Buhari Must Probe Sheriff to Defeat Boko Haram

15 April 2015 :President-elect Muhammadu Buhari must thoroughly investigate former Governor of Borno State Ali Modu Sheriff and other security chiefs involved in the 2009 Boko Haram crisis in Borno for him to actualize his vow of tackling the insurgency and re-radicalizing its adherents, former House of Representatives member Dr Haruna Yerima has said.

He said the former governor as well as the then Borno State commissioner of police, state director of the Department of Security Service (DSS) as well as the  military commander in the state during the 2009 crisis should be probed to provide detail explanation on the genesis and the transmutation of the sect into full-blown terrorist group.

Yerima, who formerly taught at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) Kaduna, said without the full security probe of Sheriff and the security chiefs, Buhari’s vow of ending the insurgency, will be difficult.
He urged the president-elect to discard the security clearance granted Sheriff by the DSS, saying the move “was politically-motivated.”
“For General Buhari to end Boko Haram insurgency and uproot its deadly ideology, the likes of former Governor Ali Modu Sheriff and other security chiefs that served in Borno at that time must be thoroughly investigated. They have some clues that are necessary for the total eradication of the insurgents,” Yerima said.

He said Sheriff, through his neglect of education as a governor in the state, “provided the desired environment for the growth of the militants.”
“Sheriff’s systematic impoverishment of the state, destruction of its macro-economic policies, his unexplained hatred for educational development, coupled with his political culture of intimidation provided fertile ground for Boko Haram growth,” he said.

The former lawmaker said the president-elect and the All Progressives Congress (APC) must be weary of Sheriff’s alleged moves of returning to the party.
“General Buhari and the APC leadership must guard against moves by Sheriff to defect back to the party. A situation where the APC becomes a sanctuary for people with questionable antecedents to take refuge must be avoided,” Yerima said.

......Daily Trust....