WE are seeking forgiveness from the people over the number of people killed in the country.
I
appeal to those who lost their loved ones to our activities to forgive
us and on our side we have forgiven all those who committed atrocities
against us. I want to state clearly that we have no hands in the
unfortunate attack on the secondary school (Government Secondary School,
Mamudo, Yobe State).”
With these words, Imam Muhammadu Marwana,
an influential member of the Abubakar Shekau-led Boko Haram sect,
yesterday, confirmed a ceasefire agreement with the Federal Government
to end their deadly activities across most states of Northern Nigeria,
which have claimed about 4,000 lives and destroyed properties worth
billions of Naira since 2009.
- See more at:
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/07/boko-haram-begs-for-forgiveness-signs-ceasefire-deal/#sthash.12QFGUuz.dpufThe
agreement came exactly 82 days after the Federal Government raised a
25-man committee to work out modalities for granting the amnesty to the
sect.
Indeed, the Federal Government, yesterday, said that it had
signed a ceasefire agreement with the militant group. Minister of
Special Duties and Chairman of the Peace and Dialogue Committee in the
North, Alhaji Tanimu Turaki announced the ceasefire agreement on the
Hausa service of Radio France International monitored in Kano
The
announcement came on the eve of the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan
expected to commence today throughout the world and also coincided with a
vehement denial by the insurgents that they had no hands in the murder
of 30 boarding students of a secondary school in Yobe weekend.
Although
details of the peace deal were scanty, Turaki who spoke in Hausa
further said that the Boko Haram insurgents had agreed to lay down their
arms.
“We have sat down and agreed that Jama’atu Ahlul Sunnah
Lidda’awati wal Jihad, known as Boko Haram will lay down their arms as
part of the agreement so as to end the insurgency. Government agreed
with ceasefire and will look into ways to ensure that the troops relax
their activities till the final take off of the ceasefire,” Turaki told
his interviewers.
Confirming the truce, Imam Muhammadu Marwana
said: “This ceasefire, in sha’Allahu, from the time I am talking to you
(Radio France Hausa Service) we have ceasefire because of the discussion
held so as to have peace over this struggle.”
The Boko Haram stalwart added that “we are seeking forgiveness from the people over the number of people killed in the country.
Sounding
apologetic during the Radio news, Imam Marwana declared that “I appeal
to those who lost their loved ones to our activities to forgive us and
on our side we have forgiven all those who committed atrocities against
us”
He added that “I want to state clearly that we have no hands in the unfortunate attack on the secondary school.”
How the agreement was reached
A
member of the presidential committee, which President Godluck Jonathan
gave 90 days to hammer out a solution to the problem told Vanguard how
the agreement was brokered. He said “Shekau’s leadership came out
through several fronts and set traps for us. The government gave them
confidence, the confidence led to trust and they said they will call
their men to cease-fire and they have done so.”
Mixed reactions trail move
Meanwhile, Nigerians have received news of the truce with cautious optimism
A step in the right direction—Gani Adams
National
Coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, Otunba Gani Adams said
it was a step in the right direction. Iin a telephone chat with
Vanguard, he said: “It is a step in the right direction and I think from
there, they will create room to dialogue with the Federal Government
and state their position.
They cannot continue to waste lives
just like that. I don’t know what they stand for but no matter what they
stand for, their approach is wrong and deadly. Nobody in the world will
support their struggle. But calling for a ceasefire will afford
Nigerians the opportunity to know exactly what they want.”
Identity of the group should be ascertained — Afenifere
Also,
Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere was of the view that
the identity of the group calling for ceasefire should be ascertained.
Speaking with Vanguard on phone, Afenifere’s National Publicity
Secretary, Mr Yinka Odumakin said “We should be sure which of the Boko
Haram sect is calling for a ceasefire. Is it a strategy to rule or what
is it all about?
The identity of the group should be ascertained
and its genuineness should be known before the Federal Government is
taken off guard. Since emergency was declared in those three states
(Yobe, Adamawa and Borno), the incidence of bombings has gone down but
killings continue here and there. So, we must know how genuine the call
is and the identity of the group calling for the ceasefire. Was it not
Boko Haram that said it was the Federal Government that needed
amnesty?”.
