Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim
Military
authorities are subjecting the ceasefire declared by Boko Haram to a
one-month test to see if there is no attack within the period, Chief of
Defence Staff Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim has said.
Ibrahim, who spoke to journalists in
Abuja, said if the sect could give a one-month guarantee of peace then
authorities would consider talking to them.
“There are certain objective tests we
think that will make sense. Let us assume that we can have a long period
of about one month where no bomb explodes, where nobody is shot, nobody
is beheaded. Where no church is bombed and where no mosque is
threatened, if they can guarantee one month, then we can begin to talk.
So we must take this (ceasefire) with a lot of caution,” he said shortly
after opening a two-day seminar on national security at the National
Defence College.
“But we hope whatever that must have
brought this about will further enhance our security. So, we are a bit
excited about it but we are taking everything with a lot of caution.”
On Monday, a purported
second-in-command to Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau physically
appeared before journalists at a location in Maiduguri and declared a
ceasefire.
Sheikh Mohammed Abdulazeez Ibn Idris,
who also called for the release of detained members of the group, said
his announcement followed extensive deliberations between the sect and
officials of the Borno State government.
Local sources say he is a sect member,
but it is unclear if he really is speaking on behalf of Shekau, or
whether he represents a faction in the Jama’atu Ahlil Sunna Lidda’awati
wal Jihad.
In separate reactions in Kaduna
yesterday, the Jama’atu Nasril Islam and the Arewa Consultative Forum
welcomed the peace offer and urged the Federal Government to use the
opportunity to begin dialogue with the sect.
Secretary-general of JNI Dr. Khalid
Abubakar Aliyu, in a statement, said government should grab the
opportunity because this could help end the uprising.
“JNI under the leadership of His
Eminence, Alhaji (Dr) Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, considers the
ceasefire proposal by a faction of Boko Haram as a welcome development
and an opportunity which should be fully utilized by the government,”
the statement said.
“It therefore calls on the government
to shun all negative and counter comments that it should not dialogue
with the group, what matters is the declaration of the ceasefire, as
there are many factions of MEND which the government dialogued with, in
the past.
“It is based on these facts that the
JNI calls on the government to use this medium and dialogue with the
group, so that peace and security will return to the north-east,
north-west in particular and Nigeria in general.”
Earlier in an interview with Daily
Trust, the JNI scribe said: “I think this is just the beginning of the
dialogue.... It is an offer that the government should not turn down. I
also think it is an offer for the beginning of proper dialogue for the
ceasefire and for lasting peace and restoration of order.”
He added: “Whenever you see a light, try to exploit it. We should not just lose hope but rather hope it will become a reality.”
For its part, ACF said all patriotic Nigerians should welcome the ceasefire and pursue constructive dialogue.
“If leaders of Boko Haram are truly
desirous of constructive dialogue with the Nigerian authorities but
afraid of being arrested or killed, they should approach any country of
their choice which has diplomatic relationship with Nigeria to play some
mediatory roles in the ensuing dialogue,” ACF spokesman Anthony Sani
told Daily Trust.
“Once such a country agrees to play
some roles, it would be left for the government of such country to
approach the Nigerian government for effect.”
‘Let Shekau speak’
But Malam Shehu Sani, who was involved
in former president Obasanjo’s botched peace efforts in 2011, said
there was need to hear from Shekau before the ceasefire could be taken
seriously.
“I am not doubting the authenticity of
those people, but I don’t believe that there is a ceasefire until
actually I hear from the leader of the group confirming the ceasefire,”
said Sani, who is president of the Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria.
He added: “We have been through it
before where the people make move for the ceasefire and then at the end
of the day it turns out to be a mishap. But if the declaration is made
by the leader of the group, it cannot be denied or doubted by anyone
later.
“The last time there was this claim of
a ceasefire which at the end of the day changed the method of the
violence. So in order to avoid raising this kind of fake hope, I think
we need to hear from the leader of the group to ascertain the veracity
of this.”
Sani said also that ceasefire can only work if the government demonstrates willingness to accept the demands of the sect.
DailyTrust
No comments:
Post a Comment