The Christian Association of Nigeria, the BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) coalition and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar lll-led Jama’atu Nasril Islam, have disagreed over the amnesty promised to repentant Boko Haram insurgents by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The President on Friday promised to grant amnesty to members of the Boko Haram sect who are ready to drop their arms and embrace peace.

Buhari made the promise at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, while receiving girls who were abducted from their school in Dapchi, Yobe State last month and were released on Wednesday.

He said, “While further efforts are being made to secure the release of every abducted citizen in Nigeria, the 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 regard. We are ready to rehabilitate and integrate such repentant members into the larger society. This country has suffered enough of hostility. Government is, therefore, appealing to all to embrace peace for the overall development of our people and the country’’.

It is a welcome development –JNI

But while the JNI said the amnesty promised to repentant Boko Haram insurgents was a welcome development to the peace efforts of the government, CAN opposed the move.

The Secretary-General of the JNI, Dr. Abubakar Khalid-Aliyu, told one of our correspondents that it was a good development as long as it would guarantee peace in the country.

He, however, noted that the amnesty should only be granted to “those that show remorse,” adding that those granted amnesty should be monitored before being reintegrated into the society.

CAN, on the other hand, frowned on the move, describing it as a sign of “weakness on the part of the government.”

The media aide to the CAN President, Pastor Bayo Oladeji, said, “Why grant amnesty to criminals who have killed many people? It shows weakness on the part of the government or sympathy for them as being speculated. In what way are they different from armed robbers, kidnappers, ritual killers, and corrupt people that are facing prosecution? What kind of government are they running? Where on earth are we having all kinds of messy events being orchestrated by the government? May God deliver Nigeria?”

The BBOG said some insurgents that were freed in the past later backtracked and unleashed terror on the people.

The group questioned the rationale behind the move, noting that the government had not presented any strategy for preventing freed terror suspects from going back to terrorism.

The BBOG spokesperson, Sesugh Akume, said, “Some of the insurgents released later went back to join their colleagues. We have evidence of this. What is the strategy behind declaring amnesty for terrorists and releasing those in custody and allowing them to go back to what they were doing?”

He dismissed the explanation made by the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, that the government had a ceasefire arrangement with the insurgents and that they should not have abducted the Dapchi schoolgirls.

He said, “The Minister of Information said they had a ceasefire arrangement with Boko Haram and they ought not to have abducted the Dapchi girls, so they had a moral burden to return the girls. You are talking about terrorists and morality? It seems as if the rest of us understand the terrorists differently from how the government understands them. They need to come down from their high horse and explain to us what is going on. How can the government be talking about Boko Haram and morality? Those they released in the past went back and unleashed more terror, so how are they going to prevent this from happening again?”

Similarly, the apex Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, expressed concern about the release of thousands of Boko Haram suspects and the promise of amnesty for repentant insurgents by the President.

The group’s spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, said, “We are getting uncomfortable with the way this government is getting close to Boko Haram. We remember that when this government came to power, Zakari Biu, a commissioner of police, who was suspended for releasing a Boko Haram kingpin, was reinstated into the police as CP’’.