Boko Haram: Experts Call For State Of Emergency

In order to checkmate the spate of bombings by fundamental Muslim sect Boko Haram in some northern parts of the country, two university dons have called on the federal government to declare a state of emergency in Borno and Bauchi State.

The lecturers baned their minds in an exclusive chat with The Tide on Tuesday in Port Harcourt insisting that the federal government has to exert strong measures to check the activities of the fundamental Islamic group.

The Dean of Faculty of Engineering in the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Dr Alex Akor said that by declaring a state of emergency in Borno and Bauchi States the group can be effectively dislodged and checkmated by a joint security force, adding that the activities of he fundamental Muslim group poses great threat to national security.

Dr Akor said, “as far as I’ am concerned the agitation of Boko-Haram does not in any way look similar to that of the Niger Delta militants. For them to force their Muslim faith an anybody is undemocratic and against the law of the country.”

The university don equally views that the group be granted amnesty arguing that such gesture would paint the federal government as weak and unable to tackle criminality in the country.

The same views were expressed by a senior lecturers in the department of Banking and finance in RSUST, Dr Omodele Momodu, who emphasised the need for stern security measures to be taken by the federal authorities to stamp out terrorism in the country.

“Our culture abhors this kind of thing so I don’t think we should dialogue with them,” Dr Momodu said, “they are a faceless and group of criminals”.

The university lecturer called on President Goodluck Jonathan to borrow a leaf from the action of former President Olusegun  Obasanjo who declared a state of emergency in Plateau State when the Jos crisis escalated in 2006.

He argued that the current state of affairs in some northern part of the country shows lawlessness and breakdown of law and order, stressing that if the situation was not nibbled in the band, the group would look invisible and difficult to control.

Dr Momodu also tasked security agencies to intensify effort to check the activities of the group to avert further bloodletting and loss of lives.