Officials of the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria has dared the leader of the dreaded Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, to come out of his hiding of at all he is bold as claimed.
The Council was reacting to a video clip released by the insurgents’ leader threatening the Minister of Communication, Dr. Isa Patami; Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai; as well as the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari(retd).
“Accordingly, the Council has resolved that it is time to call off Shekau’s bluff by challenging him to come out of hiding, accept a muqaabalah (intellectual challenge) on their crooked aqeedah (religious ideology) with the rest of the Ulama’ (Muslim Scholars).
“Shekau should be bold enough to face the security forces if he is truly the courageous leader of Boko Haram he claims to be,” the council said.
The council also lambasted the Federal Government, noting that Tuesday’s footage was evidence that the government had failed.
The Secretary-General of the Shariah Council, Nafi’u Baba-Ahmed, urged Buhari to march words with action and end the insurgency as promised during his 2015 electioneering.
Baba-Ahmed lamented the spate of killing, banditry in the country which he said was as a result of security lapses in the land.
The Shariah Council Scribe said:
“Few days ago, Nigerians were rudely shocked by the release of a video clip by the leader of the Boko Haram in which he confessed to the killing of a founding member of this Council, Sheikh Ja’afar Mahmud Adam (R) and issued threats to another member of the Council who is also a serving minister.
“The release of the video clip itself is a sad indication of the evident failure of the strategies and efforts of the government in tackling the Boko Haram insurgency in particular and the myriad of equally horrendous security threats bedevilling the country.
“The Council observed that in the early years of this administration, the insurgency has de-escalated to the barest minimum which was commendable but of recent due to obvious security lapses, the insurgents are gradually gaining grounds, which is a sad development.
“The Council viewed the threats expressed by Shekau are not only directed at the Hon. Minister specifically mentioned, but to the whole congregation of the Ulama’, to silence the voices of Da’awah and intimidate the Ulama’ as a whole.
“This has added another dimension to the challenge of tackling the security threat posed by the senseless deviant group, which has defied resolution in spite of the often-repeated assurances by the government to end the insurgency.
“The very latest in this dreadful and unfortunate calamity happened just yesterday in Gwoza, where the Boko Haram bombed a mosque; all in the name of Islam.
“President should recall his campaign promise which he reiterated in his May 2015 inaugural address to act decisively to crush the Boko Haram insurgency and restore order and to please listen to the shrill cries of the victims and the loud appeals and pleas by Nigerians to radically restructure the leadership of the security agencies, examine alternative approaches and options in resolving the current security challenges and call the service chiefs to account.”
