Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki
•Committee on small arms, light weapons also empanelled
•Shehu Sani rejects appointment
•Sect to meet Saturday on amnesty proposal
•Gunmen kill 2 policemen in Kaduna
By Patrick Ugeh, Muhammad Bello and Senator Iroegbu 

The federal government Wednesday took another step towards the amnesty programme for members of Boko Haram with the constitution of two major committees that have been mandated to engage the sect, rein in on small arms and light weapons proliferation in the country, and come out with a template to end insecurity in parts of the north.
The action might have started yielding dividends as the Shura Council of the Islamic sect, which is estimated to have caused the deaths of some 4,000 people since 2009 when it stated its insurgency, is said to be reviewing its rejection of the amnesty proposal.
Sources close to the sect informed THISDAY that the council plans to meet on Saturday to consider the federal government’s gesture.
This is coming as governors of states that are home to the sect have been urged to “do the right thing expected of them” by disarming its members to pave the way for the successful implementation of the planned amnesty programme.
The first committee, named ‘Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North’ and made up of 26 members, is headed by the Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Turaki, while a representative of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation has been designated its secretary.
The body is saddled with the responsibility of seeking ways to end the Boko Haram insurgency.
The second, tagged: “Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons” was charged with the responsibility of stemming the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, and their use in creating insecurity and instability in Nigeria and other developing nations.
Both committees were set up barely 24 hours after the National Security Council (NSC) met with President Goodluck Jonathan to consider the report of the technical committee that the federal government set up to review fresh modalities for addressing security challenges in the north.
The formation of the committees was the outcome of various meetings and consultations the presidency had had in the last couple of weeks with a broad spectrum of stakeholders in the country, the latest of which is the parley he held on Monday and Tuesday with the Northern Traditional Rulers Council (NTRC) and the service chiefs respectively.
Members of the Turaki committee are Sheik Ahmed Lemu, Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed, Col. Musa Shehu, (rtd) and Sheik Abubakar Tureta.
Others, according to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President, Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, are Dr. Datti Ahmed, Senator Sodangi Abubakar, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, Hon. Mohammed Bello Matawalle and former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Zakari Ibrahim.
Also on the committee are Comrade Shehu Sani, Hajiya Naja’atu Mohammed, Malam Adamu S. Ladan, Dr. Joseph Golwa, Air Vice-Marshal A. I. Shehu (rtd.), Mr. R. I. Nkemdirim, Deputy Inspector-General of Police P. I. Leha (rtd.), Prof. Nur Alkali, Malam Salihu Abubakar and Alhaji Abubakar Sani Lugga.
Other members are Mr. Ibrahim Tahir, Brig-Gen Ibrahim Sabo (rtd), Ambassador Baba Ahmed Jidda, Group Capt. Bilal Bulama (rtd.), and Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi.
However, Comrade Sani, a human rights activist, Wednesday turned down his appointment to the committee.
In a post on his Facebook page, Sani said he was not consulted before the appointment, adding that he would not serve on the committee.
“My friends called me this afternoon to inform me that they saw my name on the list of the committee on amnesty,” Sani said. “This is to thank our president for giving me such an honour and consideration. However, I humbly and respectably wish to decline to serve as member.
“My advice remains: Reach out to the persons I mentioned their names in my interviews in the dailies to discreetly consult with the group to get their input on the idea. Thanks,” he wrote on his post.
The terms of reference of the committee, according to Abati, include developing a framework for the granting of amnesty; setting up of a framework through which disarmament could take place within a 60-day timeframe; the development of a comprehensive victims’ support programme; and the development of mechanisms to address the underlying causes of insurgencies that would help to prevent future occurrences.
The presidential spokesman further added that the president approved the constitution of a federal government 17-member committee on the proliferation of small arms and light weapons as a fulfilment of his pledge that Nigeria will work with the United Nations and other countries in combating the use of small arms to create insecurity and instability.
The committee, which is headed by Ambassador Emmanuel Imohe, has Ambassador Martin I. Uhomoibhi, Ambassador T. D. Hart, Ambassador Ghali Umar, Ambassador B.G. Wakil, Mr. Opelusi Olureti and a representative of the Ministry of Interior as members, among others.
THISDAY further learnt Wednesday that the leader of the sect, Imam Abubakar Shekau, and his 14-member Shura Council would meet at the weekend at an undisclosed location to discuss the possibility of the group accepting amnesty from the federal government.
This came to the fore a few hours before Jonathan constituted the two committees to fast track dialogue with the group and deter proliferation of small and light arms in the country.
A couple of days after the federal government formed a seven-man inter-security committee, Shekau had rejected the proposed amnesty for his group, stating that it was the federal government which should be pardoned for committing “wrongs” against the sect.
Before Shekau's pronouncement, another leader of a splinter of the sect, Abu Darda, had similarly distanced his group from the clemency arrangement first suggested to the government by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar III.
