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| Victims of Boko Haram |
The Presidential Committee on
Dialogue and Resolution of Security Challenges in the North on Friday released
a video clip of what it described as a meeting with some leaders of the Boko
Haram sect. The committee also said the men were close associates of Boko
Haram, Abubakar Shekau.
The 30-minute video was played to
State House correspondents inside the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa,
Abuja. The committee holds its meetings in the hall.
In the clip, some men identified by
the committee as members of the highest decision-making body of Boko Haram, the
Shura, were heard speaking in Arabic and Hausa.
In the video clip, a man described as
the spokesman of the sect, Muhammd Lawan Dn Suliaman, was seen with three other
men identified as Abdul-Auza’i, Al-Darnawo and Al-Maliki.
Although Suliaman read his remarks in
Arabic, his words were subtitled in English. He said it was permissible to
reach a peace accord and lay down arms according to Allah’s injunction in Quran
Chapter 8:61.
The men explained that the decision
to take part in the negotiation was based on three things: the tenets of
Islam, the teachings of Prophet Muhammed and the writings of eminent Islamic
scholars and jurists.
However, the authenticity of the
video clip could not be independently confirmed by and a copy was not released
to media men. The committee did not also tell newsmen where the meeting held
and when.
However, the Chairman of the
Committee, Kabiru Turaki, told journalists that his committee decided to make
the two-week-old video clip public in order to prove to Nigerians that indeed
the government team had established contact with the sect. He added that the
committee had succeeded in gaining the confidence of the sect’s leaders.
The Minister of Special Duties said
government hoped that the members of the sect, whom he described as “field
officers”, would see the need to embrace dialogue after “watching and listening
to their leaders.”
He said, “It is incumbent on all true
Muslims to accept dialogue. They (Shura members) have called on their members
and Muslims to give peace a chance.
“We need to build confidence to open
a line of communication. When we build on dialogue, we will get to the next
stage of total ceasefire. We have not got to that level yet. No conditions have
been finalised.”
Turaki, however, disclosed that the
committee was still making efforts towards meeting another set of senior
leaders of the group, and a splinter group, Ansaru.
He also said he could not get the
military operatives in Borno State to confirm the death of the Boko Haram
leader, Abubakar Shekau.
Turaki admitted that there was no
clear connection between the Shura committee and the second-in-command with
whom government reportedly secured an earlier peace deal, or with Shekau who is
yet to be personally reached.
He further explained that his
committee had no mandate to pay compensation to the victims of Boko Haram, but
would advise government on how to bring “succour” to them.
Tags
Politics