ACF commends military on Boko Haram
The National Working Committee (NWC) of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) yesterday described the effort of the military and other security agencies to end the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-east as commendable.
The ACF urged the military to not only subdue the insurgents but station the soldiers in the areas captured and sustain a permanent surveillance that will reassure the people of their safety.
The forum however said it is saddened by the recent suicide bomb attacks on innocent Muslim faithful during their evening and morning prayers in Maiduguri and Yola in Borno and Adamawa states respectively, where about 75 people were killed and many injured.
“This wicked attack on soft targets using innocent female suicide bombers by the Boko Haram terrorists is most unfortunate and worrisome,” it stated in a communique at the end of its meeting in Kaduna.
The forum said it is pleased with the stakeholders meeting embarked upon by the Borno State government where religious and traditional leaders including security agencies discussed community policing that will make the people to be more vigilant and security conscious.
It said, “ACF urges the Borno State government to sustain this laudable security advocacy and also provide necessary equipment, logistics and training to enable the community in conjunction with the security agencies protect themselves against frequent attack by suicide bombers. ACF also calls upon other states to emulate this type of stakeholders meeting involving religious and traditional leaders in order to enhance and sustain community policing.”
The meeting
also commended the visit of the federal government delegation led by the Secretary to the Federal Government Mr. Babachir David Lawal to Yola and Maiduguri to commiserate with the victims and the state governments over the attacks.
It added: “ACF welcomes the flag-off of the intervention program of the federal government through its Presidential Initiative for the Northeast (PINE), the Victim Support Fund (VSF) and the Save Schools Initiative (SSI) by the Vice-President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo in Maiduguri with the collaboration of multi- stakeholders engaged in humanitarian services to the victims of Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast. We appeal to the implementers of the marshal plan on rehabilitation and reconstruction of the destroyed areas of the region to employ prudence, diligence and promptness in the execution of the program”.