Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati
The Presidency on Friday said the government and security agencies would hunt down the leaders of the violent sect, Boko Harram.
Special Adviser to the President on
Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said this in an exclusive
interview with our correspondent in Abuja.
Abati was reacting to a statement
credited to the United States Under Secretary for Political Affairs,
Wendy Sherman, that leaders of the sect must be captured and prosecuted
for Nigeria to achieve its potential as a stable regional leader.
The presidential spokesman said security
operatives had succeeded in hunting down many members of the sect and
were intensifying efforts aimed at tracking down their leaders.
Abati said security agents had destroyed the enclave the sect carved for themselves in the northern part of the country.
He said, “Our determination is to make
sure that wherever they are, the leaders of the terrorists’ group will
be hunted down and brought to justice.
“What has been done in the three months
of emergency rule in three states is that a clear message has been sent
out that government will not condone terrorists’ activities.
“The enclave they already carved out for
themselves have been wiped out and destroyed and many of them have been
captured and hunted down. This has sent out a very strong signal.
“The government is already getting close
to destroying the leadership cadre of Boko Haram and those caught will
definitely be brought to justice.”
On whether the Federal Government will
seek the assistance of US in tracking down the sect’s leaders, Abati
said there was already existing partnership between the US and Nigeria
and also between Nigeria and neighbouring countries on the matter.
When asked how soon the government would
get the sect leaders in its custody, he said it was an ongoing security
operation, adding that as successes were recorded, the public would be
duly informed.
Abati explained that the essence of the
security effort in the north-eastern part of the country was to check
insurgency and bring the perpetrators to book.
He said the government had made it very
clear that it would not tolerate any act of terrorism and that was why
it had declared Boko Haram a terrorist organisation.
The presidential spokesman added that in
applying all the sanctions spelt out in the Terrorism Protection Act,
whoever was arrested or identified as a terrorist would be brought to
justice.
Abati added, “I see the statement by the
US Under Secretary on Political Affairs generally as a statement of
support. She made it very clear that the US is solidly behind the
Nigerian government. She placed a lot of emphasis on partnership between
countries and made it very clear that Boko Haram poses a threat not
only to Nigeria but also to the United States.
“What you must know is that there are
many areas of collaboration between the US and Nigeria in terms of
information sharing, capacity development and operational strategy. In
terms of strategy, the approach that has been adopted by the Jonathan
administration is a multi-track strategy divided into short term, medium
term and long term.
“In the short term is the military
intervention in that part of the country to check the insurgents. And in
that regard, a lot of success has been made.
“And of course we have the option of dialogue and reconciliation in which we have the amnesty committee.
Meanwhile, Abati, on Saturday warned
unnamed persons who he said are playing the politics of 2015 to desist
from dragging President Goodluck Jonathan into every conflict.
He said while the Presidency conceded to
the people their right to play politics, they should do so without
blaming Jonathan for everything that happened within the polity.
Abati made the call in an interview he granted an online television, Sahara TV, monitored by our correspondent in Abuja on Saturday.
Abati also took on those who have been
accusing him of taking up the job of defending the President and his
wife, Patience, who he had before now severally criticised in his
celebrated column in a national newspaper.
He said he would not be intimidated by
such sentiments as his focus was to continue to support Jonathan to
achieve his objectives.
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