By Aremu Lukman Umor
That Nigerian governments grant terrorist groups and marauders amnesty after so many years of preying on her citizens is one of the reasons why another terrorist group keeps emerging after the death of one.
Every terrorist group in Nigeria has the same mindset. To cause unrest in the country and decimate as many as possible Nigerians for some years and later enter into amnesty discussion with the governments.
Before the emergence of Boko Haram and other present defiant sects, there were the Niger Delta militants who mowed more than a thousand of our uniform men in their days of operation. It was the late President Umar Yar’Adua who mollified them with filthy lucre and granted them amnesty in a ceremonious way. It was after them today’s Boko Haram surfaced.
The Benue State terrorist and outlaw, Terwase Akwasa also known as ‘Gana’ who met his waterloo recently after his four years of seamless massacring of innocent persons in the state, would’ve had the same mindset when he chose the devilish path not knowing that his would be outrightly different.
Gana was intercepted and killed by some military men on Tuesday, September 8, 2020, while he was on his way to the Benue State Government House where he and his counterparts were scheduled for amnesty and olive branch by the state governor, Samuel Ortom, and the state’s traditional rulers.
However, his death has been causing a hornet’s nest since it was announced on Tuesday. Many Nigerians have been condemning the circumstance of his death. He had chose to let peace reign, so, did they have to kill him. Also, there have been alleging that he was snuffed out because they didn’t want him to unfurl the names of his sponsors.
Truly, Gana claimed in a viral video that he was sponsored by some persons. But the question are, did he mention their names? Did he reveal they identity? No! All he was spewing in the video was how they bargained. “I said they should give me one billion naira…”
That’s their way. They do not unfurl the names nor reveal the identity of their sponsors no matter how encouraging the amnesty programme is. Till today, the Niger Delta boys have not come to hint us on the people who funded them. Ditto the 603 repented Boko Harams.
Despite how the 603 outlaws were comforted and mollycoddled at the rehabilitation centre, they didn’t mention those who are funding them. What we were regaled with at the end of the day was how Nigerian governments haven’t been truthful. As if we didn’t know.
So, alleging the military for killing Gana because they didn’t want him to mention names doesn’t hold water. If he wanted to mention names, he would have done that in the viral video. He chose not to prolly because of some obscure reality. The aggrieved khaki men had killed him because they understood his game.
These critics would do the same thing if they were in our uniform men shoe. Hypocrisy. Who would be happy to see an outlaw who had killed his or her people freed by the government after capture all in the name of amnesty? Sadly, these terrorists group and marauders are always compensated at the expense of the persons they have made homeless.
If granting amnesty to terrorists groups is working in other countries, that doesn’t mean it would work in Nigeria. The death of one evil sect is giving birth to another. Therefore, it’s high time Nigerian governments began to kill those who had killed by sword with a sword.
