade under the operation lafiya dole had arrested three suspected boko haram terrorists at ngurore on march 281 the army spokesman explained that one of the suspects who was wounded as a result of gunshots confessed to have participated in various attacks coordinated by the insurgents1 according to him the army is conducting preliminary investigations with the 23 brigade provost company1 the army commended members of the civilian joint task force cjtf for patriotism resilience and cooperation with troops1 chukwu also called on members of the public to emulate the vigilance of the cjtf and report any suspicious persons or objects to the nearest military location1 nan reports thatpresident muhammadu buhari on march 23 said the federal government is ready to offer amnesty to members of the boko haram sect that are willing to drop their arms1 president buhari said this at a meeting with the schoolgirls who recently regained freedom after they were abducted from their school in dapchi yobe state by boko haram terrorists1 federal government is ready to rehabilitate boko haram militants who are ready to lay down their arms1 while further efforts are being made to secure the release of every abducted citizen in nigeria government is ever ready to accept the unconditional laying down of arms by any member of the boko haram group who show strong commitment in that regard1 we are ready to rehabilitate and integrate such repentant members into the larger society he said1