Boko Haram: 300 CSOs praise Buhari, say CISS report proves he’s made commendable effort

A Coalition of  300 Civil Society Organizations (CCSOs) has praised President Muhammadu Buhari’s effort in tackling Boko Haram insurgents in the country’s North East, noting that having deliberated on a report by the Centre for International and Strategy Studies (CISS) titled: “The Battle Against Terrorism in Nigeria:  A Public Dossier On The War,” released on December 20, 2018, there was clear evidence that the president’s strategy has helped to degrade the terrorist group.

The coalition which stated this in a 21-point communique signed by Comrade Okpokwu Ogenyi Chairman, Communique Drafting Committee; Mshelizza Yusuf, Secretary; Comrade Alhaji Musa Nasiru, Member, issued in Abuja on Thursday, said that after reviewing and assessing the CISS report, it concluded among other things that:

“The CISS report resoundingly reechoed that on assumption of office by President Buhari on May 29, 2015, Boko Haram  terrorists had violently seized, occupied and dislodged natives in several local governments areas in the Northeast. The insurgents exercised unchallenged traditional and religious leadership of these communities by establishing its brand of Islamic Caliphate.

“Excerpts from the CISS report emphasized that  a BBC report  of September, 20, 2014 said, “ Boko Haram militants are in charge of at least 25 towns and villages in Northeast Nigeria , the region’s Roman catholic Bishop has claimed, warning of a deteriorating security situation. Bishop Oliver Dashe said,   10 towns in Yobe state,  the same number in Borno and five in Adamawa  had fallen to the rebels  over the last month, as they seek to carve out a hardline Islamic State.”

“Furthermore, the report elucidated that by the end of 2014 under the Jonathan Presidency, Boko Haram had “ Before the declaration of state of emergency, Boko Haram  had overpowered    local administrators and   law enforcement in Northern Borno close to Nigeria’s border with Cameroun, Chad and Niger and taken over Marte, Magumeri,  Mobbar, Gubio, Guzamala, Abadam, Kukawa, Kaga, Nganzai and Mungono LGAs. After  the declaration  and the massive deployment of soldiers to the region, Boko Haram  continued to operate relatively freely and seized additional seven LGAs.”

“CCSOs notes with a sense of responsibility that the Jonathan Presidency could not arrest the drift and intensification of insurgents conquest of Nigerian territories.  President Buhari inherited a country, whose no fewer than 24 LGAs were firmly under the total control and administration of Boko  Haram terrorists. Excitingly,  the Buhari Presidency has reclaimed every territory previously held by insurgents  as far back as 2016.

“The CISS report acknowledged President Buhari’s attention, strictness and victories against Boko Haram terrorists in these words; “Among the earliest acts in office was to replace the heads of the army, navy and air force. The new army chief and the commanding officer in charge of operations against Boko Haram  both hail from Northern Nigeria and by many accounts, they have taken a more proactive approach  than their predecessors  toward countering the group.”

The group commended the CISS for their “diligence, accuracy and time devoted to this energy-sapping report, spanning the period of 2013-2018.  Certainly, the CCSOs adjudged it as  a priced document  worthy of attention by  all Nigerians and indeed, members of the international community in search of an unbiased and truthful accounts and perspectives into insurgency in Nigeria operations and battles in the country.”

It emphasised that the issues articulated in the report was reflective of  Nigeria’s  several years of  struggle with the Boko Haram terrorism, “reflecting its evolution, its rise, government responses to the insurgency under the regimes of former President Goodluck Jonathan and  the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, foreign interventions/ aids and local involvement in the fight as well as the performance of the Nigerian Military in exacerbating or  blighting the fires of the terrorism scourge on Nigeria.”