The Islamist militant group,
Boko Haram, has distributed a letter requesting dialogue with the
Federal Government.
The letter, which was sent
through head of journalists in Borno State, Aba Kakami, came less than 72 hours
after a double suicide bombing led to the death of at least 17
people at the Protestant Military Church, Armed Forces Command and Staff
College in Jaji, Kaduna State.
Kakami has often received and
distributed statements from the sect.
According to an international
news agency,Reuters, the
letter was signed by Sheik Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulazeez, a man known
in security sources to be a moderate senior member of the sect.
The letter, if genuine,
would mark a change of departure of tactics by
the group which has been been responsible for many bombings
in the country.
Nearly 3,000 people have died violent
deaths related to the conflict since the sect launched its uprising in 2009,
according to a count by Human Rights Watch. Boko Haram has replaced militancy
in the oil-rich Niger Delta over that time to become the biggest security
threat to Nigeria.
Communication with Boko Haram ,
which wants imposition of sharia on Nigeria, has
been even more sporadic than normal since the military killed its
spokesman, Abu Qaqa, in September.
Abdulazeez first contacted
journalists in Maiduguri earlier this month, setting conditions for peace talks
in the teleconference and nominating former Head of State,
Muhammadu Buhari , as a mediator. Buhari has since declined the offer.
“We are by this letter of invitation
to our respected elders proving to government that we are not joking with the
government, but we are awaiting the response of those concerned,” Abdulazeez
said in the letter.
Abdulazeez said he was speaking on
behalf of Abubakar Shekau, the sect’s leader.
But even if Abdulazeez does represent
Shekau, the extent to which Boko Haram is controlled by Shekau is in doubt, and
analysts think military pressure has fragmented it.
The letter nominated Imam
Gabchiya, an official of the University of Maiduguri,
Borno State as mediator.
There was no immediate reaction
from Federal Government officials, but President Goodluck
Jonathan had said on November 18 that no talks were going on with Boko
Haram .
The handover of the letter came three
days after the army offered a N290m bounty for information
leading to the capture of 19 leading members of the sect.