Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed has denied the reports he described as misleading attributed to him on the legal status of repentant Boko Haram terrorists.
The minister, who spoke in Washington DC. on Saturday, said he was misrepresented in the report in which he was quoted as saying federal government wouldn’t prosecute repentant terrorists, and that is best practice globally.
The minister reiterated his position that the call for the shooting of the repentant insurgents without profiling and prosecution was against best global practice.
The minister said his words were unambiguous and repeated what he said in the report.
“I personally spoke to the military authority before I left Nigeria and they said what they were doing is what the global practice dictates about soldiers that surrendered that should be treated as prisoners of war.
“You cannot just shoot them because there are international conventions that give rights also to prisoners of war.
“What the military is doing is that, when they surrender, they profile them to ensure that they are genuine and reintegrate them into the society,’’ he said.
He reiterated his position that the fact that the country was witnessing insurgents submitting in droves calls for commendation of the President Muhammadu Buhar and military for their doggedness.