| Maku |
Is Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau dead –
as claimed by the Joint Task Force? The question remained knotty yesterday,
with Information Minister Labaran Maku saying the issue should not be
discussed.
The defunct JTF in Borno State, in a
statement on Sunday, claimed that Shekau may have died from gunshot wounds he
sustained in an attack in Borno last June.
But the death claim has not been
independently verified and the military did not take possession of the body,
thereby casting doubts on it.
Yesterday at a news conference after the
Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, Maku told reporters when asked about
the death of Shekau: “Relating to the story that we have read, I think it is
better we leave it at that. These people are on the run and we will allow the
military to tell the story.
“The military said that it would appear that
in one of their operations, the leader of the insurgent group was mortally
wounded and they were rushing him from place to place and they believe that he
could indeed be dead.” Maku added: “What it means is that the
security forces are closing in on some of the kingpins of this murderous group
that has denied thousands of Nigerians their lives. Some of the key leaders
have been pronounced dead. I think that rather than losing confidence, we
should continue to pray for the military and continue to hope that in the end
they succeed and they are succeeding.”
The minister urged Nigerians not to expect a
sudden end to the Boko Haram insurgency, saying some countries facing similar
terrorists’ attacks have been battling with the menace for many years.
Maku said: “Every operation against a
guerrilla-styled insurgency is not something that can be contained overnight.
In Iraq, we are still having occasional attacks after the Americans left, just
as we are having in Pakistan and other places.”
“The presumption by Nigerians is that the
insurgency will end tomorrow. No. We are regaining territories; we are
regaining confidence and stability. What the insurgents are doing is to go to
remote places and start striking at innocent people, like they did recently at
Danboa.”
The minister said the recent activities of
the sect: “shows the desperation of these people”. “We must be proud of our
security forces. As we clock three months of the state of emergency, the
military has just announced the creation of a new division, which means that
the operation would further go up from what it is.
“One of the fallouts of the declaration of
state of emergency is the increased confidence by members of the public to come
out clearly to interface with the security forces in identifying some of the
hideouts of the criminals and murderers involved in the terrorist attacks on
innocent Nigerians.”
Maku claimed that “economic activities in
Borno and Yobe have resumed significantly”.
Also yesterday, FEC ratified three United
Nations Conventions on arms trading, hostage taking and terrorism. Maku said: “Following a memorandum presented
by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olugbenga Ashiru, council ratified the Arms
Trade Treaty adopted by the UN General Assembly on April 2, 2013.”
The treaty will regulate the transfer of
conventional arms in order to control access by non-state actors.
Maku said the Attorney-General of the Federation
and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke (SAN), also brought a memo to council
for the ratification of the two other UN conventions.
The conventions are: UN Convention against
Taking of Hostages adopted in December 1979, and the International Convention
for the Suppression of Terrorists Bombings, adopted December in 1997.
“In order to attain and maintain global
standards, the council approved the ratification/accession to the two
conventions.
“The council also directed the attorney
general of the federation and minister of justice to prepare the instruments of
the ratification/accession of the two conventions,” he said.
The two conventions are aimed at containing
the incidence of hostage taking and the heinous crime of bombings by
terrorists.
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