Sanusi: There is No Justification for Boko Haram

This Day

29 January 2012

Sanusi: There is No Justification for Boko Haram

Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Saturday identified poverty and marginalisation as being partly responsible for the growing violence in Nigeria, but this does not mean that he had justified Boko Haram’s activities to the uneven distribution or resources and derivation funds to the Niger Delta.

Sanusi, in a statement to clarify his interview published in last Friday’s edition of Financial Times, said the growing restlessness among the youth which makes them embrace a life of crime, could be traced to their disillusionment with the system.

According to him, “I have long held the view that ethnic and religious violence in Nigeria has its roots in poverty and deprivation and perceived marginalisation. I always said this about the militancy in the delta while fully condemning it, the truth remains that militants tapped into a groundswell of frustration.