I Won’t Grant Amnesty To Boko Haram – Buhari

Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari(retd.), The All Progressives Congress presidential candidate,  ruled out amnesty for Boko Haram insurgents if elected President on Thursday, March 28.

He said the activities of the sect which has so far killed over 13, 000 people since 2009, had become a source of worry to many people within and outside the country.

Buhari was at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, London, where he addressed the world on various issues concerning the rescheduled general elections.

He said, “I think I will not go to that office with that promise. I have said in my address how, at least 13,000 Nigerians have been killed by Boko Haram, how millions of them have been displaced and are now kept in different camps called Internally Displaced Persons camps 

“Schools have been burnt, there is so much disruption to normal life; people cannot farm and where they are able to farm, they cannot harvest. So, granting amnesty to Boko Haram will be unfair to the system.”

Buhari, who described himself as “a former military ruler and a converted democrat,” however stated that any insurgent caught would “be given the chance in civil courts to be properly prosecuted.”

He added, “We will secure Nigeria. At no other time in our history has Nigeria been this insecure. Boko Haram has sadly put Nigeria on the terrorism map, killing more than 13,000 of our nationals, displacing millions internally and externally, and at a time holding on to portions of our territory the size of Belgium. What has been consistently lacking is the required leadership in our battle against insurgency.”

He accused the current administration of allowing Boko Haram to operate with ease by failing to provide what he described as “a multi-dimensional response” to its activities.

“In the matter of this insurgency, our soldiers have neither received the necessary support nor the required incentives to tackle this problem,” the former Head of State said.