Rather than emphasize Amnesty for the Boko Haram insurgents in a bid to restore normalcy against the recurring blood-letting and terrorism in most parts of the North, the Federal Government has been urged to consider payment of compensation to victims of the sect’s attack.
In a communiqué at the end of the monthly Congress of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Cross River State council, endorsed by the State Chairman of the union, Comrade Ndoma Akpet, Secretary, Gill Nsa; and Secretary of the communiqué drafting committee, Ojong Agbor, the communiqué rejects the ongoing effort by the government to pardon those responsible for the killing without considering compensation for the victims and their families.
The union described the call for amnesty for Boko Haram members as ‘’ridiculous and an insult on the psyche and sensibilities of relatives and friends of Nigerians who were dastardly murdered by criminals in the guise of a religious sect called Boko Haram.’’
On the recent arrest and detention of some Journalists of the Leadership Newspaper in Abuja by the Police, the NUJ said the arrest and detention being unlawful was condemnable. It therefore urged security agencies to desist from such acts of illegality.
The Council frowned at the gross abuse of the “Green Tree Agreement” by the Cameroonian Government as manifested in the incessant harassment and killing of Nigerians in the Bakassi Peninsular.
It urged the Federal Government and the International Community to do something urgently to restore peaceful co-existence among the inhabitants of the peninsular in line with the Green Tree Agreement.
The Council also demanded for effective and proper monitoring of road projects constructed by the Niger Delta Development Commission [NDDC] and other public agencies to ensure that construction companies and contractors in the state maintain standard.
It observed that some roads in the state were of poor quality due to substandard materials used by some contractors during construction.
Accordingly, the congress particularly condemned the poor quality of work done by NDDC contractors handling road construction projects at Ikot Nkebre and similar projects at 8 miles in Calabar Municipality of Cross River state.
