The believe in certain quarters that the Nigerian government only pays attention to whatever a person or group of persons are saying when they carry arms against the state is about to play out again, following desperate efforts to end the killings by Boko Haram.
“For conditions that are not difficult to meet such as the demand for Diyya (financial compensation) for their 24 identified members that were killed, the government may meet such demands."
A very dependable source in the Presidency told Punch on Sunday that the Federal Government will give anything to the sect because it does not want to miss the opportunity for dialogue as offered by the sect’s second-in-command, Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulaziz.
“I can confirm to you that it is true that the group is currently dialoguing with the government. The good news is that they are talking and they have promised to cease fire once some of their demands are met.
“Government can also give critical thought to those found to be innocent, but are being detained or prosecuted, particularly women and children as demanded by the group since they do not have any objection to the trial of those genuinely involved in crime,” the source added.
Meanwhile, one of the people named by Boko Haram as mediators, Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim, said on Sunday that neither the Federal Government nor the sect had reached out to him over the proposed peace talks between the two parties.
Senator Ibrahim, a former governor, said “I have not been contacted by anybody, either from the Federal Government side or Boko Haram. What you have been hearing on radio or on televisions is false, thank you.”
It would be recalled that the group also gave a condition that the discussion with the government must take place in Saudi Arabia.
Source: Punch
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