That’s ‘Reward the Terrorists and Dump the Victims,’ Christian Clergy Say
By Luka Binniyat
(Kaduna) Nigerian Christian leaders say they are outraged by the preference shown toward Muslim Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as opposed to that of Christians in the same predicament. The goal of the resettlement packages dubbed “starter packs” is designed to help resettle former Islamist insurgents and their families. The starter packs include tools to start simple businesses such as hair cutting or small-plot farming. But tens of thousands of Christian victims of Boko Haram attacks are also displaced at IDP camps, and they say starter packs should be equitably distributed.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) have registered their strong criticism in interviews with TruthNigeria.
CAN is the umbrella body of all the Christian denominations in Nigeria, whereas the MBF is the socio-cultural group of the hundreds of ethnic nationalities in the Middle Belt of Nigeria, otherwise known as the “Christian Belt” of Northern Nigeria.
The Borno State government announced on July 11 that it had reintegrated 8,490 former Boko Haram terrorists fighters to their original homes and provided “starter packs” for them to start new lives.
The government officials certified the repentant fighters as citizens in good standing again.
“Borno State Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, Prof. Usman Tar, told Daily Trust during an oath-taking event organised for 560 repentant insurgents in Maiduguri Wednesday (10th July 2024) that repentant Boko Haram are low risks and minors,” as per the Daily Trust.
He said they have been cleared by military and other security agencies alongside traditional leaders of their various communities.
“He [Tar] added that the programme has been successful, and they had conducted surveys which showed that those who were reintegrated into society never violated any rules, nor do they go back to the bushes,” Daily Trust report adds.
“Today we are winning out an additional 560 returnees who are low risks and minors. They have been trained on phone repairs, mechanics, carpentry and all sorts of trades,” Daily Trust report further reported.
CAN: ‘We challenge such injustice.’
But in sharp rebuttal to the reintegration initiative, Elder Sunday Oibe, Chairman, CAN, Northern Nigeria, said that it was an insult to surviving victims of Boko Haram terrorists that those who maimed them in their homes should be forgiven and pampered with starter packs.
“These are terrorists who attacked especially Christians with bombs, burned their places of worship, homes, farmlands and captured their daughters and wives into sex slavery, and today you are pampering them with starter packs, while their victims are still languishing in IDP camps unattended to by the same government,” he told Truth Nigeria in an exclusive chat, on Saturday (July 20) in Abuja.
“Who will give starter packs to their victims? The blood of their victims is crying out loud – that’s probably why things are not working for Nigeria. The injustice is too much,” Oibe said.
“The governor of Borno State (Prof. Babagana Zulum) took an oath of office to be fair to all irrespective of tribe and religion,” observed Oibe, “but for him to reward those who have taken the lives of thousands of his citizens and to overlook their victims, he should be ashamed of himself,” he said.
“These terrorists also slaughtered Muslims and even those that practice traditional religion. How many starter packs is the governor giving to their families?
“The late CAN secretary of Borno State, Rev. Faye Pama, who was a good friend of mine, was murdered in front of his family in 2004 by the same Boko Haram terrorists. The trauma and suffering that engulfed the family almost made his widow go insane. It had to take the contribution of Christians to relocate her out of Borno State and resettle her and her children.
“Why are there no starter packs for her and thousands of other families that suffered the same fate?” he asked.
“CAN will never support such a bizarre contradiction and injustice and we insist that all those who took part in Boko Haram terrorism be brought to justice and their victims paid restitution and returned to their homes under a safe and secure condition,” he said.
Middle Belt Forum Reacts
“We have said it over time that this is not the only time that they are absorbing the so-called Boko Haram repentant terrorists into society,” said Dr. Bitrus Pogu, President Middle Belt Forum (MBF) who is a native of Chibok, Borno State.
“They have continued to deny this, but we know the truth. The ones that joined the military have been informant to their comrades in the bushes and have helped sabotage operations against Boko Haram.
“This is Nigeria today: You reward the terrorists and dump the victims. There’s no political will to deal with the problem frontally,” Pogu told TruthNigeria.
“You can only pamper criminals and mass murderers and abandon their victims in a system where the electoral laws don’t work. It is very unfortunate,” he said.
Approximately 62,000 Christians have been killed by Boko Haram Islamists terrorists, Islamic State for West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Fulani militia in Nigeria since 2000, according to Genocide Watch Reports of January, 2024.
Luka Binniyat is an award-winning Journalist based in Kaduna, Nigeria and is the Chairman of the Kaduna State Chapter of The Middle Belt Forum
