Amnesty for Boko Haram members; Nigerians rejects

Amidst calls for dialogue and amnesty for members of the Boko Haram Islamist sect, result of an opinion poll has revealed that majority of Nigerians prefer full military action that would wipe out the group.

 A survey conducted by NOI Polls showed that majority of the respondents kicked against negotiation with the dreaded group, while only an insignificant number suggested amnesty for the warring sect members.

 The result of the poll indicated that about 44 percent of the respondents were in favour of using military might to crush the members of the sect, while 33 percent chose dialogue with the group. Also, only 3.8 percent of the respondents agreed that the Federal Government should grant amnesty to the group.

 Also, a similar survey by the Gallup Inc USA on the interaction between Muslims and Western countries revealed that six out of 10 Nigerians were in favour of mutual relationship with the West. The group, mostly adults of 15 years and above, believed that greater interaction with the West was more of a benefit than threat. Even in the North-east, believed to be the stronghold of the sect, the opinion was the same, as majority of residents expressed their support for relationship with the West.

 The poll also revealed that 52 percent of the population surveyed expressed confidence in the government’s ability to provide security, while 35 percent of respondents expressed loss of confidence on government’s ability to tame the sect.

 Another shocking revelation from the survey was the zero support for Sharia law as the only source of legislation by the residents of North-east region. About 64 percent of residents in the region said Sharia should be one of the sources of legislation in the region, while 36 percent vehemently opposed the Sharia law as a source of legislation.

 According to the organisers of the Gallup survey, results were based on face-to-face interviews with 1000 adults, aged between 15 and above. The study was conducted between April 2010 and August 2011. Similarly, respondents for the NOI snap polls were randomly selected from a database of phone owners aged between 18 and above across the six geo-political zones in the country.