B/Haram: Northern clerics seek amnesty programme

Religious bodies under the aegis of Northern Inter Faith and Religious Organisations of Nigeria (NIFROM), has urged the federal government to replicate the Niger Delta Presidential Amnesty Program (PAP) in the northern part of the country.
Coordinator of the group Bishop Musa Fomson said yesterday in a statement made available to Daily Trust that following the success of the program in the Niger Delta, there was the need to extend the policy to the North especially the parts ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgency.
He said that despite the gains recorded by the military against the insurgents, experience has shown that military might alone cannot win the war against terrorism.
The Bishop commended the efforts of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator of the Programme, retired Brig. Gen. Paul Boroh especially in the management of funds saying the office has already trained 17,322 of the beneficiaries, leaving 12,678 to be trained and even embarked on the domestication of its programmes.
Fomson said the amnesty programme will not just restore peace to the region, but will also empower and create job opportunities for youths who have been misled into taking up arms against the state.