President Muhammadu Buhari has been called upon to order an investigation into the role being played by the various stakeholders in Borno State in the intractable nature of the Boko Haram insurgency.
The Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group, NDMG, which made the call on Sunday, lamented that the abducted Chibok girls were still in Boko Haram captivity even as others celebrated this year’s Children’s Day.
The group said the abducted Chibok girls continue to be in captivity because several persons and groups are making political capital and possibly economic gains out of the captives’ unfortunate situation.
The NDMG in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday by its UK Coordinator, Engr. Adeka Onyilo, pointed out that the development around the two recently rescued Chibok girls, information reportedly supplied by other freed Boko Haram abductees and the reported confessions of captured fighters of the terror group, have confirmed earlier held beliefs that the insurgency has the blessing of highly placed persons in Borno State.
Onyilo stressed that the Presidency can no longer shy away from ordering a special investigation into what is truly going on in that state, particularly when other Northeast states to which the insurgency spread, are now back on the way to recovery while Borno state continues to relapse.
“Our recommendation at this point is for the Federal Government to set up a Board of inquiry into the roles being played by all those that present themselves as the leaders of that State.
“Events in Borno have shown that Boko Haram terrorists thrive on more than the support of urchins and unemployed youths.
“The insurgents have proven that the support they enjoy in the area is at an organizational level and possibly with State dimension. The Federal Government can therefore not make headway in the place if those that pretend to support it in the anti-terror fight are actually undermining its efforts by deliberately creating situations that allow the crisis to persist.
“To make sure that the terror group is dealt a final blow that will allow the country know peace, anyone or group implicated in sustaining Boko Haram, whether directly or through acts of sabotaging the Federal Government’s efforts must be made to face the law.
“Mr President can no longer allow such compromised persons to continue wielding influence in Borno and environs as their continued support for terrorism could drag the ongoing fight into a stalemate”, the statement warned.
The NDMG stressed that the abducted Chibok girls, being people’s children, must not be allowed to spend another Children’s day in captivity.
