The talks between the Presidency and Boko Haram aimed at ending the carnage in the North-East have so far been carried out at an informal level, reports Vanguard citing ‘credible sources’.
Speaking in France on Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari had said that his administration was negotiating with Boko Haram on how to end the violence, but did not disclose who the government was discussing with.
Sources in the know, however, told Vanguard, yesterday, that some key elements of the sect were talking individually with the Presidency on how to achieve peace, following sustained military bombardment of Boko Haram strongholds.
“It is true there has been an informal line of communication between the Presidency and the sect members, but the leadership has not mandated anyone on its behalf to begin discussions with the government.
“Unlike before when the Department of State Services, DSS; office of National Security Adviser, NSA, and other agencies of the Presidency were all reaching out to even phantom groups and individuals claiming to be representing the sect and claiming non-existing peace, this President has not made any formal contact with the sect yet,” the source told Vanguard.
Air Commodore Yusuf Anas (rtd), Executive Secretary of the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC) had in a statement on Wednesday recalled that while briefing the press on August 4, 2015, he disclosed that some Boko Haram elements approached the Centre for dialogue as a way of ending the seeming intractable insurgency in parts of the country. He welcomed the pronouncement by President Buhari that some members of the Boko Haram terrorist group are in negotiation with the Federal Government over the possibility of releasing the Chibok girls abducted on April 14, 2014.
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