Boko Haram amnesty proposal

Offering amnesty to fighters of the  Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram could result in most of their forces laying down their weapons, said the head of the Nigerian Church, write Sean Smith and John Pontifex.

Cardinal John Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja, said that up to 80 per cent of Boko Haram fighters did not share the terror group’s Islamist ideology and were therefore likely to respond to the chance to stop fighting.
In an interview with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, which supports persecuted and other suffering Christians, Cardinal Onaiyekan said: “More people are in Boko Haram because they were drafted and had no choice. Those who would espouse the theology of Boko Haram are not that many. It means that, of those, up to 70 or 80 per cent will want to come out.”

The claim comes after more than 100 people were killed when alleged suicide bombers from the Islamist separatist group set off explosions near the airport in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State on Sunday.