Dauda Lawal, governor of Zamfara State, has accused the federal government of negotiating with terrorists, drawing criticism for the administration.
Zamfara State is one of the states hit hard by terrorist attacks over the past several years.
Banditry, which developed into full-fledged terrorism, thrived in Zamfara State, resulting in widespread kidnapping of locals and schoolchildren.
You may recall that the most recent terrorist attack was the kidnapping of roughly twenty-four students from Federal University Gusau.
However, Governor Lawal’s accusations that the Federal Government was secretly dealing with terrorists in the State opened a box of worms.
He asserted that his government possessed proof that certain federal agencies had been in contact with bandits in the state and were negotiating their release.
The governor’s media aide, Sulaiman Idris, released a statement saying, “Reports indicated that a delegation allegedly sent by some agencies of the Federal Government has been holding talks with bandit groups in Zamfara without the knowledge of the State Government.”
The Federal Government swiftly responded to the governor’s accusations through Alhaji Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation, saying that Lawal should instead be grateful for the efforts of “security agents and the federal government institutions to rescue the abducted students of the Federal University Gusau.”
Human rights campaigner Maduabuchi Idam, located in Abuja, has condemned the news, claiming it proves the Federal Government is colluding with Boko Haram militants.
Idam disputed the assertions made by the federal government in an interview
He said, “It confirms the suspicion or assumption that the Federal Government is in bed with Boko Haram terrorists if we believe that the Federal Government is actually in negotiation with terrorists in the North.”
The statement released by the government of Zamfara State is very accusatory. In the North, Boko Haram cannot be negotiated with by the same Federal Government that has detained Nnamdi Kanu for so long.
That’s why it’s a targeted war rather than a comprehensive one. IPOB has always insisted that they are not terrorists, while Boko Haram and similar groups have admitted openly to being terrorists and the Federal Government has decided to keep talking to them rather than crushing them.
There is no justification for what the Federal Government is doing; it’s all just a show. Who can explain why the government is holding Kanu in contempt of court while at the same time holding talks with terrorists? The fact that the governor of the state is unaware of this is even funnier.
Why are you in such a frantic state?” Why all the hush-hush? It appears that the federal government is more concerned with immediately dealing with Boko Haram terrorists than with engaging the state government on what is happening in the State, as the governor, the State’s Chief Law Officer, was not informed.
When they may be negotiating, this government should not be sending troops to the Southeast to crush peaceful protests.
Because negotiations often include compromise, this not only gives terrorists a reason to feel encouraged, but also makes terrorism seem appealing to others on the sidelines.
We’re wondering what benefits the government is providing in exchange. We are receiving subpoenas from the people, and the government has not maintained a toga that would absolve them of these suspicions, so it should come out and tell Nigerians what it is giving out in return to avoid another case like the Kuje prison break. In that case, people suspected the government had allowed the prison break to occur in order to keep to their own terms of the bargain in regard to the Kaduna-Abuja train attack.
“The news of their negotiation with terrorists in the North is confirmation of all these.”
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