Buratai Reacts To Calls For Sacking Of Service Chiefs, Says Boko Haram May Persist For 20yrs SERAP To Presidency: Apologise For Garba Shehu’s Comment On Slain Borno Farmers

Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai

Following calls for the removal of Service Chiefs over worsening insecurity in the country, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has suggested that those making such calls lacked proper understanding of how terrorists operate.

Recall that there were renewed calls for President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the country’s security chiefs after Boko Haram insurgents reportedly beheaded over 40 farmers at Zabarmari village in Jere Local Government Area of Borno State on Saturday.

#SackTheServiceChiefs had trended on Twitter on Monday, as Nigerians took to the platform to accuse the security chiefs of incompetence and called for their dismissal by the president.

But reacting in a post on his verified Facebook account on Tuesday, Buratai said ending terrorism in Nigeria would depend on the level of “appropriate responses” by the military and members of the public.

He wrote, “There is general misunderstanding of what insurgency and terrorism entail. There is likelihood of terrorism persisting in Nigeria for another 20 years. It only depends on the level of escalation and the appropriate responses by all stakeholders both civil and military authorities. Also, by both local and international actors. Citizens responsibility is equally important and imperative. All must cooperate to contain the lingering insecurity. Let there be collective action and responsibility.”

Meanwhile, Edujandon.com had reported that following the gruesome murder of the Borno farmers, President Buhari said on Sunday that the military had been given all the necessary support required to fight insurgency.

In a fallow up statement on Monday, the president said he had given the military, “marching order to take the fight to the insurgents, not on a one-off, but on a continuous basis, until we root out the terrorists,” adding that, “We will intensify our cooperation with neighbouring countries on bilateral and multilateral levels, to ensure that there is no hiding place for the terrorists.”

The Socio-economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to apologise to Nigerians for the utterances made by presidential aide, Garba Shehu, regarding the recent killing of farmers in Borno state.

Edujandon.com earlier reported that Shehu was quoted by BBC to have said that the farmers failed to get safety clearance from the military before proceeding to their farms, where the insurgents waylaid them and slit their throats.
But SERAP stated that such comment puts the current administration in bad light.

“We urge Nigerian authorities to publicly apologise for the statement by their spokesperson implying that the farmers killed in Borno state deserve to die because they did not get military clearance before visiting their farms.

“Right to life is a fundamental right,” it stated.

Recall that the United Nations (UN) in Nigeria had on Sunday, described Saturday’s attack and killing of the farmers as a heinous crime.

“l am outraged and horiffied by the gruesome attack against civilians carried out by non-state armed groups in villages near Borno State capital Maiduguri,” the UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallon said.

Meanwhile, a presidential delegation on Monday, visited Borno to condole with the people and Government of the state.

BREAKING: We urge Nigerian authorities to publicly apologise for the statement by their spokesperson implying that the farmers killed in Borno state deserve to die because they "did not get military clearance before visiting their farms."

Right to life is a fundamental right.

— SERAP (@SERAPNigeria) November 30, 2020

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