Boko Haram: Federal Government discard calls for compensation

Rather than paying compensation to orphans and widows of terror victims, government would only assist them.
The form of assistance government would render to them remains unknown.

The quest for peace, prompts the government to address the porosity of the Nigerian borders, which it noted encourages the smuggling of arms, ammunition and explosive materials used in making Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

The eight-member White Paper Drafting Committee, chaired by Comrade A. Moru, submitted its report in May 2012, was constituted by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, to study and analyse the report of the presidential committee headed by Ambassador Usman Galtimari, which submitted its final report in September 2011.

A way or solution to the insecurity in the North-eastern part of Nigeria.

The government accepted most of the recommendations of the Galtimari committee and rejected only a few, including one in which it recommended that compensation should be paid to victims of Boko Haram attacks.

The Galtimari committee, in its report, traced the onset of terrorism to the extra-judicial killing of Boko Haram leader, Mohammed Yusuf, in 2009, which resulted in the group resorting to bombing groups and individuals as well as the killing of security agents.

It noted that Boko Haram derived its doctrine from the teachings of a London-based Islamic scholar, Sheik Faisal, reputed for condemning Western education.

It projected that unless urgent steps were taken, Boko Haram would become more ferocious in the future, as it would use any lull in the anti-terror war to re-strategize, acquire weapons that are more dangerous and get both financial and logistic support from Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM) to give a new fillip to its terror campaign.


The committee however cautioned that government should negotiate from a position of strength by allowing the security agencies subdue the Islamic militants, adding that "dialogue with the sect should be contingent upon their renunciation of violence and surrender of arms".
The government accepted the recommendation and urged those who have access to the Boko Haram leaders to broker talks between the two parties.


The government endorsed a recommendation on the need for tight immigration control to prevent illegal aliens that are suspected of working for Boko Haram from entering the country and directed the Minister of Interior, Mr. Abba Moro, to sustain action on the profiling of foreigners and repatriation of illegal ones and those involved in crime.

But it rejected the advice that 61 Boko Haram members in detention, who had been speculated to have been killed, should be transferred to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, amidst publicity blitz, to douse tension over their condition.

Reacting to the Galtimari committee's recommendation seeking the setting up of a Judiciary Commission of Enquiry to probe allegations of atrocities against members of the Joint Task Force (JTF) deployed in Borno State, the government said it noted it, in addition to the steps being taken by the Defence Headquarters to investigate the allegations against military personnel engaged in the anti-terror war.

The government approved the recommendation to create job opportunities to tackle youth unemployment, which encourages youths to embrace the Boko Haram ideology that Western education is sinful, and helps the sect in recruiting members.

The government also accepted the report that detained insurgents should be rehabilitated before they are sent back to the society; engage in multilateral discussions with governments of neighbouring countries to assist in checking arms and illegal influx into Nigeria; and improve the synergy between security agencies to effectively combat terrorist activities.

On the need to foster cooperation between the states and the federal government, aimed at tackling security challenges in states, the government accepted the recommendation to create an informal security forum whereby President Goodluck Jonathan and governors, especially those of the affected states, would meet periodically to review the security situations in their states and fashion out ways to tackle them.

The government also approved the recommendation that some northern governors promoting religious discrimination through the denial of Certificates of Occupancy to churches in their states and banning the teaching of Christian Religious Knowledge in public schools should desist from doing so.