Extend Pardon To Al-Mustapha – NUJ Tells Jonathan

Hamza Al-MustaphaMembers of the Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ) Zone “A” have called on President Goodluck Jonathan to reconsider his position on amnesty for members of the Boko Haram sect.

Reading the communique at the end of their meeting in Kaduna, president of the NUJ, Comrade Garba Mohammed, urged the president to yield to the advice of northern leaders in order to end the violence.

“We expressed concern over the increasing cases of insecurity and particularly the killing of innocent citizens in some states in the North. We therefore call on the Federal Government to adhere to the wise advice by some citizens of the country, especially the recent calls by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Sa’ad III, Speaker of the House of Representatives and some senators. The Federal Government should reconsider the issue of amnesty for Boko Haram members, since this call is being championed by prominent northern leaders who are directly affected by these insurgencies. We hopefully believe that by so doing, the present insecurity situation in some northern states will be brought under control,” the union said.

The union added that the Federal Government’s agricultural transformation agenda should be all inclusive in order to provide employment for the country’s teeming youths.

On the recent pardon granted to some citizens, the NUJ called for pardon too for Major Hamza Al-Mustapha who has been in incarceration for over a decade.

It urged Federal, state and private owned media houses to implement the weigh-in allowances for media practitioners.

It also called on members to take the issue of insurance scheme serious just as it urged council to properly educate members on the importance of the scheme.