Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, has said the attack in Baga was carried out mainly by international forces and not only Nigerian military personnel.
Speaking with journalists at the 2013 World Press Freedom Day in Abuja yesterday, Maku said “It was an operation by 3 armies including Republic of Cameroun, Niger Republic , Chad and Nigeria, so it was an international force, it was not an action of force of Nigeria.”
He added, “I am not excusing the participation of Nigeria in this, but I am saying Baga was an international force operation. Nobody is happy with what is happening in Baga, government did not initiate it, it was forced on the country by terrorist groups which unfortunately operate from among the citizens and sometimes hold them hostage.”
Maku maintained that “the government will look into it and where it is able to establish cases of abuses, will ensure remedial action is taken. “The NSA has also spoken that part of the damage that people see was done by the terror groups not by the military, but we need further enquiry which is ongoing on the matter to unearth what has happened.”
The information minister noted that “the most important thing for the world is that terror is unhealthy for any nation, it should not be used as an opportunity to divert attention from the real cause of the problem which is the operation of terrorism that has destroyed the lives of many Nigerians including journalists.
“So all of us must use this incident to further recommit ourselves to the fight against terrorism, because it is the origin of this problem and the tactics used are to hide between people, so many people have been killed and the government of Nigeria is committed to due process. That is what we have been doing.’’
Maku continued: On the committee for the protection of Journalists, I have said it , you cannot use terror attacks to make it look like it is government that is either inducing or tolerating the killings, the journalists that have unfortunately been killed in Nigeria especially during this period and in the last two years, did not die because of state action; they died because they stayed on the job and the people of Nigeria were under attack by extremists forces and the journalists were part of so many other Nigerians that died.
“Thus, government has not only been fighting this terror groups, it has also been arresting and investigating these cases. It is not as simple as maybe journalists getting caught and killed in an isolated action, this is part of a global terror network that is unfortunately operating in the country.”
Speaking with journalists at the 2013 World Press Freedom Day in Abuja yesterday, Maku said “It was an operation by 3 armies including Republic of Cameroun, Niger Republic , Chad and Nigeria, so it was an international force, it was not an action of force of Nigeria.”
He added, “I am not excusing the participation of Nigeria in this, but I am saying Baga was an international force operation. Nobody is happy with what is happening in Baga, government did not initiate it, it was forced on the country by terrorist groups which unfortunately operate from among the citizens and sometimes hold them hostage.”
Maku maintained that “the government will look into it and where it is able to establish cases of abuses, will ensure remedial action is taken. “The NSA has also spoken that part of the damage that people see was done by the terror groups not by the military, but we need further enquiry which is ongoing on the matter to unearth what has happened.”
The information minister noted that “the most important thing for the world is that terror is unhealthy for any nation, it should not be used as an opportunity to divert attention from the real cause of the problem which is the operation of terrorism that has destroyed the lives of many Nigerians including journalists.
“So all of us must use this incident to further recommit ourselves to the fight against terrorism, because it is the origin of this problem and the tactics used are to hide between people, so many people have been killed and the government of Nigeria is committed to due process. That is what we have been doing.’’
Maku continued: On the committee for the protection of Journalists, I have said it , you cannot use terror attacks to make it look like it is government that is either inducing or tolerating the killings, the journalists that have unfortunately been killed in Nigeria especially during this period and in the last two years, did not die because of state action; they died because they stayed on the job and the people of Nigeria were under attack by extremists forces and the journalists were part of so many other Nigerians that died.
“Thus, government has not only been fighting this terror groups, it has also been arresting and investigating these cases. It is not as simple as maybe journalists getting caught and killed in an isolated action, this is part of a global terror network that is unfortunately operating in the country.”
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