 |
| Alhaji Kabiru Turaki |
•Four sect members get life jail for Suleja bombings
•Defence HQ probes Yobe students’ killings as France
condemns incident
By Tobi Soniyi, Damilola Oyedele and Senator Iroegbu
Chairman, Presidential Amnesty Committee on Dialogue and
Peaceful Resolution of the Security Challenges in the North, Alhaji Kabiru
Turaki, Tuesday defended the ceasefire agreement signed with Boko Haram, saying
the federal government interacted with authentic members of the Islamic
militia.
Turaki, who also doubles as Minister of Special Duties, had
on Monday announced that the federal government had signed a ceasefire
agreement with the sect amid growing criticism over the weekend killing of 30
boarding students and two others by suspected Boko Haram members.
He spoke while responding to THISDAY enquiries just as the
Federal High Court Tuesday in Abuja convicted and sentenced four members of the
sect to life imprisonment for their role in the April 8, 2011 bombing of the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Suleja, Niger State.
The bomb attacks resulted in the death of 16 people, while
many others were injured.
Those sentenced to life imprisonment are Shuaibu Abubakar,
Salisu Ahmed, Umar Babagana-Umar and Mohamed Ali.
One of the suspects, Umar Ibrahim, was given a 10-year
sentence, while the sixth suspect, Musa Adamu, was freed for lack of evidence.
In the meantime, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has raised a
team to probe the killing of the boarding students in Yobe State, which drew
more condemnation from France.
However, amid doubts over the authenticity of the Boko Haram
leaders he claimed the federal government had signed the ceasefire agreement
with, Turaki said the pact was with the “mainstream” Boko Haram leaders.
Turaki in a text message to THISDAY, added that the
agreement was real and that the dreaded group had directed its members to
suspend further attacks.
In addition, the federal government has also accepted the ceasefire
with the group while a formal agreement will follow soon.
“We have reached an understanding with them and they have
already directed their men on the ceasefire, which we have accepted. But a
formal agreement will follow in due course,” he said.
“The agreement is with the mainstream,” was his response
when he was asked if the leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, was involved in
the arrangement.
A source in the amnesty committee told THISDAY that the Boko
Haram leadership under Shekau agreed to the ceasefire offer when it became
convinced of the sincerity of the Jonathan administration in seeking peace.
However, THISDAY learnt that defence authorities are not
aware of the ceasefire agreement.
Director of Defence Information (DDI), Brig-Gen. Chris
Olukolade, said in an interview that the military had not been informed of the
agreement.
“We are not aware of any ceasefire", was his response
when informed about the agreement.
Irrespective of the ceasefire agreement, the Chief of
Defence Staff (CDS), Admiral Ola Sa'ad Ibrahim, has sent a fact-finding team of
senior officers from the DHQ to Yobe State for an on-the-spot assessment of the
deployment of troops of the Joint Task Force (JTF) in the state and to
ascertain those behind the terrorist attacks on schools in the state.
Olukolade said the investigative team would narrow its
findings to last weekend’s killing of the boarding students and report back to
Ibrahim for further action.
According to him, the team would pay particular attention to
the security circumstances surrounding the attack on Government Secondary
School, Mamudo near Potiskum.
“The team, led by the Chief of Research and Development in
the Defence Headquarters, is visiting the troops deployed in remote locations
in Yobe State to verify the effectiveness of patrols and cordon and search
operations directed at forestalling any further breach of security, and
tracking down perpetrators of the weekend attack,” he said.
France Tuesday lent its voice to the global condemnation
that has trailed last weekend's killing of the students, describing it as
heinous and cowardly.
A statement by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
expressed shock at the murders.
The statement made available to THISDAY by the First
Counsellor, Political and Communications of the Embassy of France in Abuja, Mr.
George Vanin, said: “In these tragic circumstances, France reaffirms its
commitment to the fight against terrorism and its solidarity with the Nigerian
government and people in the face of this terrible ordeal.”
Delivering judgment Tuesday in the trial of the Boko Haram
members, Justice Bilikisu Aliyu convicted five of them on three out of the five
counts brought against them.
They were all arraigned on a five-count charge of bombing
the Suleja office of INEC.
They were also charged with the July 10, 2011 explosions at
the All Christians Fellowship Church in Suleja, killing three and injuring
others; the March 3, 2011 explosion at a political rally in Suleja where three
people died; and the May 23, 2011 explosion in Dakina Village, Bwari, Abuja,
killing three policemen.
They were equally charged with engaging in illegal training
in weapons handling and unlawful possession of weapons with the intention of
engaging in terrorism.
They were charged under Section 15(2) and (3) of the
Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) Act.
However, Justice Aliyu discharged the convicts on the
charges relating to the explosions at the Suleja church and the killing of
policemen in Dakina because the prosecution failed to provide convincing
evidence to support the charges.
In relation to the other charges, the judge held that the
prosecution presented sufficient evidence to prove the guilt of the convicts.
She, however, freed Adamu because the prosecution failed to
link him with the offences.
In relation to the four sentenced to life imprisonment,
Justice Aliyu noted that they “used explosives meant for blasting rocks for
mining purposes, to kill human beings who had done nothing to them”.
“Human life is sacred. There is no human life that is more
sacred than the other. The convicts have shown lack of respect for human life.
They deserve to be removed from the society,” the judge held before pronouncing
the sentences.
In sentencing Ibrahim to 10 years imprisonment, the judge
observed that the evidence presented by the prosecution showed that he merely
served as an errand boy for others who had engaged in illegal weapons training.
Justice Aliyu held that Ibrahim was culpable for aiding the
illegal trainees, as he could have refused to run errands for them if he was
not in support of their activities.
Earlier, counsel to the accused persons, Kevin Okoro and
Nuraini Sulyman, had prayed the court to temper justice with mercy, but the
prosecuting counsel, Thompson Olatigbe, urged the court to give them a life
sentence.
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