Is DSS Truly Granting Amnesty to Repentant Boko Haram Commanders? Prominent Borno Senator Opens Up
- Senator Ali Ndume has debunked the claim that the DSS is granting amnesty to repentant Boko Haram commanders
- The Borno South senator said the DSS and even President Buhari do not have the powers to do such without the involvement of the National Assembly
- However, the APC lawmaker expressed concern that President Buhari is not regularly briefing Nigerians even as the security crisis in the country worsens
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FCT, Abuja - Senator Ali Ndume has said President Muhammadu Buhari or the security agencies cannot singlehandedly grant blanket amnesty to repentant Boko Haram terrorists without the approval of the National Assembly.
The Punch reported that Ndume who is the chairman of the Senate Committee on the Army stated this on Thursday, August 26, in an interview with journalists.
Source: Facebook
Legit.ng gathers that the senator was reacting to a report claiming security agencies in the country had started granting secret amnesty to top Boko Haram commanders.
Ndume who is representing Borno South senatorial district clarified that none of the repentant terrorists had been reintegrated into the society contrary to some media reports.
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He added that the military authorities had also not recruited any of the repentant terrorists into the Nigerian Army.
Repentant insurgents currently being profiled
Senator Ndume said repentant insurgents were currently being treated as prisoners of war, with the security agencies carrying out their profiling, while some of them with terrible cases had been sent to prison.
He added that the presidency and the Borno state government had started a comprehensive resettlement plan for victims of the Boko Haram insurgency.
The senator said:
“It is not true that the Department of State Services is granting amnesty to repentant Boko Haram commanders and giving them financial inducement.
“The DSS cannot do that because it doesn’t have the mandate to carry out such task. Even the President cannot grant such amnesty without the involvement of the National Assembly. The DSS cannot do such thing in secret.
“Even the President cannot grant such amnesty without the involvement of the National Assembly. The DSS cannot do such thing in secret.”
Insecurity: I'm worried Buhari is not talking - Ndume
Meanwhile, Senator Ndume also expressed worry that President Buhari was not addressing Nigerians despite the fears being entertained by the people over the worsening security crises across the country.
He said:
“I am just worried that the president is not talking to Nigerians. In a situation like this, silence is not golden."
Nigerian Army denies enlisting repentant terrorists as soldiers
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army said it had not and would not enlist former and repentant Boko Haram/Islamic State West Africa Province terrorists into the service.
The director of Army public relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu made the clarification in a statement released on Tuesday, August 24, in Abuja.
He said the Army was not desperate for prospective recruits to stoop so low to engage the services of former terrorists.
Source: Legit.ng
