Terrorism: APC Calls For Int’l Inquiry into Boko Haram Sponsors, Demands Stiff Punishment For them

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News, News From The State Sunday, July 13th, 2014

By Tajudeen Balogun

Barely a week after the Federal Government announced its decision to investigate and expose the supporters of dreaded Boko Haram, the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has joined in the similar campaign, by calling for an international inquiry into the activities of the terror group to unravel its modus operandi as well as individuals or group that may have links with it, to win the battle against terrorism in the country.

The call was made in a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

APC demanded that the inquiry should include intelligence experts from the Western and European countries such as US, UK, France and Canada, as well as representatives of the UN and Nigeria’s neighbours, including Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

In addition, the party requested that the representatives of the Nigerian Military and other security agencies, especially the Police and the Departments of State Security (SSS), the Governments of the affected states – Adamawa, Borno, Yobe, Kano, Bauchi and Jigawa, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Civil Society Organizations, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), National Human Rights Commission, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and any other relevant individuals or groups in the country.

Alhaji Muhammed said representatives of the country major political parties, should also be added to the list of those to be involved in the searching exercise and declared that anyone found guilty at the end of the inquiry “must be made public and those found to have any links with the insurgents be made to face the full wrath of the law”.

”We hope the PDP-led Federal government, which has led the incessant… campaign to point accusing fingers at the opposition, especially…APC, will give its total support to the immediate constitution of this international panel of inquiry. We have no doubt that the international community will give its unalloyed support to this inquiry, in view of the trans-national nature of the insurgency and the threat posed by terrorism to global peace and security,” APC challenged.

The party noted: ”On our part, we pledge our total support for this inquiry anytime it is launched… Our party, which is barely one year old, has been at the receiving end of diversionary, carefully-choreographed and blatantly irresponsible point-blank accusations as well as insinuations of sponsoring Boko Haram”, not minding that the group’s activities was dated back as far back as 2002.

The party posited that the accusation from its opposition has reached an alarming level, such that it appears the accusation against it amounted to a deliberate and calculated attempt to call a dog bad name.

It insisted:” …let the international inquiry we are seeking be launched urgently and let the findings be published for all Nigerians to see”, adding that anyone who opposed the inquiry would have a lot of explanations to make to Nigerians as well as to the international community, while also lamented about the daily wanton killings in the North Eastern Nigeria and other other parts.