The Federal Government and fundamentalist Islamic sect, Boko
Haram, held a secret meeting in Senegal a few weeks ago in a bid to end
the terrorism onslaught against the country, SUNDAY PUNCH
authoritatively reports.
The governments of Mali and
Senegal played significant roles in the peace talks with officials of
the two West African countries serving as mediators during the
negotiations, our correspondent learnt. Mali and Senegal have majority
Muslim populations and also have mainstream Islamic groups with strong
ties to religious groups in Northern Nigeria.
SUNDAY PUNCH
gathered that the Federal Government team to the meeting was led by the
Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe. Orubebe is one of
President Goodluck Jonathan’s closest associates. The newspaper also
gathered that some senior Boko Haram commanders stood in for the sect.
A
very reliable source in government, who pleaded not to be named because
of the sensitive nature of the matter, disclosed that the leaders of
the sect insisted that a ceasefire was only possible if their terms were
met.
Pressed for more details, the source refused to disclose
the terms Boko Haram gave for ceasefire, adding that the terms were
“what the sect has always demanded.” The terms that Boko Haram has been
reported to have given government for a ceasefire include, the release
of their detained members, the payment of compensation and the
rebuilding of their houses and mosques demolished by government.
The
source said the talks were successful but could not be sustained
because hawks in the military advised President Goodluck Jonathan
against accepting the terms. According to him, the military advised the
President not to give in to the demands of the sect with a promise that
they would deal with the Boko Haram challenge.
Confirming the
meeting in Senegal, the Convener of Coalition of Northern Politicians,
Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, accused
the President of double standards. Mohammed said the President could not
claim that the sect was faceless because the Federal Government had
interacted with some of them.
Mohammed said, “Yes, it is true.
The minister travelled to Senegal where, on prior arrangement with
Senegalese and Malian secret services, met some of the Boko Haram
leaders. The Federal Government has been silent about meeting with
leaders of Boko Haram in Senegal.” Mohammed also flayed the price placed
on the heads of leaders of the Boko Haram sect. He said the military’s
action was aimed at frustrating the negotiations.
“After meeting
with these people, you now say you are putting money on their heads. It
is an act of bad faith. The mere fact that there was some kind of
meeting clearly shows that what the military did was an act of bad
faith. The decision to put money on the heads of Boko Haram commanders
was a political decision. The Chief of Army Staff should stop making
political statements.
“It is dangerous for soldiers to assume the
power of taking political decisions in our democracy. It is also
dangerous for the civilian government to be controlled by the military
to an extent that 20 to 25 per cent of the budget expenditure goes to
security; an average of one trillion naira a year. We can’t afford it.”
Similarly,
the Secretary of the Borno State Elders’ Forum, Dr. Bulama Gubio, said
the recent conflicting signals from the Federal Government had left the
North confused. He said while they were hopeful that the Federal
Government would resume negotiations with leaders of the sect, the
announcement of a bounty on their heads had complicated the situation in
Borno and neighbouring states, where Boko Haram attacks had been rife.
He
said, “Right now we are even confused. We don’t know what is happening
again. The Federal Government said they would negotiate with Boko Haram
if they agreed to negotiate. And we have been pleading with these boys
to negotiate with the Federal Government. Now, JTF has put money on the
heads of the people they listed as Boko Haram leaders. The problem is
that the President will say one thing and government agencies will say
another thing. We don’t know what to believe now.
“We are still
pleading with the Federal Government to go ahead and negotiate with Boko
Haram members who have come out to say they want to negotiate.
Government would keep saying they are faceless. The situation here is
bad. Our people are dying.”
When contacted, the Army spokesman,
Brigadier Gen. Bolaji Koleosho, declined comments on the allegation that
the army advised the President against negotiating with the sect.
Koleosho said, “Army’s response to that is simply no comment.”
Attempts
to get reactions from the Embassies of Mali and Senegal in Nigeria were
futile. When SUNDAY PUNCH visited the embassy of Mali located in
Maitama, Abuja on Friday, an official of the Embassy said those who were
in a position to respond to the enquiries on the issue were out of the
country on an official assignment.
The official, a protocol
officer who did not give his name said, “The Ambassador, the 1st and 2nd
Secretaries who may be in a position to answer your question are
currently in Cote d’Ivore attending an ECOWAS meeting about the
situation in our country. “The only person around is the accountant who
cannot speak on any issue. I am sorry.”
At the Embassy of Senegal
located at Number 12, Jose Marti Crescent, an official asked our
correspondent to return at 4:00pm on Friday to meet the Political
Affairs Officer whose name was given simply as Mr. Loum. There was no
sign of human presence when our correspondent returned.
Efforts
to reach the Presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, on Saturday
proved abortive as calls made to his mobile number did not go through
neither did he respond to a text message sent to him by our
correspondent. Boko Haram has a presence in Mali as over 100 members of
the sect reportedly joined forces with Mali’s armed militia, Mouvement
National de Liberation de l’Azawad, to declare an Independent Republic
in Northern Mali in April.
On Tuesday, the sect wrote a letter to
the Federal Government, reaffirming its willingness to negotiate. It
replaced Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, who had declined the nomination as lead
mediator with the Federal Government, with Imam Gabchiya, an official of
the University of Maiduguri.
The letter came less than 72 hours
after a double suicide bombing led to the death of at least 17 people in
Kaduna State and four days after the army had offered a N290m bounty
for information leading to the capture of 19 leading members of the
sect. In August, Presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, had told
journalists that the government was already in talks with the sect
through “backroom channels.”
Abati had confirmed the secret talk
to The PUNCH, on November 12. He said, “I can confirm to you that talks
are ongoing at the background. But the talks are not the kinds being
envisaged by Nigerians. The ongoing talk is a back channel one in which
those who know members of the group are talking with them on behalf of
the government.”
However, during his latest Presidential Media
Chat, Jonathan had dismissed Abati’s claims. He said, “There is no
dialogue between the Boko Haram and government. Boko Haram is still
operating under cover, they wear masks and there is no face. They
operate under cover.”
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