The Arewa Youth Leaders’ Forum (AYLF) has appealed to military authorities to pardon and release detained members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) also known as Shi’ite Sect, as it apologised to the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai over the incident of December 2015 when his life came under threat as the sect members obstructed his convoy in Kaduna state.
The Forum’s decision to appeal on behalf of the detained sect members was reached at a roundtable dialogue held yesterday in Abuja
According to a statement jointly signed by the President of the forum, Isah Ocheja, and its Secretary General, Jonah Ali: “We resolved at our roundtable in Abuja on Saturday, February 5, 2016 to apologize to the Chief of Army Staff and the Nigerian Government and beg for pardon for detained members of the (Shi’ite) sect to be released with a promise not to engage in further acts of terrorism.”
The forum also revealed its plan to reach out to members of the National Assembly, while traditional rulers from the north are also expected to sensitise their subjects on why no individual or group of persons should be indoctrinated and radicalised to commit an act of terrorism.
“We passed a vote of confidence on President Muhammadu Buhari for the recent successes on the war against terrorism. Nigerians are happy that despite the situation of helplessness that he met on ground he has been able to raise the bar. Nevertheless, we appealed to Mr President that any religious sect whose activities are not in tandem with the laws of the land should be proscribed and declared persona non-grata,” the Forum’s leadership said.
