“President Goodluck Jonathan has not declared amnesty for members of the Boko Haram sect.” These were the words of special adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on media and publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati today at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Abati, who spoke to newsmen as he reacted to the statement credited to the nation’s Minister of Youth Development, Boni Haruna that the President had offered amnesty to the insurgents said, it is a lie.
Boni Haruna had on Thursday, announced to Nigerians that President Jonathan had offered amnesty to Boko Haram as part of the determination of his government to bring the incesant violent attacks across some parts of the North to an end.
However Dr. Abati dissociated the President from the amnesty offer, saying that the President, who spoke at the occasion after Boni Haruna, did not say anything about the amnesty offer.
The minister had made the announcement during the Democracy Day Presidential interaction with youths at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
The minister had used the opportunity offered by the occasion to, on behalf of the Federal Government, called on the members of the Boko Haram sect to embrace the government’s gesture and key-in to amnesty programme.”
Abati said that the reality on the ground is that the government had lined up series of integration programmes for the members of Boko Haram that are willing to surrender their arms and embrace peace.
He refered Nigerians to the Democracy Day nationwide broadcast by the President where he never used the term “amnesty,” adding “if you read the speech line by line, you will see that it contains the very message that the President wanted to put across.
“In that speech, if you look at it, I don’t think the President used amnesty, instead he spoke about those who are willing to renounce terrorism; those who are willing to embrace peace, opportunities have been created for them through the fact-finding committee, through the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolutions of Conflict in the North Eastern part of Nigeria. So I will refer you basically to the speech by the President.”
Meanwhile, President Jonathan has condemned the assassination of the Emir of Gwoza, Alhaji Idrissa Timta who was killed by Boko Haram on Thursday.
Dr. Abati, who conveyed the message of the President said that the news of the assassination shocked the President.
“What it means is that  these terrorists who are threatening peace and stability in Nigeria, are desperate and they continue to show that desperation. But as the President made it clear in his democracy day broadcast, that was his main message to Nigerians, that at the end of the day, it is the people of Nigeria that will prevail, no matter how desperate terrorists may be.”
He said that the federal government is determined to rid the country of terrorism with the support, solidarity, cooperation and partnership that it has been receiving from neighboring countries, the west African sub-region, Africa and the world.
“All these show that this is the battle that the whole world is prepared to fight. So the days of peace as the President said in his speech is assured because this battle will not end until it is won and the sustainable development is fully guaranteed.”

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President Goodluck Jonathan has turned to Senegalese “Mallams” for special prayers and spiritual guidance over the unceasing spate of Boko Haram violent attacks and the return of female students of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno state abducted by Boko Haram on April 14.
The “Mallams were in the State House, Abuja today to offer the special prayers for the lasting solutions to the intractable carnage by Boko Haram. The President has been under increased pressure from local and foreign observers over the abduction of school girls in Chibok, Borno State as well as the increasing spate of killings perpetrated by the Boko Haram sect.
The group of clerics, numbering about 10, was led by Khalifah Sheikh Ahmad Tijani Inyass, the grandson of Late Shehu Tijani Ibrahim Inyass, the founder of the Tijjaniya sect.
Others in the group were Sheikh Muhammadul Makky Inyass, Sheikh Mansur Inyass, Sheikh Ahmad Tijjani Inyass, Sheikl Bashir Inyass, Inyass Mustapha Inyass, Abdullahi Muhammad Maigemu, Sheikh Ibrahim Dahiru Bauchi, Aliyu Ibrahim, Khalifah Shehu Nasiru Hamisu etc.
Also present at the special prayers were Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, Chief of Staff to President, Brig- General Jones Arogbofa (rtd), Head of Service, Bukar Goni Aji; Ministers of the Federal Capital Territory, Bala Mohammed; Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke; Sate for Health, Khaliru Alhassan; Women Affairs, Hajiya Zainab Maina; State for Agriculture, Asmau Mohammed, etc
The Mallams met the President for about an hours at the First Lady’s Conference Room where they offered the special prayers for an end to the security challenges facing Nigeria as well as peace and stability in the country.
The clerics had been in Nigeria originally to attend the Maulud celebration of Ibrahim Inyass in Gombe and received Presidential invitation to the villa for spiritual support.
Speaking to State House Correspondents after the meeting, spokesman for the group, Ahmed Tijani Sanni Alwalu said it was a historic meeting since former leaders, Yakubu Gowon and Late JTU Aguiyi- Ironsi had also invited the sect to pray for the country in the past.
“It is a historic visit because it has been done by his father with the then President, General Yakubu Gowon and General Aguyi Ironsi. So the history is repeating itself and we came for the Maulud of Ibrahim Inyass Gombe and on our way going home, the President requested for a courtesy visit and our Shehu granted it.
“We must come together, all Muslims and non- Muslims to achieve peaceful co- existence. We must pray so that we can all fight this insecurity in this country.
“The main purpose of coming here is part of the prayers for peace in this country.”

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The Nigeria Armed Forces has cried out against an un-named prominent political leader in the North that is planning to cast its men and officers fighiting members of the deadly Boko Haram in parts of the North in bad light.
In a statement today, the spokesman of the military, Major General Chris Olukolade said the aim of the faceless political leader who he called “apologist of terror group” is to “cast the Nigerian military and security forces in bad light.”
He said that the Defence Headquarters has been alerted of a plot by some interest groups to embark on a renewed campaign aimed at attracting international condemnation and indictment of  the Nigerian military and its operations in the Northern part of the country.
“The campaign, which is to rely heavily on doctored and falsified audio visual materials, some of which are already trending in the social media, is to be coordinated and funded by a prominent political leader whose state is presently under the State of  Emergency.
“The details of the plan which is already being fine-tuned by a group of media practitioners,  is to be presented for the final ratification and funding by the political figure. The design is expected to forcefully whip up sentiments of genocide allegedly targeted against a particular religious group.
“The planners of this multi-media crusade also hope to use it to gain some mileage in the drive to secure international attention as they have not achieved this sufficiently despite previous efforts.”
General Olukolade said that the programme is also meant to reinforce the ongoing media campaign against the military which he said, has been adopted as an alternative by those who are bent on politicizing the ongoing counter terrorists operations in the northern part of the country.
He recalled that a newspaper, apparently testing the waters, last week published some of the doctored pictures which the Defence Headquarters instantly repudiated, pointing out that they do not represent activities or operations of the Nigerian military.
“This Headquarters wishes to reiterate its rejection of pictures and video footages from unverifiable sources claiming to reflect activities or so- called atrocities purportedly perpetrated by Nigerian security forces.
“They do not reflect or depict the true state of affairs or operations of Nigerian military or any of the security forces.” The armed forces spokesman asked members of the public to watch out and not allow themselves to be hoodwinked by these acts of what he called “infamy” orchestrated by this desperate group.
He made it clear that the dastardly acts of terrorism would remain against all Nigerians and all peace loving people all over the world, stressing that no amount of propaganda by apologists of terror group can justify the evil acts of terrorism.

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