Dr. Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu
In its latest offensive against Boko Haram, the federal government has decided to officially declare the Islamic sect a "terrorist organisation", a designation it has shied away from labelling the group since it started its attacks in the country four years ago.
The decision by the federal government coincided with the $7 million bounty offered by the United States Government for the capture of the leader of the sect, Abubakar Shekau, and the declaration by the Niger State Governor, Dr. Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu, that the time for amnesty for members of Boko Haram was not ripe.
THISDAY learnt exclusively last night that the federal government was preparing to issue a Proscription Order declaring the group a “terrorist organisation”, a designation the Nigerian government had lobbied the US government not to use when it froze the US-based assets belonging to Shekau and three other members of the sect a year ago.
Disclosing this, an official in the Ministry of Defence in Abuja said the Proscription Order would be made by the federal government before the week runs out and was intended to show its commitment to defeat Boko Haram and make Nigeria a secure country for its people.
He welcomed the bounty placed by the US on Shekau and other terrorists in West Africa, saying they constitute a clear and present danger to the future of several countries in the sub-region.
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