Extremist clerics breed insurgency-Buhari

By Lawrence Olaoye

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that extremist clerics were breeders of insurgents in West African sub region.
The President while speaking in Jordan at a security meeting hosted by King Abdullah II, also said that with what Nigeria had gone through, it was ready to share the experiences with a view to fashioning out comprehensive action plans in tackling the scourge of violent extremism in the region.
The President in a statement made available to newsmen by his Spokesman, Femi Adesina, yesterday lamented that insurgents were able to attract members in their fold because of the insidious preaching of extremist clerics and called for an action plan to halt the trend.
He urged leaders, especially from the Muslim world to speak up against the hateful violence committed by deranged people in the name of Islam.
While calling for a stronger and well-coordinated collaboration, Buhari said that the joint regional collaboration under the auspices of the Multinational Joint Task Force, combined with the efforts of the Nigerian Armed Forces, had gone a long way to decimate the activities of extremists in the West African region.
According to him, “All nations, irrespective of religion should partner effectively in implementing national, regional and global action plans to counter violent extremism.”
At the end of the meeting, participants resolved to come up with concrete action plans that would change the narrative of violent extremism in the West African sub-region at a follow-up meeting to be hosted by Nigeria.