Ijaw Youth Council condemns Buhari's threat to treat militants like Boko Haram terrorists

NIGER Delta pan-cultural group the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has hit out at President Muhammadu Buhari for threatening to apply the same treatment meted out to Boko Haram terrorists to militants in the region.

 

Over recent months, militancy has returned to the Niger Delta with youths blowing up oil installations and crippling Nigeria's supply. Calling them saboteurs, President Buhari has threatened to bring the full force of the law on anyone engaged in disruption oil supplies, promising that the military will deal with them firmly.

 

Unhappy with the president's stance, the IYC described the warning to Niger Delta agitators to negotiate or face Boko Haram treatment as reckless and prejudicial to a peaceful resolution of the renewed militancy in the region. IYC spokesperson Eric Omare, said that there was no basis for that statement considering that the circumstances of the Niger Delta are different from the Boko Haram crisis.

 

Mr Omare said: “We have just read a press statement issued by the senior special assistant to the president on media affairs, Garba Shehu in Nairobi, Kenya wherein President Buhari while discussing with the Japanese leader warned Niger Delta agitators to negotiate or face the Boko Haram treatment. The IYC condemns the statement and states that it is reckless and prejudicial to peaceful resolution of the renewed militancy in the Niger Delta."

 

While maintaining that the statement completely displayed the federal government’s lack of commitment towards negotiation, he said there was no basis to threaten Niger Deltans with the Boko Haram treatment when discussions are ongoing and considering the fact that the circumstances of the Niger Delta are different from the Boko Haram crisis. According to Mr Omare, it shows that the government has made up its mind to use force against Niger Delta communities.