Gaidam defends bill on repentant Boko Haram terrorists

The sponsor of the controversial bill seeking establishment of an agency for repentant Boko Haram terrorists, Senator Ibrahim Gaidam (APC Yobe East), yesterday, attempted to allay the fears of Nigerians, saying he has good intentions contrary to insinuations by many Nigerians.

The Senate, had on Thursday last week, introduced the bill seeking to set up an agency that would be responsible for the rehabilitation and integration of repentant Boko Haram terrorists in the country.

But immediately the information hit the social media, Nigerians of all walks of life rose up in rage, to oppose and condemn the idea, saying that it was an affront on Nigerians, who have been suffering a lot of agonies from the activities of the insurgents.

However, Senator Gaidam, in a personally signed statement yesterday, allayed the fears of the commentators by explaining that the move was driven by national interest and nothing sectional or primordial.

He pointed out that the de-radicalization concept the bill provides for, was a global practice which had been experimented in countries like Britain and America, among others, noting that the initiative produced positive results.

The statement reads in part: “In view of the fact that the Boko Haram insurgency is becoming increasingly aggressive since its inception in 2009, marked by extreme brutality and explicit targeting of civilians, resulting in continued infliction of massive casualty on innocent citizens, particularly in northeastern Nigeria, it has become necessary for us to go back to the drawing board and adopt an alternative approach, in addition to the military option, which has so far performed significantly well.

“There is no doubt that many members of the insurgents’ group have defected and many more are willing to repent given a window of opportunity and this is confirmed by many organizations including NGO’s that have unalloyed access to the Boko Haram.
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