Group urges stakeholders to forgive, accept surrender by Boko Haram

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) in collaboration with the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) has said forgiveness and acceptance of repentant Boko Haram members are necessary for peace building in the troubled region.

The Director General of CDD, Idayat Hassan, said this during a one-day dialogue yesterday in Maiduguri.

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She said the meeting was part of the Transitional Justice Programme which was being implemented by the CDD and funded by OSIWA.

Idayat, represented by a senior researcher at CDD, Prof Mala Mustapha, said the programme was aimed at dialoguing with communities affected by the Boko Haram insurgency as part of the process of reconciliation in terms of sensitising the communities on the need to promote and foster reconciliation through dialogue and the need to accepting repentant Boko Haram members.

She called on the state and non-state actors to assist the victims with some form of compensation and assistance that would make them accept the repentant Boko Haram members, as well as train and support them.

The representative of the ulamas (islamic scholars) in Borno State, Sheik Gambo Kyari, said the ulamas had been preaching on the need to accept and forgive the repentant Boko Haram for lasting peace to be achieved.