Dear Mr. President,
We the masses of Nigeria, observe with bewilderment the media publication on 6 April 2013 by the Federal Government of Nigeria regarding the incidents of murder and mass murder suspected to have been carried out by the Islamist sect known as Boko Haram in Nigeria, and the matter of ‘amnesty’ discussions/proposals understood to be under consideration by the Federal Government for the suspected murderers.
Dear Mr. President,
We the masses of Nigeria, observe with bewilderment the media publication on 6 April 2013 by the Federal Government of Nigeria regarding the incidents of murder and mass murder suspected to have been carried out by the Islamist sect known as Boko Haram in Nigeria, and the matter of ‘amnesty’ discussions/proposals understood to be under consideration by the Federal Government for the suspected murderers.
Our position is that if your Government, Mr. President, takes any step towards this so called ‘amnesty’ matter before your Government has achieved justice in accordance with the laws and constitution of Nigeria for the victims and their families, your Government shall by so doing have inadvertently entrenched the crime of murder and mass murder as a non-punishable act in Nigeria, and inadvertently entrenched victims of murder and grievous bodily harm, and their families, as being of no interest to your Government and of no value in Nigeria. Such entrenchments would be grossly contrary to the Constitution and laws of Nigeria which you swore to uphold, and would set a precedence which would lead Nigeria into a predictable abyss.
For, how can it be, Mr. President, in keeping with the Constitution and laws of Nigeria, that murder and mass murder is committed; innocent citizens die horrible deaths; many are maimed, living without limbs, eyes, and various bodily organs; many are dispossessed, having lost their means of livelihood and homes; many are displaced; internal refugee situation is the lot of hundreds of thousands if not millions, and the suspected perpetrators of these heinous crimes are not to be brought to justice in accordance with the laws and constitution of the land, but instead granted 'amnesty' for their crimes.
To compound it all, whilst this very bewildering talk of ‘amnesty’ is going on, we the masses of Nigeria have not heard any talk of efforts from your Government, to rehabilitate the victims of these crimes. The relatives of the dead are left to cater for themselves, including orphans who’s parents and family bread winners were victims; some of the murdered were buried in mass graves without being identified by their families. Hence the families will never know what happened to their loved ones. The maimed, a lot of whom are permanently physically handicapped are without help or support from the Government; families are left to suffer extreme hardship for the rest of their lives without any help from the Government you lead; whilst your Government pre-occupies itself with talk of granting ‘amnesty’ to the people who are suspected to have committed those crimes.
What message does such an intention by the Government send to Nigerians and to the world at large? Is the Nigerian government saying that murder and mass murder is no longer punishable in Nigeria so long as the suspected murderers and all those complicit in it either through sponsorship or in other ways, request ‘amnesty’? So any group of people who feel governance should be carried out differently in Nigeria are being told that the constitutional and lawful path is unnecessary, and instead the path of murder and mass murder would be more effective given that the law will not be applied to the suspected murderers so long as they request amnesty at some stage during their murderous acts? Is that the message intended for Nigerians and the world from your Government sir?
We demand, Mr. President that your Government adhere firmly to the constitution and laws of Nigeria at all times and in all circumstances. We demand therefore that the crimes of murder and mass murder perpetrated against Nigerians by who so ever, be lawfully tirelessly investigated and justice made to prevail in full in accordance with the constitution and laws of Nigeria, and without fear or favour. We demand also that justice be done to the victims of the murders and mass murders and their families by a deliberate Federal Government programme of compensation and rehabilitation, including help with relocation and resettlement for those who are no longer able to reside in those regions of the Country were these murders have occurred. We state that the precedence otherwise set by the talk of ‘amnesty’ at this stage without first establishing justice in accordance with the constitution and laws of our land, is a definite road down the lane of absolute lawlessness in Nigeria, a situation that we know, you Mr. President, and all good Nigerians agree with us is not the right path for our beloved Country, Nigeria.
We look forward to your urgent attention to this matter Sir.
Thank you
Club Nigeria
ClubNigeria.org : "Rise up lawfully, or be oppressed unlawfully"
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The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of SaharaReporters
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