Governors of the 19 northern states on Friday, inaugurated a committee to identify the sponsors of Boko Haram within two months, with a view of prosecuting them.
Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum and Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, while inaugurating the committee at the late Gen. Hassan Katsina House, Kaduna, also noted that the days of the deadly sect were numbered considering the current bombardment of the insurgents by the Nigerian troops.
Shettima added that with the superior firepower of the Nigerian troops, the insurgents had been dislodged from their strongholds in the north eastern parts of the country.
He said the committee, which would be under the aegis of Committee of Attorneys-General and Commissioners of Justice of the 19 northern states, also had the mandate to review the criminal justice system in the North.
The governor argued that the inauguration of the committee had become necessary in view of the complex problems of insurgency, cattle rustling, armed robbery, inciting preaching and kidnapping currently confronting the northern states.
Shettima added, “The Committee should also look at the condemnable activities of the so-called sponsors of the insurgency and come up with legally pragmatic, appropriate and proportionate punishment. The committee should also focus specifically on parents, who, because of some pittance, sacrifice their children as suicide bombers. Such parents must be made to face the full wrath of the law.
“The committee also has the mandate to carry out careful analysis of the various emergent security challenges confronting the northern states and determine how best to incorporate them into the Penal Code for proper and effective administration of justice.”
The governor, however, cautioned the committee against making recommendations that would conflict with the 1999 constitution, urging the members to use their expertise and professional wealth of experience to find lasting solutions to problems that had retarded the growth of the region over the years. –Vanguard.
