ICC NOTE: President Buhari of Nigeria has vowed to continue his governments campaign to eliminate Boko Haram from its borders and the surrounding region. It was the main focus of his presidential campaign along with the his country’s government record on corruption. His statements at a recent conference called upon all religions, communities, and political leaders to denounce corruption and all crime of any kind. Boko Haram has continued to target the most vulnerable of the population in women, children, and the elderly. They continue to rape, kidnap, and murder Christian communities and have increased their targeting of Muslim villages as well. 

By Jonathan Nda-Isaiah

3/18/2016 Nigeria (All Africa) – President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday vowed to pursue the Boko Haram sect relentlessly until they are completely uprooted from Nigeria.

He also described the group as diabolical and disclosed that the federal government would commission a sociological study into the group’s overall concept and activities in order to forestall such evil from happening again.

President Buhari said these yesterday in Abuja at the opening ceremony of the International Islamic conference on peace and nation building.

He said: “As we have had cause to mention earlier, our government, in joint cooperation with our neighbours, has substantially degraded the attacking capability of the insurgents to a level that has now compelled the insurgents to retreat. We will pursue them relentlessly until they become an item of history.”

He described Boko Haram as a mindless, godless group far removed from Islam.

President Buhari noted that most of the atrocities committed by various insurgents all over the world today are being carried out mainly by people who pretend to be Muslims, yet most of the victims and casualties are equally Muslims.

He said, “In my inauguration address on 29th May, 2015, I mentioned that Boko Haram is a mindless, godless group who are as far away from Islam as one can think of.

“I assured Nigerians that at the end of the hostilities when the group is subdued, the government would commission a sociological study to determine the origin, the remote and immediate causes of the movement, its sponsors, its international connections, if any, to ensure that measures are taken to prevent a recurrence of this evil. The outcome of the proceedings of this conference will be useful in that regard.

He added that “The tragic paradox of the global insurgency situation is that most of the atrocities committed by various insurgents all over the world today, are being carried out mainly by people who pretend to be Muslims, yet most of the victims and casualties are equally Muslims.

“To underscore their cruelty and godlessness, they particularly target the most vulnerable members of the society: children, women and the elderly. No religion approves of such heinous crimes against humanity; definitely not Islam nor Christianity, the two to which most Nigerians belong.

“This is a tragedy which all normal people must rise up against. Islam does not permit lawlessness. It frowns at extremism even in normal acts of worship.

“The emergence of any group advocating the contrary is therefore irreligious and unacceptable. Religious leaders must intensify their efforts to send out the real teachings of their religion in order to counter the diabolical ideology that motivates the insurgent elements.

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