Lead us to Sambisa Forest, Danjuma tells Jonathan

The Chairman of the Victims Support Fund, Lt.-Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd.), on Wednesday said members of the committee would not visit Sambisa Forest believed to be one of the strongholds of the Boko Haram sect except President Goodluck Jonathan was ready to take the lead.

He spoke just as Jonathan vowed that the days of the sect were numbered.


Danjuma, a former Minister of Defence, spoke while responding to Jonathan’s inauguration speech in which he tasked members of the committee to be ready to visit all parts of the country including the dreaded forest.

“Mr. President, we won’t go to Sambisa Forest. As the Commander-in-Chief, you should take the lead and we will follow,” he said amidst laughter from those who attended the inauguration.

Danjuma also shocked those in attendance when he told the President that the insurgents, who were wreaking havoc in parts of the country were having the upper hand.

He stressed the need for the war to be won quickly.

The National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), agreed with Danjuma that the war must be won quickly.

He said the government had realised that it was time to draw the line.

“We have realised that the time has come to draw the line.  We will win the war and do so quickly,” he promised.

Jonathan, in his inauguration speech, said the days of the Boko Haram sect were numbered and that it was a matter of days for their violent campaign to come to an end.

He regretted that members of the sect had wasted unimaginable human and material resources since they started their campaign of violence.

He noted that the sect members had been brainwashed into believing that they were doing God a favour, describing them as enemies of humanity.

While saying that there would be no hiding place for the sect, Jonathan said his government would expose them.

PUNCH