The Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of the Security Challenges in the North headed by the Minister for Special Duties, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki has been described as a huge scam and a scandalous contraption which ought not to have been set up in the first place.
A democracy friendly Non -governmental Organization-HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA [HURIWA] which made the observation has therefore, called for immediately disbandment of the committee and demand that the members return to the public coffers all expenses incurred so far in the ‘merry go round’ by this committee.
In a statement endorsed by the National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director, Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA said it will amount to grave disservice to public interest/good for the Presidential committee on Dialogue and restoration of peace in Northern Nigeria to continue parading around as genuine peace makers even after the President Goodluck Jonathan had put a lie to the sensational and widely publicized claim by the Chairman of the panel that the dreaded armed Islamic terrorists Boko Haram had signed a ceasefire with effect from the commencement of the Holy Month of Ramadan.
The rights group recalled that the Nigerian Minister of Special Duties had curiously bypassed the Nigerian electronic and print media to speak with the Radio France International whereupon he informed the World that the nation had signed immediate ceasefire with the armed terrorists responsible for the dastardly criminal atrocious acts of mass killings; selected bombing attacks of government security institutions and Christian Worship centers/Churches including the killing of moderate Muslims which have so far claimed over 5000 lives of innocent Nigerians.
The Minister whose claim of ceasefire was later within 48 hours to be repudiated by the leader of the dreaded armed Islamic rebels Sheikh Abubakar Shekau who claimed in a 10-minutes video recording that it has no subsisting peace talk with the Nigerian government.
Besides, President Jonathan had in an interview with the United States of America-based Cable News Network [CNN] told the World emphatically that the Nigerian Government has no ceasefire talk with the armed Terrorists group Boko Haram that has unleashed devastating bloody violence in parts of North East; North Central; North West and some parts of the Nation’s capital of Abuja.
The President who was responding at the Weekend to a question by the global television station said no such ceasefire took place. His words; “No negotiation, no. In some other parts of the World, I don’t want to mention names here, it is not negotiation. The issue is that I am not begging….”
HURIWA also recalled that the Presidential claim of no negotiation with the violent armed insurgents contradicts sharply the earlier claim by the minister of Special Duties that government had reached an understanding with the insurgents for ceasefire and that the Nigerian government is working on the formal agreement which according to him will follow in due course.
The Rights group stated thus; “We as well as many other patriotic Nigerians have always expressed strong doubts in the ability of this presidential committee on restoration of peace and security in Northern Nigeria to actualize the mandate for which they were set up.
The committee was inundated by the teething credibility crisis when some notable Northerners declined membership of the panel on the ground of lack of consultation by government before the committee was set up and also because of their dissatisfaction with the way government allegedly mismanaged previous peace moves initiated by them with the dreaded terrorists group”.
HURIWA which opposes peace talk with mass murderers stated thus; “We believe that Government has no business negotiating with mass murderers even when the same government has done nothing to ensure that the principle of rule of law is enforced strictly.
Now that it has become clearer that the committee is a waste of public fund the government is hereby urged to disband this panel; retrieve the huge public fund wasted on this meaningless voyage of discovery.
“Government at all levels, should concentrate attention on how to strengthen the apparatus of law enforcement and ensure that the Federal ministry of justice and the state ministries of justice prosecute persons suspected of carrying out these heinous mass murders or government will risked being dragged to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherland if it fails to bring perpetrators of crimes against humanity to speedy trial in the competent courts of w as enshrined in section 6 of the Nigeria constitution of 1999 [as amended].”
