My Govt’ll Not Grant Boko Haram Amnesty – Buhari

The presidential candi
date of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari yesterday said in London that he would not grant amnesty to Boko Haram insurgents if elected president in the next month’s election.
Buhari, who was responding to question and answer session at Chatham House in London, yesterday, also said he would personally lead the battle against the insurgence.
He said: “I think I will not go to that office with that promise (granting amnesty to Boko Haram). I have said in my address how at least 13,000 Nigerians have been killed by Boko Haram, how millions of them have been displaced and are now kept in different camps called internally displaced persons camps.
“Schools have been burnt, there is so much disruption to normal life, people could not farm, they cannot harvest. So, granting amnesty to Boko Haram will be unfair to the system.
“We will secure Nigeria. We must have the time to collect enough intelligence to make sure that those that we got are given the chance in civil courts to be properly prosecuted”.
The former Head of State, who has been in London for over a week on a visit, also spoke on his alleged health challenge.
According to him, he is fit as fiddle and battle ready for the March poll.
He said: “I am very happy that I have been able to visit 35 States out of the 36. I haven’t broken down even though somebody announced my death yesterday (Wednesday).
“I had a call from Maiduguri that somebody rushed into a friend’s house crying and said they have just announced that Buhari has died in hospital in London and so, he called me and I laughed my head off.
Certainly, I will be expecting too much if I don’t expect people to wish me dead. But I am pleased that I am fit, the doctors have declared me fit and I am going back for the final onslaught”.
Buhari also dismissed the predictions that Nigeria might break up soon in view of the political tension in the country, saying despite the nation’s political, ethnic and religious difference, Nigeria cannot afford to break up again because its nationalities have bonded.

First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Women Rally in Ikom, Cross River State on Wednesday.