Shekau order: APC alleges plot to blackmail Buhari

Insurgents ‘posing as women in Baga’ THERE is a plot to frame up Gen. Muhammadu Buhari as a Boko Haram sponsor, the APC Presidential Camapaign Organisation (APCPCO) said yesterday. The proof lies in the Federal Government’s order to troops to capture alive Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau. A fake Shekau, said the APCPCO, will be made to state that he is working for Buhari, the APC’s presidential candidate. But, said the organisation, it is all blackmail because: •the military has claimed several times that Shekau has been killed; and •Gen. Buhari was attacked in Kaduna by suspected Boko Haram bombers who killed some of his guards. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) postponed the general elections from February 14 and 28 to March 28 and April 11 because the Service Chiefs said they could not gurantee security. They needed six weeks, they said, to wipe out the Boko Haram insurgency. Shekau issued a video tape in which he lampooned the plan to defeat him. The APC campaign said in a statement signed by its Director, Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, that the directive to soldiers to capture Shekau alive is a ploy by the government to claim glory for winning the war on terrorism. He said that “the charge to the military, that they should catch Shekau alive by the President in the last 24 hours lends credence to the report that indeed a fake Shekau is about being created.” The statement argued that the profile of the leader of the insurgents as a dedicated ideologue presupposes that the man is not likely to allow himself to be caught alive. “It is both contradictory to the ideology he preaches and the psychological profile that the world has of him that Shekau would allow himself to be caught alive,” it added. According to the statement, the attack in Kaduna on Gen. Buhari was seen and believed by most Nigerians as perpetrated by the Boko Haram. “The police that is constitutionally empowered to investigate and report on such incidents has not contradicted the widespread belief that this was a Boko Haram attack,” APCPCO said, adding: “The view of the APC is that it does not make sense for General Muhammadu Buhari to be in league with, or be associated in any way with people who have set out to kill him.” Shehu advised the government to listen to the various counsel from international bodies and lately by religious leaders that campaigns must be about issues and not maligning people, adding that “unfounded allegations linking the opposition to insurgency amounts to leaving the issues to pursue personal attacks as warned against, barely 24 hours ago by leaders of the Catholic Community through Arch. Bishop John Onaiyekan”. The APC Campaign said it was shocked, as other Nigerians by the President’s admission in a weekend newspaper interview that he had underestimated the Boko Haram challenge, arguing that any leader in that circumstance should not consider himself fit to seek re- election. Quoting President Jonathan’s recent confession that he underestimated Boko Haram, the APC presidential campaign said the admission was a direct evidence that the President has nothing to offer and must bow to the wind of change. President Jonathan is out of touch with the realities of the lethal challenges posed by global terrorism, including Boko Haram, which is believed to be affiliated to Al- Qaeda global terror network, Shehu said. Malam Shehu maintained that for any President to under-estimate terrorism, it means that he doesn’t take any national challenges seriously, including health, poverty, unemployment, power, education, infrastructure and other issues. He emphasised that with his admission, President Jonathan has passed a vote of no confidence on himself and his administration, adding that his confession underlines the imperative for change. Shehu said a President admitting his incompetence in tackling a mortal challenge to the security of Nigerians, he has no business seeking re-election or looking for excuses to delay elections.