The Nigerian government led by President Muhammadu Buhari through his spokesman has said that it is open to negotiations with the Boko Haram sect in order to find a lasting solution to the security crisis in the country, if the group is willing.
Buhari who during the campaign vowed to crush the terrorists responsible for the deaths of thousands and kidnappings of mostly school girls and women seems to have made another backtrack as to how to flush the insurgents.
Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, on Friday, in an interview with the BBC Focus on Africa, he revealed that in line with the vicious attacks by the group, the government is option for negotiations with the Islamic sect…
Adesina said the Federal Government was not ruling out negotiations with the sect if it would put an end to the activities of the group. He lamented that the insurgents had attacked so many villages and killed scores of people.
“These were very vicious attacks. People were killed in scores and it’s so sad,” he said.
The President had during his inauguration speech said he had launched a strategy to deal with the sect by relocating the military headquarters to Maiduguri, Borno State.
“Boko Haram is not interested in peace — if they are interested in peace, how can they kill 13,000 Nigerians?” the former military ruler told BBC News in February.
Boko Haram carried out a fresh wave of massacres in Borno on Friday, locals said, killing nearly 200 people in 48 hours of violence.
Boko Haram killed more than 13,000 civilians between 2009 and 2015, including around 10,000 in 2014, in attacks occurring mainly in northeast Nigeria.. 1.5 million people have been displaced in the violence since the insurgents waged war against the Nigerian government..
