Boko Haram’s friends, sympathisers are here with us â€'T.Y. Danjuma

GENERAL Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (rtd), on Saturday, stunned the gathering those gathered at the 40th coronation anniversary of the Emir of Lafia, Alhaji Isa Mustafa Agwai 1, when he declared that Boko Haram's friends and sympathisers were at the ceremony.

Danjuma, who made the declaration in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, shortly after he was honoured alongside his wife with traditional titles by the Emir, said if urgent actions were not taken to halt the activities of Boko Haram, such gatherings might not hold henceforth, particularly in the North East.

He lamented that the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls at Chibok in Borno State and their forceful conversion to Islam were wrong.

According to him, 'I want to appeal to Boko Haram wherever they are and their sympathizers. Some of them are here. Please release our girls. Let them go back to school. Nobody, absolutely nobody, has the mandate to scatter Nigeria. Let us bring sanity into our political life. This is a worrisome.

In his message at the occasion, President Goodluck Jonathan, who was represented by the Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki, promised that his administration would rid the country of terrorists and other allied groups.

He, therefore, assured that with the harmonious co-existence between Nigeria and other international communities, the abducted schoolgirls and those who might have been kidnapped either before or after the Chibok incident would be rescued unhurt.

Earlier, the state governor, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, assured that his administration would continue to support security operatives to fight insurgents, promising to give necessary support to the Federal Government in its drive to nip terrorism in the bud. Tribune