We don’t have Ebute’s letter, says UN

The UN said on Friday that it has not received a letter reportedly written by a former President of the Nigerian Senate, Sen. Ameh Ebute.

Ebute’s letter was reportedly calling on the UN Security Council to sanction some of Nigeria’s neighbouring countries for alleged complacency in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency.

Ebute was reported to have addressed the letter to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and also copied the Chief Prosecutor, International Criminal Court, Hague.

However, Mr Stephane Dujarric, the Spokesman for the Secretary-General, denied knowledge of the letter.

“I’ve seen the press reports. I have not seen the letter.

“Obviously, the question of sanctions is up for the Council.

“And I think for the UN, for our part, we’ve always counted on the cooperation of all countries in the Lake Chad Basin in the fight against Boko Haram,” Dujarric said.

Ebute had said in the letter “that each time the insurgents strike in Nigeria, they escape into either or all of these countries for refuge, during which time, they recuperate, re-energise, re-arm and surface to attack new targets in Nigeria.

“It must be emphasized that the three countries have always been the entry and exit points for terrorists into and out of Nigeria.

“Since the fall of Sambisa forest, their safest haven in Borno state, residues of insurgents have relocated to these countries, from where they stray into Nigerian territories to launch random attacks on soft and obscure targets,” he said.

The former President of the Senate urged the UN Secretary-General to invoke relevant instruments, particularly Article 99 of the UN Charter.

He added that the Secretary-General should draw the attention of the UN Security Council to investigate the “nuances of the consuming terrorism undercurrents” in Nigeria, which are potent enough to cause international breach of peace and security.