Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s presidential candidate, has said if elected president, his administration will not release the so-called repentant Boko Haram insurgents because they may return to target Nigerian military personnel.
The presidential aspirant in a statement on Saturday, January 12, by Paul Ibe, his media aide, said it made no military or practical sense to release hardened terrorists who had killed members of the military.
He commended the Borno Elders Forum for calling on President Buhari to stop the practice of releasing the so-called repentant insurgents.
“It makes no military or practical sense to release hardened terrorists, who have taken the very precious lives of members of the Nigerian Armed Forces, on the flimsy excuse that they have been deradicalised or repentant, “the statement read.
“As Atiku Abubakar said last year, and says again, any right thinking person can see that escalation of the war on Nigeria by Boko Haram/ISWAP, coincides with the introduction of this repugnant policy by the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
“Abubakar urges President Muhammadu Buhari to cast his mind back to the testimony of Abba Umar, a Boko Haram commander who after his arrest, boasted that he would return to join the sect in Sambisa if he was ever released.”
Atiku in the statement urged President Buhari to defeat the common enemies of the Nigerian nation without betraying any form weakness, noting that such an action will only embolden the terrorists.
He said if elected president there will be no release of any captured terrorist, adding that instead, the insurgents must expect the harshest punishment the law allows.
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