The Federal Government has admonished “naysayers” to stop spewing negative and false narratives around Boko Haram members who are surrendering in droves in the Northeast region as they are ‘prisoners of war’ that are to be treated according to international conventions.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Friday in Washington DC, U.S.A. flayed those who were alleging that the surrendered terrorists were not actual Boko Haram fighters and if they were, they should be shot rather than granted amnesty.
Over 1,500 Boko Haram terrorists and their families have handed themselves over to Nigerian Army units in recent weeks in the Southern Borno towns of Konduga, Bama, and Mafa.
The Minister also described as “false and demoralising’’ the claim in certain quarters that the surrendered insurgents would be recruited into the Nigerian military
According to Lai Mohammed, “the fact that we are witnessing insurgents submitting in droves calls for commendation of our military for their doggedness. We must not forget that two months ago, Nigerians were putting pressure on the President to recruit mercenaries to fight the war against terror because they said we were losing the war.
“The President, however, remained focused and confident in his belief in the Nigerian military that they have what it takes to defeat the insurgents. We thank God that Mr President today has been proven right.
“We were able to achieve this, largely because of the leadership of Mr President in providing the wherewithal continually to the military and ensuring that their fighting morale is sustained by way of welfare packages.”
Mohammed added that the call for the prosecution and killing of the repentant militants rather than granting them amnesty was against global best practices.
“I personally spoke to the military authority before I left Nigeria and they said what they were doing is what the global practice dictates about soldiers that surrendered that should be treated as prisoners of war.
“You cannot just shoot them because there are international conventions that give rights also to prisoners of war.
“What the military is doing is that, when they surrender, they profile them to ensure that they are genuine and reintegrate them into the society,’’ he said.