Abuja Lawyer, Akpodiete, Drums Support for Jonathan, Advises against Negotiation with Boko Haram
Abuja based Lawyer and human right activist, Prince Christmas Akpodiete,Esq, has thrown his weight behind the present government of President Goodluck Jonathan, just as he advised the Nigerians clamouing for urgent change to be patient as the President is determine to transform every Nigeria’s social, political and economic sector as already being experience power , rail, roads, health and foreign investments sector among others.
According to the Niger Delta born activist, the problems facing Nigeria are protracted hence they would take more than a tenure to solve. He, however, expressed hope that President Jonathan is on progressive track.
Prince Christmas Akpodiete
Akpodiete who made the appeal in a statement at a symposium at Abuja, called on the Federal Government to desist from further negotiations with members of the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram who are demanding for the sum of $150, million U.S. Dollars from the Nigerian government for ceasefire.
“The above demand is bogus, ridiculous, and frivolous which makes mockery of our Government. It must therefore be rejected by the Nigerian people. Terrorist cannot hold us to ransom. The fact that they ask for cash also brings to question their ideological underpinning and reveals an overall criminal intent. In other climes, terrorists mostly hing ceasefires on release of their members from custody and other such cardinal demands. How can criminal use widespread terror as a tool for blackmail ” terror for cash.
“The American Government does not negotiate with terrorist and we should not also negotiate with them. We must find them, track them and smoke them out as Obama did to Osama Bin Laden,” Akpodiete advised, adding that the Nigerian government is not weak as argued in some circle, hence Nigerians are not ignorant of the efforts of security operatives in combating the menace of Boko Haram, which has claimed hundreds of lives.
According to the human right lawyer, “To give bunch of low life terrorist/murderers N26 Billion, the equivalent of $150 million U.S. Dollars will not only amount to arming the enemy, but it’ll make nonsense of the efforts of the government security operatives who have spent many restless days and sleepless night tackling the menace. Many people will think that the government lacks the capacity to tackle Boko Haram.”
Akpodiete maintained that the right thing to do is to prosecute and put behind bars these terrorist who have made many people widows, widowers, and orphans.
He recalled that the bombing of the United nations office in Abuja, Churches across the country, military base, Police headquarters and stations are still fresh in our memory, stressing that justice could only be seen to have been done when those criminals are brought to answer for their heinous crimes.
Akpodiete called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of Sheikh Muhammed Abdulazeez Ibn Idris, Boko Haram 2nd in command of southern and northern Bornu, just as he observed that the call for cease fire by Boko Haram was as a result of the invasion and destruction of terrorist camps in Mali by France, Nigerian and other international forces international forces, most especially, the United States military plans to set up a base for drones in northwest Africa to bolster surveillance of Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in the region and allied Islamist extremists .
“We are not ignorant of the fact that Boko Haram activities increased since the dawn of the Goodluck Jonathan administration, all in an effort to distabilise this government. Nigerians cannot be fooled. How can criminals who have committed worst crimes like Boko Haram ask for compensation, this is laughable?” Akpodiete fumed.