Rep Seeks Amnesty For Boko Haram

House of Representatives Minority Whip, Samson Osagie, has explained why he supported the call for amnesty for the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, insisting that anything that will  restore peace and stability in the country should be encouraged by patriotic Nigerians.

Osagie also described the move  by the  Representatives for immunity clause as a misunderstanding, saying that what the lawmakers were demanding for was protection due to what they say in parliament during sittings

According to Osagie, who spoke to newsmen during the flag off of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) campaign for the April 20 local government election in Uhunmwode local government area, government should be able to ‘fish out members Of Boko Haram and their  sponsors and dialogue with them.

“For me, anything that will bring about peace, I think, I am all for it. If granting amnesty to Boko Haram can bring about peace, I give my support for it.But, I believe too that it is something government needs to consider.We need to fish out those behind it and be able to talk with them, discuss with them, even though that will not amount to condoning crime”, he said.

“We know what happened in the Niger Delta, the militants took over the place, vandalised pipelines and did a lot of things, but President Yar’ Adua, in his wisdom, thought it wise to grant them amnesty. I believe that Boko Haram and their collaborators should be identified by government, and once they are identified, they should be discussed with and other ways should be found to ensure that their activities are brought down,” he added.

On budgetary allocation to security agencies by the National Assembly, Osagie said, “I think that insecurity in Nigeria today is a matter that calls for serious concern by everyone in the country.

According to him, “it is the responsibility of both leadership and followership and I believe that the problem for the security agencies is not lack of fund.The National Assembly had always appropriated.adequately for the security agencies.So, I think that we need the collaboration of all and sundry, we need information gathering, we need thorough intelligence gathering to understand the nature of the criminal activities that has pervaded our country”.

“It is not a matter of how much you vote for the security agencies, it is how they can utilise the fund that they have and I think that is the issue. The citizens and the government must come together to assist each other with information to be able  to tackle the security issue,” he concluded.