CDS Reveals Why Nigerian Army Spared Repentant Terrorists’ Lives
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Olufemi Oluyede, has said that terrorists who repent will not be killed because they are still citizens of Nigeria. Saying, *They are like the prodigal son in the Bible:
General Oluyede made this statement at the Armed Forces inaugural lecture for the newly established Joint Doctrine and Warfare Centre (JDWC) at the Nigerian Army Conference Centre in Abuja.
He said, “Talking about Operation Safe Corridor, so many people have asked that question: why do we need to rehabilitate criminals? They all should be killed because they have killed people. Well, that may make sense.”
Comparing terrorists to the prodigal son, who took his portion of inheritance from his father, left home, squandered it, and returned home to his father, the military chief argued that it is important to allow terrorists to repent of their own volition rather than killing them.
“But even in the Bible, we heard about the prodigal son. If there was not that window for the man to come back, would they have come back?” Mr Oluyede asked
“So the point is that these are Nigerians, mostly. And it’s important for us to give them that window to repent, if they want, rather than pushing them to the extreme. To say, okay, ‘It’s either we kill you, or you continue with the adventure
“I think it is important for us to make people understand, especially the National Assembly, because as we speak now, everything about the safe corridor is being given by the defence headquarters,” the CDS noted.
NewsRegion had previously reported that Edo North Senatorial District, Adams Oshiomhole, recently condemned the deradicalisation of terrorists in Nigeria, stating that previous repentant terrorists went back to the act
Oshiomhole said this during a Senate debate on the proposed amendment to the 2022 Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act to include the death penalty for kidnappers.
According to the former Edo State governor, terrorists committing murder and other heinous crimes must face the full wrath of the law and should be given the death penalty if found guilty.
The former APC chairman, “We have seen in the distant past where terrorists who have killed and committed heinous crimes were in the name of deradicalization, they were arrested, ‘deradicalized’ fed with taxpayers’ money and some of them went back to continue the act of terrorism
“We can’t spend so much money to apprehend very dangerous people who have killed, buried children alive, and at the end when they are apprehended, someone calls from somewhere and say “look, we need to use jargons to justify why these guys should not face the wrath of the law which is to face trial and if convicted, sentenced to death.
“Even in the Holy Bible and Quran, those who kill, have no right to live. “Those discretions are now withdrawn. No more deradicalization. If you are caught committing a heinous crime, the penalty is death if convicted”
