I won't withdraw JTF from Borno - Jonathan

Despite pressure from elders and leaders from Borno State that the Federal Government should withdraw members of the Joint Task Force from the state, President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday rebuffed the barrage of requests.
The President, who indicted the elders for the escalation of violent activities in the state, however gave a condition for the withdrawal of the JTF: the elders and leaders should be ready to sign an agreement to end attacks forthwith.
Speaking at a Town Hall meeting in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, Jonathan said he was curious on why attacks have continued to be on the rise in Borno State while peace is gradually returning to states like Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe and Kano.
He said: “If elders in Borno State cannot talk to members of Boko Haram, their destructive activities would not reduce and nobody would bring such activities down.”
President Jonathan, for the umpteenth time, reiterated his readiness to dialogue with members of the Boko Haram, saying that JTF members have been directed to exercise caution in the discharge of their duties in the state.
He spoke further: “I would not celebrate the killing of a single soldier whom I sent out to protect the lives of innocent people and such soldier defies rain and shine to do so.
“I would not sit in Abuja and allow hoodlums to take over the control of any part of this country.
“I am ready to sign an agreement with elders of Borno State that if anybody is killed, they would be held responsible for any life lost in any part of the state.
“I assure you that I would ask members of the JTF to pack their luggages and leave the state forthwith.
“After all, we are not happy that we are spending extra money, which would have been used in developing infrastructure to provide extra-ordinary security.”
At the forum were some elders, including the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri, Prof. Nura Alkali; the Minister of Mines and Power in General Yakubu Gowon’s regime, Alhaji Shettima Ali Monguno; the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, Hon. Mohammed Tahir Monguno; and the state Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Baba Basharu.
They spoke in unison, demanding withdrawal of troops and granting of amnesty.