A socio-cultural organisation, Arewa Youths Integrity Forum, on Sunday in Abuja described the latest video of Boko Haram claiming that it had yet to surrendered as the handiwork of some selfish Nigerians who want insurgency to continue.
The group described the individuals as “war entrepreneurs”, who defrauded the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan to the tune of billions of naira.
Speaking with journalists, the National President of AYIF, Alhaji Ibrahim Abubakar said with the recently released video, it was obvious that there is a crack within the ranks of the Boko Haram Islamic terrorists.
According to him, the fraudsters are now back to their game of wanting “to keep exploiting Boko Haram for monetary gains with the claims of negotiation and ceasefire.”
He said it was a good thing that the Nigerian Army and indeed the military dismissed the indirect call for a truce and pressed on with President Muhammadu Buhari’s orders as Commander in Chief to wipe out the terrorists.
Abubakar said, “They will use the two videos as compelling argument to draw the Federal Government into engaging them as brokers and will thus pocket the proceeds of the media they had carefully set up. The nation must not be led down this path again.
“Furthermore, an equally possible facet is that Boko Haram sponsors, patrons and benefactors who want to rubbish the Army and the Federal Government used paid actors for either of the videos or for both. The intention would be for the Federal Government and Army to become complacent and engage in premature celebration of a seriously battered Boko Haram and consequently slowing down the offensive against the murderers who will then have time to regroup and receive arms and logistics to take on the military.”
He appealed to the government not to be lured into any false sense of achievement by the kind of trick that Boko Haram just pulled to avoid the mistakes of the previous administration.
“The only surrender that Nigerians will recognise is that of Boko Haram members or leaders. Surrendering by video or any other indirect method is not acceptable. The crimes they committed were committed in person, so they should also surrender in person. Those who want to continue fighting the Nigerian state have made their choices as enemy combatants and the rules of engagement are clear”, Abubakar stated.
He called on the security agencies to use their wealth of expertise to review the hardware displayed in the second video with a view to establishing their country of origin.
The AYIF also drew the attention of the Nigerians to a deliberate and calculated campaign of calumny aimed at misleading the public and cause disaffection among troops.
Abubakar said, “Any attempt by any individual or group of persons to associate the military and indeed the Nigerian Army with such will be a total waste of time, energy and resources. We are proud professionals bound by discipline, unflinching love, loyalty, espirit-de-corps and love for our colleagues and our country.
“We would remain focused and would not be distracted by irritating campaigns of calumny or fabricated lies by some unscrupulous elements. It is therefore very imperative at this point to warn all those mischief makers to desist from these unpatriotic and obviously subversive acts in any guise.”
