Boko Haram leader flees

[PeoplesDaily]

By Lawrence Olaoye, Joy Baba, Abuja and Mohammed Ibrahim, Femi Olyelola, Kaduna

Indications emerged yesterday that top commanders of the dreaded Boko Haram sect, suspected to be responsible for several attacks in the northern parts of the country, may have fled Nigeria to Niger Republic.

An impeccable source told Peoples Daily that about 201 vehicles moving were sighted from Maiduguri, Borno state, towards the neighboring Niger Republic and that suspected members of the top-most echelon of the sect may be escaping in the convoy.

The escape may not be unconnected with the attacks launched on the insurgents by the military dispatched to Borno state to enforce the emergency recently declared by President Goodluck Jonathan. Contacted for confirmation, the Director of Defense Information (DDI), Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade, said he was unaware of the development but insisted that the military has enough troops on ground to contain such eventualities.

In a related development, Chairman of the presidential committee on Dialogue and Reconciliation, popularly known as Amnesty Committee, Malam Tanimu Turaki, yesterday appealed to Nigerians to assist the committee with information that could lead them to members of Boko Haram.

According to Turaki, the Minister of Special Duties, it is only when people that know them help linked the committee to the insurgents that peace could be achieved. Speaking when he led other members of the committee to Government House, Kaduna, to meet with the state Governor, Dr. Ramalan Yero, before meeting with other stakeholders in the state, Turaki said the problem of insecurity was not peculiar to he north alone, saying it's a problem affecting Nigeria as a whole.

He stated further that the members of the Boko Haram were Nigerians which was why they want Nigerians to assist in bringing an end to the problem. "We are appealing to Nigerians with link to those people to please assist us with the information on how to meet them or where to meet them. They are Nigerians with certain demands and ideology that many Nigerians disagreed with and that is why we want to dialogue with them so as to have peace in the country.

"We are in Kaduna because it's one of the states that witnessed different forms of conflicts or violence in the past. So we are here to tap from your experiences on how you are able to address some of these problems to enable you enjoy the peaceful atmosphere you are enjoying today.

"Nigerians are today scared wherever they are because of insecurity. Many cannot practice their religion because of insecurity. This is part of the reasons why President Jonathan set up this committee for us to look for these insurgents so as to sit with them and dialogue with them so that there will be peace in Nigeria," he said.

Turaki also clarified that his committee is not not an Amnesty Committee insisting that it has no power to grant amnesty to anyone but rather a dialogue forum to bring both perpetrators, victims and other stake holders of the violence that is ravaging northern parts of the country.

According to him, the misinterpretation of the terms of reference of his committee has resulted in calls from some quarters for the abolition of the committee because the principal actor, the Boko Haram, rejected any form of amnesty from the Federal Government.

"I want to say in clear terms to respectable people in this hall that neither myself, nor members of the committee were given any mandate to give amnesty of any type to anybody, but rather dialogue with all party involved and if Boko Haram has rejected amnesty, I am not aware if they have rejected dialogue, so the committee will forge ahead trying to create the necessary for such dialogue," he said.

Meanwhile, as part of measures to tackle insecurity and stem the pace of terrorism in the country, Interior Minister, Abba Moro, yesterday disclosed that his ministry has discovered 1497 illegal entry points in the country.

This is coming as he added that the ministry would partner the United Stares of America (USA) Department of State for supply of sophisticated equipments to monitor the illegal routes alongside the 84 recognized borders into the country.

The minister while briefing the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the performance of his ministry also affirmed that those terrorizing Nigerians are mostly from the neighboring countries even as he added that a Chinese firm had quoted the sum of $244 million to supply electronic border control equipments even though the government is seriously considering the USA partnership deal.

He attributed the difficulties faced by the nation's security agencies in controlling the insurgencies in parts of the north to the nation's porous borders.

He said: "We are making efforts to procure appropriate modern technology to be installed along our borders and we are collaborating with the US State Department and a private Chinese company for which we had initially received a cost of 244 million US Dollars.

"With the assistance of the US State Department, we realised that some components of the offer we got from the private firm was contained in what the State Department would be offering us.

"When we have done this, the temptation of illegal entry into Nigeria will be reduced," the minister stressed.

Moro also explained that his ministry was collaborating with the Border Development Agency to construct Border Plaza at 84 sites which he hopes would promote commerce along the border communities and reduce illegal activities along the borders.

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