Former Senate Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, has canvassed for the proper profiling of Boko Haram insurgents who have dropped their arms with a view to determining those with bloods in their hands for prosecution.
Ndume, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, restated his position when he spoke with newsmen in Abuja.
Ndume, who spoke at the Presidential Villa over the weekend after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, said the former insurgents cannot just be set free because they have surrendered.
His said: “We have to resettle the victims, then process, interrogate and investigate or prosecute the repentant terrorists.
“Or if those that are innocent, because among those that surrendered, there are victims also because I know even in my place, in my local government, there are people that are trapped by Boko Haram and for all these years, they’re not part of the Boko Haram, but the Boko Haram used them as shield.
“In fact, some of them were converted to what they call slaves because they are victims.
“Those that have surrendered to them are converted to slaves; they farmed for them, they do their manual works for them.
“So, if such people, in the process of surrender, if they come in, you have to find out whether he is actually Boko Haram or a victim of Boko Haram in the hands of Boko Haram.
“This is what we are saying that there should be no hurry in it.
“Once they are taken in, they should be kept somewhere and in fact, we are suggesting that they should be somewhere they will be housed so that it will give a place for interrogation and investigation.”
Speaking specifically on reintegrating the former insurgents into the Borno society, Ndume said: “There is a national law that should guide all this and there’s international law that guides this because this is not the first time we’re having this sort of challenge in various countries.
“Normally, when you get to war level, you are expected to either defeat the enemy or the enemy surrenders.
“Once the enemy surrenders, you lose the right of summarily executing him because he is an enemy.
“You also don’t have the right to summarily declare him innocent and say, oh, you have sinned, go and sin no more.
“What I’m saying initially, and I still maintain this position, inasmuch as we welcome the surrendering of the Boko Haram, it is very important that we follow the due process, according to the law of the land and the international law.
“That is to say, take them in, profile them, process them, investigate them, interrogate them and then those that are innocent, should be let go, and those that have blood in their hands, they should be appropriately prosecuted.”