The Centre made this known at a press conference by Executive Secretary, Comrade Ibrahim Abubakar, in Abuja, on Wednesday, in reaction to reports that the radical Islamic fighters had obtained ultra-modern drones.
The group fingered France and its allies in this latest scheme, owing to previous history and by doing so the European nation is undermining Nigeria's sovereignty.
Having continually remained mute, the SHAC, therefore challenged France to “ tell the world who was responsible for arming Boko Haram in the past".
The Centre, however, urged the Nigerian military to maintain its onslaught on the terrorist while calling on member states committed to the new funds to break free of colonial loyalties.
Read full press statement below:
Gentlemen of the press, you must have noticed the report that said Boko Haram insurgents have acquired sophisticated drones. The reported hardware are presently capable of reconnaissance, intelligence gathering and spying missions. It is a matter of time before they escalate to using drones that are capable of carrying out attacks.
We find expedient to believe the report because it was widely syndicated by western owned media, which are known to run propaganda for Boko Haram in the past. Their report of the drones acquisition came about the same time that there were reports from locals that the terrorists have started sporting new weapons in recent weeks.
In the past, the source of the weapons air-dropped to Boko Haram terrorists in Northeast of Nigeria has been established as patently French. It is something that has attracted outcry from the Save Humanity Advocacy Group in the past with the concern echoed by other individuals and organizations that became aware of the French treachery.
Let it be noted that in spite of the overwhelming evidence that indicted France it has not done anything meaningful to address its complicity in the distribution of instrument of death to terrorists for use against Nigerians. Even the arrest of French trainers among the terrorists has not moved French to own up to its negative role in the axis neither has it taught it to halt it subversive activities against Nigeria.
When this French involvement in arming Boko Haram was raised in the past France will sidestep the issues by sponsoring international NGOs and some media circuits to demonized the Nigerian authorities, especially the military and particularly the Nigerian Army. It is this practice that has again surfaced as the running commentary about the military being incapable of fighting the terrorists or that Boko Haram members have the upper hand over the Nigerian state.
The timing of the report about Boko Haram now possessing drones and even newer firearms curiously coincides with the announcement of a $1 billion regional effort aimed at combating terrorism in the West African Sub-region. These kind of reports coinciding with announcement of regional efforts have been pivotal to the demise of such efforts at fighting Boko Haram in the past. The stories we are now reading means we will be seeing a repeat of previous patterns – Boko Haram will attempt hitting soft targets and occasional military targets that will not dare try now that there are Super Camps. These will then be followed by lopsided media campaigns that will first cast Boko Haram as the superior force and later present insurgents as victims of human rights abuses.
We are challenging France to tell the world who is responsible for arming Boko Haram in the past. The answer to this question of who supplied past weapons will signpost who to hold responsible now that the terrorists are getting drones that could strike any city of the world.
For this reason, we are imploring the world to ask France the pertinent questions before it becomes too late. Whether by default or by accident, it is a matter of time before Boko Haram tests the weapons France is arming them with on other nations, possibly in the west. Hopefully, by that time the world would not be in a quandary over who to hold accountable for such disaster should it unfold.
We use this opportunity to warn France and any country it may be using as proxy to prop up Boko Haram by using them as conduit to deliver arms and military gear to the terrorists. There are international instruments at the disposal of Nigeria to address the rascality being put up by those undermining Nigeria’s war against terrorism.
On its part, the Nigerian military must repeat the device blows it had dealt terrorists in the Northeast in the past. Eliminating the new threat posed by Boko Haram is crucial to the safety of citizens in Borno and other places. It must punish the terrorists with the same intensity that had made it impossible for them to overrun the country as planned by the countries secretly supporting them. It must continue with its strategy of Super Camps since this appears to be what has rattled the sponsors of Boko Haram to both increase weapons supply to the terrorists and to re-open the media front in the war.
The member states that have committed to the new funds to combat Boko Haram must break free of colonial loyalties, after all, no nation should continue tying itself to the apron strings of a nation that once postured as their conqueror. They should stand firm to the terms of the fund and make sure that all countries in the region make the place unconducive for terrorists and terrorist activities.
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