Beware Of Boko Haram's Fake Negotiators—HURIWA Tells Buhari
Against the backdrops of several botched peace moves in the last couple of months during the immediate past administration including the high profile but sensationally fake peace agreement purportedly brokered by the President of Chad Mr Idris Debby and announced by Nigeria's Chief of Defence Staff Air Marshall Alex Badeh, President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR ) has been asked to tread cautiously in any further truce moves.
Making the call in reaction to the Presidency's recent disclosure of her disposition to negotiate lasting but conditional truce with the armed Islamists-Boko Haram, a pro-democracy civil society group - HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA ) has cautioned against Nigeria ever falling into the traps of the multiple layers of fraudulent Boko Haram peace negotiators some of whom have global wide network.
In a media statement by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA wants President Buhari to be extremely circumspect in entering any future negotiations whether conditionally or unconditionally until a proper investigative and forensic vetting of the so called mediators are carried out in compliance with global best practices.
The Federal Government must involve INTERPOL and possibly solicit technical partnership with the Federal Bureau of Intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States of America to determine the credibility and genuineness of any claimants who come up with offers to mediate a truce between Nigeria and Boko Haram terrorists.
The Rights group warned Nigeria to be wary of becoming the fall guy for the second time just as the group is opposed to capitulation to financial inducements as a precondition for peaceful negotiations of any truce with elements of Boko Haram since the terrorists are much more motivated by erroneous ideology than monetary benefits. "Fraudulent mediators are only interested in cornering to their accounts and those of the Nigerian government 's insiders' accounts illicit financial profits to be made through their eventual engagement to negotiate truce with Boko Haram . These fake Boko Haram negotiators have their partners in the highest echelons of the Federal government ".
HURIWA also backed the decision of the Federal government to launch an all -out -war on the terrorists but advised that in line with the Presidency's stance to adopt carrot- and -stick approach towards the final resolution of the terrorists invasion and destruction of the North Eastern Nigeria the interests of the thousands of victims of the violence must be uppermost just as the Rights group has called for the establishment by the affected North East States of joint prosecution task force with the office of the Federal Attorney General and Minister of Justice to undertake the professionally committed and fastrack prosecution of Boko Haram terrorists and their backers so the maximum judicial sanctions can be imposed to serve as effective deterrent. HURIWA said competent and efficient prosecution and conviction of terrorists and their backers is imperative if Nigeria is to attain success in our counter terrorism war.
HURIWA recalls that the Special Adviser to the President on Media and publicity Mr Femi Adesina had reportedly indicated that the current administration was open to negotiations with repentant members of the dreaded Boko Haram Extremists but that this would be done based on the initiatives of the sect members and from the Federal government 's position of strength.
In welcoming the idea which is similar to one of the many strategies adopted successfully by the immediate past administration of Dr Goodluck Jonathan, HURIWA however called on the current government to ensure that the mechanism of peaceful negotiations is properly structured and administered by a centralised team to be set up by the National Security Adviser at the authorisation and permission of the President with a clear instruction from the President that on no account should any other Presidential Aide be involved in any kind of underground negotiations with elements masquerading as mediators for peace on behalf of the Boko Haram terrorists.
"The President must of necessity learn from the experience of the immediate past dispensation so Nigeria isn't disgraced once more in the global community by some members of fake Boko Haram negotiators. On no account also should government pay money to individuals who make claims of possessing the capacity to reach the hierarchy of the Boko Haram terrorists to negotiate and actualise lasting truce".