Govt should reciprocate —Balarabe Musa
In his
reaction, former governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa
expressed optimism that the ceasefire will resolve the insurgency.
“We hope that the Federal Government will respond favourably and effectively to the ceasefire,” he said.
Committee should not concede unnecessarily—Frederick Fasehun
“Nigeria
has been on the issue of amnesty for long and if they have agreed on a
ceasefire, that is commendable. I see it as a roadmap to peace. I hope
the committee does the follow-up to this very well. But the committee
should go on with their negotiations and should not concede
unnecessarily.”
Committee should go on with its mandate—Abubakar Tsav
Former
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, on his part
said: “The development is very encouraging. I am happy about it and I
commend the committee for doing a good job. The committee should go on
with its mandate in order to achieve a lasting peace. The committee
should be encouraged the more at this stage to conclude its job.”
FG must rise to the occasion—Arewa Youths
Commenting
on the development, President, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Alhaji
Yerima Shetima said in spite of the ceasefire, the Federal Government
must address the issues that led to the insurgency.
Shetima said:
“Whether they cease fire or not, the truth of the matter is that
Nigerians must rise to the occasion. Last year, it was the same story we
heard when they called for a ceasefire and still, they unleashed a lot
of mayhem in Northern Nigeria.
Also, we must appreciate the fact
that the whole of Northern Nigeria has been bastardised because
everybody is now a member of Boko Haram. If they call for a ceasefire,
what about the remaining factions? This does not mean that the Federal
Government must go to sleep, the insurgency must be condemned totally.”
How sect’s activities assumed deadly dimension
THE
Jama’atu Allus Sunnah Lilda wati Wal Jihad, also known as Boko Haram,
(Western education is sin), came into existence in the 1960s but
survived through the decades under various names.
However, it
started drawing attention to itself in 2002, when Mohammed Yusuf became
its leader. In 2004, it moved to Kanamma, Yobe State, where it set up a
base called ‘Afghanistan’ from where it attacked nearby police stations,
killing police officers.
In July 2009, the Nigeria Police
started investigating Boko Haram, following reports that the group was
arming itself. Yusuf, the leader and others, were arrested and on July
30, 2009 allegations were made that Yusuf was extra-judicially killed by
Nigerian security forces after being taken into custody.
The
development invigorated deadly clashes with Nigerian security forces and
attacks on churches, public institutions and military facilities, among
others, which have led to the death of about 3,500 people.
Litany
of attacks Before the clashes, many Muslim leaders, and at least one
military official, had warned the authorities about Boko Haram. Those
warnings were reportedly ignored.
According to Human Rights
Watch, between July and December 2010, at least 85 people were killed in
some 35 separate attacks in four states in northern and central
Nigeria, as well as in Abuja, the nation’s capital. Attacks attributed
to Boko Haram in 2011 left at least 550 people dead in 115 separate
incidents.
Between January and December 2012, Boko Haram-related
attacks occurred in 14 of the country‘s 36 states, including all the 12
states that have already adopted Sharia Islamic law, Plateau State and
in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Violence blamed on Boko
Haram, which said it wants to create an Islamic state in Nigeria, has
killed more than 900 people in 2012, in about 290 separate attacks in 12
north-eastern and central states, and Abuja, making 2012 the deadliest
year since the group began its attacks in 2009. And in 2013, about 250
people have been killed in Boko Haram-related attacks and incidents.
The
litany of attacks include those of the United Nations Office, Abuja,
Police Headquarters, Abuja, the building housing ThisDay Newspapers, Sun
Newspapers and Daily Trust in Abuja, St. Theresa’s Catholic Church,
Madalla, Niger State, Deeper Life Bible Church, Okene; Military
Cantonment, Jaji, Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) office and other
numerous security facilities, especially police stations.
The
security agencies also went on counter-offensive arresting, detaining
and in many instances, killing Boko Haram members and leaders.
