BOKO HARAM: NSA MEETS AGF TO DRAFT AMNESTY PACT

The
National Security Adviser, NSA, Mr Sambo Dasuki will be locked in a meeting with
the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Mohammed
Bello Adoke today to fine-tune the terms and membership of the committee that
will work on the proposed amnesty programme for Boko Haram members.

President Goodluck Jonathan had on Thursday after a meeting with
his security chiefs directed that a committee that will work out the modalities
of an amnesty programme for the Boko Haram islamist sect be constituted and a
report of the panel submitted in two weeks.

The security meeting came barely 24 hours after the president
met with leaders of the Northern Elders’ Forum in the Presidential Villa where
they agreed on working towards an amnesty programme for the sect members.
Saturday Sun gathered that senior presidency officials in the NSA’s office had
been working on a draft of the terms and membership list of the committee.

As at late yesterday, the draft was said to have been concluded
and endorsed by the NSA who will in turn meet with the Attorney General today
in a location outside the nation’s capital city, Abuja to agree on the draft
already prepared. “The amnesty committee membership is not yet ready because
the NSA’s office is concluding work on the terms and the list.

I believe whatever is produced as a draft today (yesterday) will
have to be taken to the AG for a final meeting before they send it to the
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, I mean Senator Pius Anyim who
will be the one to make it public anytime during or after weekend”, a
presidential aide who is not permitted to speak on the issue for now, told
Saturday Sun yesterday.

It was gathered that the NSA and the AGF’s final meeting on the
draft may hold at a location outside the FCT where both will be attending a
public function in the event that the duo could not meet before they leave
Abuja today. Hope for the amnesty programme was sealed at the Wednesday’s
meeting which held at the Presidential Villa, between members of the Northern
Elders Forum (NEF) and President Jonathan. NEF leaders at the meeting included
Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule, Prof Ango Abdulahi, Paulen Tallen, Hakeem Baba
Ahmed, Kali Gazali, Safiya Mohammed, Solomon Dualong,

Sheikh Ahmed Lemu, Shehu Malami, John Wash Pam, Lawal Kaita,
Bello Kirfi, Paul Unongo, AVM Al-amin Daggash, Sani Zango Daura, N.A. Sheriff,
Yahaya Kwande, Saleh Hassan, Muslim Maigari, Bashir Yusuf, Gen.Paul Tarfa,
Justice Mustapha Akanbi, Prof Idris Mohammed, Capt Paul Tahal and Capt Bashir
Sodangi. Speaking with State House correspondents after the meeting which ended
late in the night, Prof Abdullahi disclosed that the president called the meeting
in furtherance to an earlier one held between them in May last year. According
to him: “The meeting is simply a follow-up visit on the invitation of Mr.
President.

Many of you will recall that about eight or nine months ago, we
interacted with the president on matters of the nation. “We submitted a
memorandum to him and he promised that he was going to look at our submission
and he will call us back to further dialogue on the issues we have raised in
our submission. And this is precisely what transpired today. The contention
here that there are challenges in the country, especially in the area of
security which is the greatest challenge. “What we discussed is that general
opinion in the country is that amnesty should be factored into all efforts made
by government to overcome the security challenges all over the country or in
most parts of the North. Fortunately, the president is already thinking hard on
it. And he assured us that there is a special meeting on the matter and that
I’m sure that tomorrow something substantial will come out of that meeting”.