How Boko Haram Changed From Islamic Sect To Big Industry - Senate President Lawan

After taking a cursory look at the modus operandi and actions of Boko Haram, the Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan has come to the conclusion that the terrorist group has stopped being a religious sect and has now become merchandized as a big industry.

AllNews reports that the Senate President hails from Yobe State in the North-East, which is also included as a hotbed of the terrorists. 

Speaking during plenary on Thursday, Lawan said that Boko Haram now consists of people from different religions and from different countries, and lamented how the activities of Boko Haram had persisted despite so many resolutions and efforts by the Senate to stop them.

He stated this after the presentation of a motion on the resurgence of killings in Borno North by Boko Haram insurgents. The motion was sponsored by Senator Abubakar Kyari, All Progressives Congress (APC, Borno North) and co-sponsored by Senators Kashim Shettima (APC – Borno Central) and Ali Ndume (APC Borno South).

Afterwards, the Senate resolved that Ahmad Lawan, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, will meet with President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss security challenges arising from the activities of Boko Haram insurgents and bandits in parts of the country.

Earlier in his remarks, Lawan said, “Boko Haram has metamorphosed from a group of religious zealots into an industry. It is an industry because what they do is not religious. They have people from different faiths and countries who are part of Boko Haram."

While regretting how interventions of the Upper Legislative Chambers haven't stopped the insurgents, he said, “This Senate passed so many resolutions including the reports of the various ad-hoc committees we set up, senator Kabiru Gaya once headed a committee on insecurity and he toured many parts of the northwest then I also chaired another committee with public hearing and everything with all the service chiefs were invited but it has persisted.

“I don’t want to say meeting the President is something that we have to reveal if we do, but of course it is natural that issues like this will be of interest for us to discuss with the President, and we have been doing that.

“What is necessary is for us to persist. Our Armed Forces have their challenges, and therefore, we will continue to look at those challenges and try to address them. However, where anybody is found wanting, our stand should be that people should occupy offices based on their performance.

“There’s no point if somebody is not registering successes for such person to continue to be there, but that is if you give that person the necessary tools to fight. So, we should give them the necessary tools and then we hold them accountable.

“We will do that in addition to of course meeting Mr. President, it is not going to be the Senate President, I’ll make sure that I have my colleague in the House of Representatives because this is a national question.”

Speaking earlier, Kyari relied on order 42 and 52 of the Senate standing rules to decry the killing of 90 persons which included women and children on Tuesday 9th June, 2020, by Boko Haram insurgents following an attack on Foduma Kolum village of Gubio Local Government.

The lawmaker, who bemoaned the resurgence of what he described as “senseless killings” by the insurgents in recent weeks, said 17 people were killed in Gajiagana, Magimeri local government on 17th May, 2020; and another thirty-three persons killed in Nganzai local government on 22nd May, 2020.

According to him, “these attacks are becoming very worrisome in view of the fact that the Nigerian Armed Forces recently started recording successes in the fight against insurgency.”

Kyari raised alarm that, “these attacks which have led to the massacre of hundreds of people, also includes other Winona acts such as cattle rustling, kidnapping, abduction and forceful displacement of people from their ancestral communities.”