Presidential Amnesty Committee Admits Failure

Minister of Special Duties and Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North, Taminu Turaki, on Thursday said that engaging in constructive dialogue with key members of Boko Haram had remained a “major challenge” for the Presidential Committee on Amnesty. Turaki made the disclosure in Abuja at a meeting with foreign diplomats in the country, following the two-month extension granted the committee by President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday to bring peace to the northern part of the country. The committee which was inaugurated in April has achieved little or nothing ever since, and at a time claimed a cease fire agreement was signed with members of Boko Haram to last the Ramadan season, a claim Boko Haram was quick to refute even before further attacks during Ramadan in Borno and Kano proved the purported cease fire deal was a ruse. Turaki told members of the diplomatic corps that “this committee is focused and as far as our terms of reference are concerned, we have been able to achieve a lot”. He listed some of the committee’s achievements to include securing the release of women and children of alleged Boko Haram members who were wrongly detained by security operatives and building “confidence and trust” of some of the group’s members. According to him, the ongoing dialogue with some critical members of the group would help the committee to recommend a comprehensive and workable framework for resolving the insecurity in the country. “We hope that very soon and within the timeframe the president gave us, this committee will be able to conclude the dialogue, as much as practicable. “This will then enable the appropriate government agency to sign a cease fire agreement that will see the end of this insurgency,” he said.