Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has given reasons why is administration would not prosecute repentant Boko Haram fighters.
www.tracknews.ng reports that the Borno Governor ruled out prosecuting then while presenting the 2022 budget at the State Assembly on Tuesday.
According to Zulum, other terrorists will not want to surrender if those that repent are dragged to court over the crimes they committed.
The Borno governor however admitted that prosecuting the insurgents would have been the right thing to do.
“Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, we need Allah’s guidance and the utmost wisdom to work for an end to the crisis facing our dear state,” Zulum said.
“Prosecuting all the criminals (insurgents) would have been most appropriate but if we insist on it, we would discourage others out there that are willing to lay down their arms.
“The terrorists’ ranks could swell and our innocent fellow citizens, particularly those in local government areas, could become more vulnerable to attacks and abductions.”
He disclosed that those who are willing to surrender must from now on stop further attacks on civilians, security agents and facilities.
According to Zulum, the surrender of Boko Haram fighters was made possible by God to at least reduce the fighting force of the terrorists.
“However, we will never forget the feelings of those who have lost loved ones, lost their homes, lost their communities and lost their means of livelihood.
“We must approach our peace-building efforts with extreme caution by working in line with the 16 resolutions reached on August 29, 2021, when we convened a multi-stakeholder security town-hall meeting, which critically reviewed and adopted guidelines for us to approach the surrender of insurgents,” the governor said.
