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| Godsday |
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.”
Punch
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