Enraged with palpable anger, Jonathan specifically indicted the Borno elders over, saying they are responsible for the escalation of terrorist attacks at the time such attacks were reducing in other states like Gombe, Kano, Bauchi and Yobe which were also worst hit by the insurgence.
"If elders in Borno state cannot talk to members of Boko Haram, their destructive activities would not reduce and nobody would bring such activities down", the president stated vehemently, even as he reminded the elders that it was the circumstances prevailing in the state as well as the sophisticated weapons used by the insurgents that informed the deployment of the JTF to the state.
The elders at a Town Hall meeting in Borno Government House, marking the two day visit to the state and Yobe, had insisted that it was time the JTF left the the state. They include former Vice Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri, Prof. Nura Alkali; elder statesman, Shettima Ali Monguno and the state chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Baba Basharu.
They unanimously contended that there was no alternative to dialogue between the federal government and Boko Haram.
Specifically, Shettima Monguno argued that even Nigeria as a country came into existence, following dialogue and even him, President Jonathan, would not have been President today if not for the series of dialogues that went in his favour.
The elders reminded the president that his late boss, President Umaru Musa Yar'adua had granted pardon to the Niger Delta militants before dialogue began between them and the government, just as they queried why similar measure cannot be taken in the case of the Boko Haram.
But Jonathan who challenged them to enter into an agreement with him that the safety of lives and property would be guaranteed if they actually wanted him to order the withdrawal of JTF, warned sternly that if, after this pact, one person in the state was killed again, he would hold the elders responsible.
He said, "Myself and any head of the security agencies do not want to pay one day allowance to anybody. We need that money to other important things that will change the economy of tis country. We need that money to fund agriculture and to create wealth across this country including Borno State. We are not happy to be spending so much money in the Niger Delta keeping JTF there. We are not happy to be spending so much money keeping JTF in Borno State and other places. Definitely, we are not. The earlier the better.
"In fact, if the elders agree now to come and sign agreement with me that I should move out all the JTF but if anybody dies in Borno State, I will hold them responsible, I will sign and I will move and I will do it. But don't go to court and ask one court to come and remove you.
"If somebody dies, yes, I will take you. I am going to remove the JTF but come and sign that I will remove the JTF and guarantee the safety of life and property of individuals. When you do that today, today, as I am going, the JTF will start moving to their barracks. But you must guarantee, if anything happens to anybody that you must be held responsible".
Noting that the Boko Haram insurgence had subsided in states like Yobe, Gombe, Adamawa, Bauchi and Niger, while there were continued security challenges in Borno State, Jonathan said, "The conclusion is that there are too many bunkers in Maiduguri or in Borno State. Why should the bunkers come? Who wants send bunkers to Borno State. There are too many APCs. Why should there be APCs in Borno State? Who want to send APCs to Borno State?
"You are talking about soldiers. There are some people who are even saying that the JTF should move out. Who wants to spend money paying allowances of soldiers? For God sake, we need money for development. If the circumstances that brought the soldiers are no longer there, that day, they will all leave. That day, they will all leave.
"Let me be very frank because the analogy that oh, when one soldier is killed the soldiers come and kill scores of people; we have always been admonishing that. We always tell the soldiers to conduct themselves because they are doing internal security job that ordinarily soldiers are suppose not to be involved in but because of the calibre of weapons the militants are using, the police alone cannot stand.
"And government will never sit down quietly and wait for insurgents, for some people to take up arms and take a part of this country. Never. Whether it is in the Niger Delta, and I have been giving the directive to security services, I don't want to hear that one soldier is killed in the Niger Delta, I don't want to hear that one security officer is killed in the south east kidnapping, I don't want to hear that one soldier is killed in Borno State or any part of this country.
"I cannot preside over this country as a president and my security officers are killed. This people leave their families, stay on the roads and the bush so that we will sleep and I will not want to hear that one of them is killed."
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