| By Olusola Fabiyi | |
| Monday, 5 Sep 2011 |
When the Committee on Security Challenges in the North-East submits its report this week, it may recommend the deportation of all illegal Chadians, Somalis, Sudanese and Nigeriens living in the North, findings by THE PUNCH have revealed.
A senior government official, who has seen the interim report, told our correspondent that the committee concluded that the Boko Haram menace was growing because many non-Nigerians, who spoke Hausa fluently, were swelling its rank. The committee identified these illegal aliens as being mainly from Niger, Somalia, Benin the Sudan and Chad.
The committee headed by Ambassador Usman Gaji Galtimari was empanelled by the Federal Government to probe the causes of the campaign of violence launched by the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram. The committee had submitted an interim report to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, on August 18, and requested for two more weeks to tidy up its work. Its request was granted. However, the extension expired last Thursday without the panel submitting its report.
The source told our correspondent that the recommendation was at the centre of a serious disagreement among the members of the committee. He also added that the disagreement was responsible for the delay in the submission of the full report.
The official, who pleaded anonymity because the full report was yet to be submitted, said some of members of the committee had cautioned that a section of the political and religious elite in the North would find the recommendation offensive.
He said, “We know that there are many of them in the northern part of the country, including Abuja, doing menial jobs like hawking water, mending shoes and riding motorcycles.
“The deportation of innocent Nigerians who might be affected if government deports these illegal aliens is the issue. This is one of the dilemmas the committee is facing. We know that there are illegal immigrants among these people (Boko Haram).”
The source said the members who didn’t want the committee to make the recommendation had said that the majority of illegal immigrants from these countries spoke Hausa like Nigerians.
Our correspondent learnt that the Federal Government might be favourably disposed to the idea of deportation.
A source in the Presidency, who confirmed the disagreement over the recommendation, said that members of the panel who favoured the recommendation had told their colleagues that the Hausa intonation of these immigrants was a bit different from that of Nigerians.
“Yes, we all agree that something has to be done to these people in order to break the connection between Boko Haram and some of their allies outside the country.
“The concern among some members of the committee is how would government crack down on them without incurring the wrath of some powerful people in the North, who will see the action as anti-north?”
The source added that the committee also found out that the militants mainly used unregistered motorcycles. Motorcycles are common means of transport in the North. The committee, the source said, found out that over 90 per cent of motorcycles used in the North were unregistered.
“In all the satellite towns in Abuja, almost all the commercial motorcycles are not registered. The few motorcycles that are registered either belong to corporate organisations or some few individuals,” he said.
The Presidency official said government would study the recommendation carefully as it required “bold implementation.”
While submitting the interim report, Galtimari had said that his committee had gone round the states affected by Boko Haram violence, held series of meetings with security agencies and gathered facts to advise the government on the way forward.
SOURCE: Punch Newspaper, 5 September 2011. http://punchontheweb.com
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