President Muhammadu Buhari has said that his government may ban the use of hijabs by Muslim women if the suicide bombings continue without end, adding that it has no cogent intelligence on the fate of the over 200 Chibok schoolgirls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram almost two years.
Buhari admitted as much yesterday during his maiden presidential media chat broadcast live from the State House in Abuja.
Despite the absence of intelligence, he said government was still making efforts to rescue the Chibok girls and would be willing to negotiate their release, but would want to make sure they are negotiating with credible leaders of the Boko Haram terror group.
According to him, “We are keeping our options open with Boko Haram on the Chibok girls on the condition that they can guarantee that the girls are safe and alive.”
The president said the military had combed the Sambisa Forest without any hint about the girls, whom he said might have been dispersed by the terror group.
He said: “I think this is about the third time I am going to talk about the Chibok girls. There was a time the leadership of Boko Haram made contact with us but we insisted that we want to ensure we are speaking with credible leaders of the group.
“Number two is that we want to make sure that the Chibok girls, I think about 219 of them are safe, secure and alive.
“We are still keeping our options open with Boko Haram on the condition that they have credible leaders who can tell that they have the Chibok girls. We have combed the Sambisa Forest but there was no Chibok girl there.
“For now, there is no current information and I am working with Niger, Chad and Cameroun, especially on a humanitarian basis. To be honest with you, there is no credible intelligence that the Chibok girls are alive and in one place.”
The president also spoke on the efforts of the government to resettle the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in parts of the North-east.
He said the government was currently helping some of the IDPs, of which 65 per cent of them are orphaned children in order to identify their relatives and as well as relocate them to their states of origin.
“There are about two million IDPs mostly in Borno State and over 65 per cent of the children are orphaned. The orphaned children, we are trying to find out where they come from, establish and put them in schools.
“We have got the money from the TY Danjuma-led committee, which has raised N25 billion and with the assistance of the G-7 countries, progress is being made,” he said.
The president also explained why he claimed that Boko Haram had been “technically defeated”, saying that they now lack the capacity to attack state institutions in the magnitude carried out against police formations and barracks.
He however admitted that the increasing use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), especially by hijab-clad young girls strapped with the bombs, had overwhelmed the government.
To this end, he warned that the federal government may have no option than to ban the use of the hijab if the bombings continue.
“When I said that the war has been technically won, I mentioned reasons why because I said this and that is their capacity to attack state institutions has been stopped. But there is now increasing use of IEDs by young girls wearing hijabs,” he said.
When reminded that neighbouring countries such as Chad and Niger with more than 95 per cent Muslim populations had banned the hijab due to similar security concerns, Buhari initially parried the question by saying that several public places in the north have hand scanners to scan people for IEDs.
But when pressed, he said: “The hijab would have to be banned if these bombings continue.”
Also speaking on the recent clash between the military and the Shiite Muslim sect, which led to the deaths of so many people in Zaria, Kaduna State, Buhari said the federal government was waiting for the outcome of the various investigative panels and judicial inquiries before making any pronouncement and decision on the clash.
He confirmed that he was called by the President of Iran (Hassan Rouhani) concerning the situation but assured him that there were laid down procedures to handle the situation.
According to Buhari, the Shiite sect in Nigeria had confronted constituted authority for over 20 years, adding: “There cannot be a state within a state.”
He insisted that the federal government would have to wait for the investigative panels set up by the Kaduna State, the military and other related agencies before speaking further on the issue.
“I was in touch with the governor of Kaduna State. Interestingly, the President of Iran called me about it and I told him we have a system of investigation. I am allowing the army and Kaduna State Government to submit their reports before I can make my own conclusion.
“How can any group create a state within a state? I don’t want to speak about it in detail until they submit their reports – I expect the judicial commission of enquiry from the Kaduna State Government to send its report.
“I heard that this has been going on for about 10 to 20 years now. There are many allegations but I have to wait for the report,” he said.
Buhari also spoke on the anti-corruption war being prosecuted by his administration, stating that he would sack any member of his cabinet found to have been indicted for corruption.
On the notion that his war against corruption appeared lopsided and targeted at officials of the past administration, while leaving out those in his government who are alleged to be corrupt, the president said that he did not appoint anyone that would bring “embarrassment to my government”.
He said: “I cannot make the mistake of appointing anyone with corruption allegations and who will bring embarrassment to my government. Whoever is found to be corrupt would not only be sacked but will be prosecuted.”
He said the fight against corruption was being bogged down by the need to do thorough investigations and get the necessary documents that would prove the guilt of the suspects.
He assured Nigerians that by the end of the first quarter of 2016, Nigerians would begin to see the progress that his government has made in the fight against corruption.
“We have to be very sure of the document and we have to crosscheck records sometimes across countries. Those who were engaged in the theft of oil were people of substance and have the wealth to hire the best of lawyers to defend them.
“We need to submit foolproof documents to succeed in (their) prosecution. How many people have the ICPC (Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission) prosecuted in the past? That is why we are being thorough now,” he said.
Nevertheless, Buhari said the government was doing well in the fight against corruption under the circumstances.
But he refused to disclose the names of those he claimed had returned stolen monies, saying that they would have their day in court and that since he could not prejudge what the courts would do, he could not disclose their names.
“By the end of the first quarter of next year, we will tell Nigerians how far we have gone in the fight against corruption. I swore by the Holy Koran to defend the country’s constitution and the law. So we will not put anybody above the law,” he added.
He asked Nigerians to be patient and await the outcome of the courts decisions, adding that prosecuting agencies had documents showing where monies had been lodged.
“Our constraint is that the accused persons have to defend themselves in court. So we cannot release their names to the public until the issues are completed in court. Whatever we recover will be presented in court.
“The documentation in court includes bank statements and documents from the Customs Service that are to be presented in court. Until then, we ask Nigerians to have patience,” he said.
Asked why the government was not respecting court orders including the orders of the courts admitting some of the suspects being prosecuted for corruption to bail, the president responded: “If you see the level of atrocities committed by those people against the public, if they jump bail (what should we do)?
“For instance, the former president just wrote to the central bank governor asking him to release N40 billion to so and so, I’m sorry to say this in public, but when there are many people who are internally displaced, many of them don’t even know their fathers, what kind of country do you want to run?”
Buhari also accused the founder of Radio Biafra and leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of treason.
He said Nnamdi Kanu, who possesses British and Nigerian passports, entered the country without any of them, in addition to importing sophisticated weapons.
He denied claims that his government has marginalised the Igbo people, listing about four Igbo speaking members of his government.
A visibly irate president called on the judiciary to do the necessary concerning the treason allegations against the embattled Biafran activist.
“The one you are calling Kanu, do you know he has two passports? One Nigerian and British but he entered the country without any passport. Do you know he imported sophisticated weapons into the country?
“These are treasonable felonies against him and I expect the judges to do the necessary. When they say they are marginalised, who is marginalising them?
“Where is the Minister of State for Petroleum from, where is the CBN governor from, where is the Minister of Labour from, where is the Minister of State for Education from?” he demanded to know.
Source: ThisDayLive
