Knocks as FG, Zamfara govt trade words over alleged negotiation with terrorists

The Federal Government has been criticized over an accusation levelled against it by the Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, regarding negotiation with terrorists.

In the past couple of years, Zamfara State has been one of the states suffering from terrorists’ activities.

Banditry, which metamorphosed into full-fledged terrorism, had found a thriving ground in Zamfara State, leading to frequent abduction of residents and students across the State.

Recall that the terrorists’ latest attack was the abduction of about 24 students of the Federal University Gusau.

But, Governor Lawal had opened a can of worms when he accused the Federal Government of negotiating with terrorists in the State without his knowledge.

He claimed that his administration had evidence of some Federal Government agencies negotiating with bandits in the State.

A statement by the governor’s media aide, Sulaiman Idris, said: “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.”

In a swift response, the Federal Government, through the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, denied the governor’s allegations, saying Lawal should rather appreciate the efforts of “security agents and the federal government institutions to rescue the abducted students of the Federal University Gusau.”

Condemning the development, an Abuja-based human rights activist, Maduabuchi Idam, said the allegation was a confirmation that the Federal Government was in bed with Boko Haram terrorists.

Speaking with State News Media , Idam faulted the claims of the Federal Government.

According to him: “To think that the Federal Government is actually in negotiation with terrorists in the North is a confirmation of the suspicion or assumption that the Federal Government is in bed with Boko Haram terrorists.

“The statement coming from the Zamfara State government is indicting. The same Federal Government that has held Nnamdi Kanu for a very long time cannot be negotiating with Boko Haram in the North.

“This means the fight is selective and not holistic. IPOB has consistently maintained that they are not terrorists, whereas Boko Haram and the likes have come out openly to admit that they are terrorists and the Federal Government decided to maintain discussions with them other than crushing them, while those saying they are not terrorists are in detention.

“This is an eye service, a leap dance, and there is no qualification for what the Federal Government is doing. What justification will anybody give for having Kanu in detention in deviance of competent court orders while the same government maintains negotiations with terrorists? What is more laughable is that the state governor is not aware.

“The question now is, why the desperation? Why the secrecy? The governor, who is the State’s Chief Law Officer, was not informed; this means that the federal government is desperate for quickly negotiating with Boko Haram terrorists rather than engaging the state government on what is going on in the State.

“The question is, what justification will this government have to send troops to the Southeast to destroy mere protesters when they can hold negotiations?

“This is not just an encouragement to terrorists, but it’s making terrorism look attractive that those not involved would consider getting engaged because negotiation must have terms and conditions.

“One question we are asking is- what is the government giving out in return? It should come out and tell Nigerians what it’s giving out in return so we don’t have another case of Kuje prison break where people rightly suspected that the government had allowed that prison break to happen in keeping to their own terms of the bargain in respect to the Kaduna-Abuja train attack, these are subpoenas we are getting from the people and the government has not maintained a toga that would absolve them of these suspicions.

“The news of their negotiation with terrorists in the North is a confirmation of all these.”