By Ayo Oyoze Baje
Quote:
“First, we must be ruthless to our enemies; we must overpower and annihilate them. Second, we must be kind to our own, to the people, to our comrades”
-Chairman Mao Tse-tung ( Part of his speech on September 18, 1944 )
“BREAKING: Panic As 40 Repentant Boko Haram Terrorists Are Reportedly Shortlisted For 2026 Nigerian Army Recruitment. To Undergo Medicals” That was a recent headline news that went viral on social media which sparked public outrage amongst concerned Nigerians.
But it was good enough, that the Nigerian military in a prompt response strongly disclaimed it, maintaining that it does not recruit, enlist, or absorb repentant terrorists into its armed forces.
According to multiple official statements from Defence Headquarters and senior military leadership there is confirmation that former insurgents as well as people with criminal records are strictly barred from service. Yet, the fears and the pains remain, more so with the surviving victims of their kidnapping and blood-letting activities anytime they get to read about any form of amnesty programs for the so called “repentant” terrorists. Outrageous, is it not? Of course, it is.
Ordinarily, a government anywhere in the world is supposed to act as a protective and caring father -figure, providing for the needs of the children as members of the led majority. But when such a father openly displays more affection and attention to the stubborn and cruel children at the expense of the wellbeing and happiness of the others he has indirectly sent the wrong signal to the unprotected ones, by condoning the ills of the wicked ones and treating them with kid gloves when they do wrong. So, it pays to harm others, and go Scot-free, they ask? That indeed, is the recurring million naira question bedeviling Nigeria’s socio-economic and political landscape ever since the Boko Haram insurgency started rearing its ugly head from the North East zone in 2009.
Worrisome still, is the scary fact that it has kept widening its wanton and wicked wings from one administration to another over the years. But why? One of the factors of course, is the odd way and manner the insurgents have been treated by the powers that be, with some of them being considered for one amnesty program or the other after the spurious admission of repentance!
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Obnoxious, is it not? Of course it is as if their lives are more precious than that of the hundreds of thousands of innocent souls they have sent to their early graves and millions of others displaced. In fact, many Nigerians fiercely condemn amnesty programs in whatever firm.Victims of the insurgency and civil rights groups argue that rewarding former insurgents—while displaced, traumatized victims of the violence continue to struggle socially and economically—is a dangerous and unjust policy. Yes, it is.
And it certainly runs against the grains of the piece of admonition given by Tse-tung
as featured in Chapter 13 of his famous “Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung” (often called the Little Red Book).As reflected in the introductory quote, political leaders must be brutal with the wicked members of the society and soft with the others who are law-abiding.
In fact, the very idea of granting amnesty to supposedly ‘repentant’ criminal elements, who are nothing other than rampaging terrorists, bandits and kidnappers, by embracing them with free feeding, clothing, accommodation, all from the public purse is reprehensible, obnoxious, immoral, highly unpatriotic and totally condemnable! That was my opinion on the querulous matter of granting amnesty to the killers as expressed back in 2021 and yours truly still stands by it as of 2026.
Curious enough, some of these beneficiaries are offered western education on a platter of gold; the same policy they have been fighting against, going by the interpretation of “Boko Haram”. How hypocritical can some of us get in this country?
In saner climes, such heartless vampires, whose stock in trade is unmitigated blood-letting are arrested, given speedy trial and publicly executed, if found guilty. Such would send a note of stern warning to upcoming criminals that those who kill would pay for it with their own life. But over the years, the weak treatment or outright impunity these mindless murderers have enjoyed here in Nigeria gives the nauseating notion that their lives are more precious than those of their helpless victims. This is most unfortunate. And that perhaps, explains why some concerned Nigerians are raising their voices by several decibels to say a vehement “no” to the amnesty for the killers. Not only do they not deserve it, some of them have treated such government-run initiatives as ineffective.
For instance, Senator Ali Ndume once expressed dismay about amnesty for the repenrants as one of them went back home to kill his father!
On the factors of exploitation and recidivism, security experts and former military officials have frequently noted that the primary danger of “repentant” fighters returning to crime is the insider knowledge they bring. Fighters who surrender and undergo government-led programs, such as Nigeria’s Operation Safe Corridor, are often exposed to intelligence on military layouts, community defenses, and security vulnerabilities.This adds a serious dimension to the fight against terrorism.
It has also been discovered that after reintegrating into society and taking oaths of allegiance, some of them use this accumulated intelligence to facilitate new attacks, conduct kidnappings, or rejoin their former extremist networks. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons behind the reported ambush on the army by the terrorists.Some of them go as far as acting as spies or intelligence gatherers for active insurgent groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP. Hence, one’s expression of concern about amnesty for repentant killers, while people with less grievous crimes rot away in jails.
It would be recalled that in March, 2013 when the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, openly canvassed the amnesty idea for Boko Haram, it did not go down well with patriotic Nigerians. Yours truly responded with opinion essay an titled: “No Amnesty for Boko Haram”, as severally published by different media platforms.
Subsequently, when another renowned Islamic scholar, the Kaduna-based Sheikh Ahmed Gumi, made a similar call to the Federal Government requesting amnesty for bandits in exchange for peace in Zamfara state, believing that dialogue with the bandits or even Boko Haram is an important strategy as a way out one also immediately decried it. That was in 2021
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With ample, empirical evidences on ground on the self-decimating approach of amnesty programs for criminals and given the worsening scenario of terrorism in the country the federal government should muster the needed courage to do away with it by exorcising the demon of impunity from the Nigerian society and save more priceless lives from preventable death.
