NIGERIA’s President Goodluck Jonathan’s office has shed more light on the president’s directive that certain
category of persons detained by law enforcement on terrorism-related investigations be released.
The president’s adviser on publicity, Mr. Doyin Okupe, said in Abuja on Thursday that the directive was in line with the president’s preference to keep the lines of dialogue open as one of the government’s multi-pronged approach to tackling the challenges posed by the Boko Haram insurgency in the country.
Okupe said that the presidency is stressing the details of President Jonathan’s directive in light of what he called “misrepresentations in some sections of the media.”
The emphasis of the directive, according to Mr. Okupe, “is on women and children who have been in detention on suspicion of involvement and/or connection with insurgency in some parts of the country.”
The presidential adviser said that the release of the detainees will be done in phases, where each case will be based on its unique circumstances that necessitated the detention in the first place. The reviews of these cases will be carried out defense personnel, alongside other investigators from the law enforcement agencies.
“The presidential directive was as a result of the interim report by the Presidential Committee on dialogue and peace in Northern Nigeria which recommended the measure as part of government’s multi-faceted strategy to solving the security challenges posed by the activities of the sect,” Okupe said in his Thursday statement.
“This directive by Mr President further proves that the Federal Government has not foreclosed dialogue as a viable option in its bid to put an end to insurgency and terrorist activities in the Northern part of the country.
“It is expected that this phased release of detainees will encourage those who wish to embrace the peace option to come out and take advantage of the dialogue and peace option provided by the Committee put in place by government.