Nonetheless, the optimism of the sultan and other northern leaders paid off Wednesday when the president established the new committees just as the Shekau group started mulling whether to consider the amnesty option.
“They will be meeting on Saturday to discuss this issue," one source said.
“Already, some of them are disposed to the idea, but many are yet to be convinced about the sincerity of the government and its agencies that will engage the group in dialogue,” he said, stressing “We will decide on that when we converge.”
THISDAY gathered that just as the federal government and northern leaders have been holding marathon meetings in the last two weeks, the group too has been holding meetings. But it was unclear whether Shekau himself was at the meetings.
However, as the federal government continues to adopt measures to end the insurgency in the north, two policemen were killed by gunmen at a checkpoint in the Tudun Wada area of Kaduna metropolis on Tuesday night, causing pandemonium among residents of the area.
The incident was said to have occurred along Musawa Road, at about 8.45 pm.
Sources said the hoodlums were on a motorcycle when they arrived the checkpoint and suddenly opened fire on the policemen.
No one is allowed to ride a bike past checkpoints in the city, but the hoodlums were said to have defied the order by riding straight through the checkpoint, shooting at the policemen.
Some of the police officers at the checkpoint were said to have responded to the attack, leading to exchange of fire between them and their attackers.
But the gunmen were said to have fled the scene of the incident before more policemen were deployed in the area.
One of the policemen was said to have been shot in the head and died on the spot while the other was said to have died on the way to Salamat Hospital where he was being rushed to for medical attention.
“I saw how the policemen were being taken away; they were in a very critical condition. I think the other one was hit by a bullet to the head and died before reaching the hospital. The second person I saw him bleeding from somewhere around his back,” an eyewitness said.
The attackers were said to have been three in number and were said to have worn long kaftans known as Jallabiya.
The police in the state were unable to confirm the incident at the time of filing this report.
The Kaduna State Police Commissioner, Mr. Olufemi Adenaike, who was contacted over the incident, said “call me later.”
In a related development, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence (MOD), Alhaji Aliyu Ismaila, has passed a vote-of-confidence on the military for their “laudable” contribution to the sustenance of Nigeria's territorial integrity, peace and security, especially during the ongoing fight against terrorist groups like Boko Haram.
Aliyu made the remark yesterday while speaking to journalists in his office to wrap up the familiarisation visit to the armed services including the defence headquarters, army, naval and air force headquarters.
He said: ‘‘I am very proud of our military. They are not letting us down in all their operations both within the country and outside despite the limited resources.
“African countries are looking up to us as their big brother in fighting insecurity, forgetting that we have our own issues. Yet the military is living up to the expectations.
“This should encourage us to continue helping them by way of increasing their resources.”
COMMITTEE ON DIALOGUE AND PEACEFUL RESOLUTION OF SECURITY CHALLENGES IN THE NORTH
Chairman
1. Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, Minister of Special Duties
Members
2. Sheik Ahmed Lemu
3. Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed
4. Col. Musa Shehu, (rtd.)
5. Sheik Abubakar Tureta
6. Dr. Datti Ahmed
7. Senator Sodangi Abubakar
8. Senator Ahmed Makarfi
9. Hon. Mohammed B. Matawalle
10. Amb. Zakari Ibrahim
11. Comrade Shehu Sani
12. Hajiya Naja’atu Mohammed
13. Malam Adamu S. Ladan
14. Dr. Joseph Golwa
15. AVM A. I. Shehu
16. Mr. R. I. Nkemdirim
17. DIG P. I. Leha
18. Prof. Nur Alkali
19. Malam Salihu Abubakar
20. Alhaji Abubakar Sani Lugga
21. Barrister Ibrahim Tahir
22. Brig-Gen. Ibrahim Sabo
23. Amb. Baba Ahmed Jidda
24. Group Capt. Bilal Bulama, rtd.
25. Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi
Secretary
26. Representative of Office of the Secretary-General of the Federation (OSGF)
COMMITTEE ON SMALL ARMS AND LIGHT WEAPONS
Chairman
1. Amb. Emmanuel Imohe
Members
2. Amb. Martin I. Uhomoibhi
3. Amb. T. Dan Hart
4. Amb. Ghali Umar
5. Amb. B. G. Wakil
6. Mr. Opelusi Olureti
7. Representative of Ministry of Interior
8. Representative of NSA
9. Representative of DG (SSS)
10. Representative of NIA
11. Representative of Federal Ministry of Justice
12. Representative of Ministry of Defence
13. Representative of DIA
14. Representative of the Nigeria Police Force
15. Representative of the Nigerian Customs Service
16. Representative of OSGF
Secretary
17. Director, International Organisations Dept, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
-- Thisdaylive
June 28, 2012, 09:02:45 AM