Boko Haram Terrorism Will End Soon

Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Amnesty and Dialogue and Minister of Special Duties, Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, has assured Nigerians that the violent activities of the Boko Haram sect would soon be over.

Turaki told journalists yesterday after a meeting with some stakeholders in achieving peace in the North- East, that his committee had been doing its best, including engaging members of the sect in dialogue.

He said the committee gathered robust advice and suggestions that would facilitate lasting peace in the North-East during the tour of the communities devastated by the Boko Haram violence.

On a report that the military has killed the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, the minister said the committee was to be briefed, adding that as soon as the committee got the report, Nigerians would be informed.

Earlier during the meeting with the stakeholders which comprised Muslim and Christian leaders as well as civil society groups, Turaki said the committee had been going round to get inputs from the people on ways of achieving sustainable peace in the country.

The minister, however, commended the government and people of Gombe State for the peaceful coexistence existing among them despite their multi-religious, ethnic and political diversities.

He stressed despite being surrounded by troubled states like Borno and Yobe, Gombe experienced relative peace. In their various submissions, Christian and Muslim clerics urged the Federal Government to be fair in all its dealings.

They also urged the government to create wealth for the majority of Nigerians, the development they said would go a long way in reducing the security problems confronting the country.

Meanwhile, the military in Kano yesterday denied a report that a suspected Boko Haram member was arrested in the Kano home of former Head of State, the late Gen. Sani Abacha.

Spokesman of 3 Brigade of Nigeria Army, Capt. Ikhedichi Iweha, said there was no substance in the publication, which he described as untrue. A suspected Boko Haram member was alleged to have been arrested by men of the Joint Task Force (JTF) at the Gidado Road residence of the former military leader. According to the report, the suspect was arrested in company of one of the domestic staff of the Abacha family.

Reacting to the media report, Iweha said there was no truth in the story though he declined to volunteer further information on the circumstances that led to the speculations.