Disturbed
by the escalating violence many northern leaders and groups, including
the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, urged government to dialogue with the
group to end the killings.
A picture taken from a video
distributed to journalists in recent days through intermediaries and
obtained by AFP on March 5, 2013 reportedly shows Abubakar Shekau, the
suspected leader of Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram,
flanked by six armed and hooded fighters at an undisclosed place.
Last
November, the group gave the government conditions for ending the
hostilities. Acclaimed spokesman of the group, Abu Mohammed Ibn
Abdulazeez, in a tele-conference with journalists in Maiduguri, stated
that if the state and the Federal Government wanted the group to
cease-fire completely, then former Borno State governor, Ali Modu
Sheriff, must be arrested and prosecuted according to the laws of the
land. He also said that the government should compensate the group and
rebuild their places of worship which were destroyed during the 2009
uprising.
He pointed out that for dialogue to take place, it must
be through the following elders: Dr. Shettima Ali Monguno; former Head
of State, General Muhammadu Buhari; former Yobe State governor, Bukar
Abba Ibrahim; Ambassador Gaji Galtimari and Barr Aisha Alkali Wakil and
her husband, Barr Alkali Wakil, insisting that the dialogue must take
place in Saudi Arabia.
Abu Abdulazeez also said that the group
had mandated five members who are to mediate on their behalf; they
include himself (Abu Mohammed Abdulazeez), Abu Abbas, Sheikh Ibrahim
Yusuf, Sheikh Sani Kontagora and Mamman Nur.
Buhari later
distanced himself from the group and the Federal Government said it
could not negotiate with pre-conditions, thus the crisis festered. With
the latest decision of the group to sheathe its swords, it is hoped that
all stakeholders will play their required roles for normalcy to return
to the country.
Porous ceasefire
However, a peace deal was
brokered on January 28, 2013 after a marathon meeting between some
leaders of the group, which has been terrorizing some states in the
North, particularly Borno State, since July 2009, and the Borno State
Government, led by Governor Kashim Shettima with other top government
officials and religious leaders from the state in attendance.
The cease-fire came after a 42-month multi-pronged attack unleashed on the polity by the sect.
Briefing
newsmen after the marathon meeting in Maiduguri, Sheikh Abu Mohammad
Abdulazeez Ibn Idris, a commander of Boko Haram in-charge of North and
Central Borno, said after due consultation with the leader of the sect,
Shiekh Abubakar Shekau, as well as intervention and pleadings from
respected individuals and groups in the state, we ‘’have all come to
terms and agreed to lay down our arms.”
The Boko Haram Commander,
however, insisted that government should immediately release all their
members from custody unconditionally, re-build their places of worship
and compensate them, among other demands.
Sheikh Abdulazeez said
that, the sect observed that during the lingering insurgency, many
Muslim women and children had suffered untold hardship, adding that,
they also decided to lay down their arms for peace to reign in Borno
State and the country at large.
“I am appealing and calling on
all our members through this medium to lay down their arms henceforth,
till further notice,” Abdulazeez stated.
However, a few hours
after the cease-fire, a faction of the sect distanced itself from the
peace-deal and accelerated its deadly attacks, which have claimed about
250 lives since then.
The search for peace took President
Goodluck Jonathan to Borno and Yobe states last month. The series of
parleys during the two-day visit did not yield amnesty as President
Jonathan insisted that the Federal Government could not grant amnesty to
ghosts. He urged leaders of Boko Haram to come out of their hiding and
dialogue with government as was done in the Niger Delta before amnesty
could be granted.
The matter was on the front burner this week
following the exchange of brick-bat between Buhari and the Presidency.
While Buhari accused the Presidency of being responsible for ‘political
Boko Haram’ and should take responsibility for the escalating mayhem,
the Presidency countered that Buhari was responsible because he
threatened to make the country ungovernable if he lost the 2011 polls.
The
government asked Buhari to act like a patriot and get Boko Haram
leaders to embrace dialogue. Buhari refused and advised the government
to carry its cross.
