President Goodluck Jonathan said on Tuesday in Abuja that the Federal Government would assist the victims of insurgency perpetrated by the members of Boko Haram.
Jonathan gave assurance when he received the report of the Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North.
The President, however, ruled out the payment of any form of compensation to the victims, saying what the victims needed was assistance and not compensation.
“We also noted the suggestion about the victims’ support because that is one of the terms of reference. How will government help to see that we can assist?
“Government is not going to compensate. It is not an issue of compensation but how do we assist people who have suffered to get back to business in one way or the other.
“Government will look into this and other recommendations in your report and see that the right decisions are taken.’’
Jonathan described Boko Haram as one of the most dangerous groups in the world, noting that the nation has never experienced internal terror like that of the sect.
He, however, expressed the hope that the report submitted would help in checking the activities of the Boko Haram.
The president said Nigeria had never been a victim of external terror much less, internal terror group, stressing that Boko Haram had almost become one of the most in the world.
“This is a country that never knew terror. Some countries have been passing through terror for years even before the Boko Haram came on board.
“But within the short period Boko Haram is being classified as one of the most deadly terror groups.
“It is quite unfortunate that the country will get to this level but with your report and the commitment of the security and intelligent services, we believe that we will bring this situation under a reasonable control.’’
On the Committee’s recommendations, Jonathan pledged that the government would look into all the suggestions a view to implementing them.
He said that government would set up an advisory committee on continuous dialogue to ensure peaceful co-existence among Nigerians irrespective of their religious or geo-political background.
“You have made recommendations; one of them s that you have suggested the setting up of an advisory committee on continuous dialogue.
“This I also believe in. We always say that even in war situations, finally, people must discuss at the conference table to make sure that people live in peace.’’
The President thanked members of the committee for accepting to embark on what he described as a ‘risky’ assignment.
“Even the day we inaugurated you, we noted that it was quite a challenging job. You were asked to meet the kind of characters you cannot even predict their behaviour.
“It is quite risky and I believe that some of you within this period, your immediate families believed that if they used to pray two times before, they will be praying 10 times because of the assignment to make sure that God sees you through.
Earlier, the Chairman of the 26-Member Committee, Alhaji Tanimu Turaki, admitted that the leadership of the insurgency group refused to dialogue with the committee.
According to him, the committee followed many links/contacts which generated momentum towards a productive dialogue with the insurgents.
He stated that the process was initially difficult to develop owing to a number of reasons, which included failures of past attempts at negotiating with the leaders.
He, however, noted that many of the key members of the insurgents both in detention and at large had positively responded to contacts and had accepted the dialogue option as capable of full resolution of the conflict.
The committee recommended the setting up of an Advisory Committee on Continuing Dialogue and Victims’ Support Fund for the victims of the insurgency.
