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Nigeria: Boko Haram withdraw from talks with gov’t
A spokesman for Islamist group Boko Haram has ruled out further talks with Nigeria’s government after preliminary, indirect contacts aimed at ending scores of deadly attacks.
Abul Qaqa, who has claimed to speak on behalf of Boko Haram a number of times in the past, told journalists in a telephone conference late Tuesday that the government could not be trusted.
He did not give details, but a cleric who acted as an intermediary in the indirect talks, which were at a preliminary stage, said last weekend he would no longer do so because leaks to the media by the government showed it was insincere.
“Almighty God has told us repeatedly that the unbelievers will never respect the promises they made,” the spokesman said. “As such, henceforth, we would never respect any proposal for dialogue.
“In fact, we have closed all possible doors of negotiation. We would never listen to any call for negotiations. Let the government forces do whatever they feel they can do, and we too would use all the wherewithal at our disposal and do what we can.”
He confirmed that Boko Haram was involved in the effort made by the cleric, Datti Ahmed, and that the group had given him their conditions.
Abul Qaqa also claimed there was a previous attempt at dialogue earlier this year that led to the arrest of one of its members in the northern city of Kaduna.
“The first condition we gave was the need for unconditional release of all our members,” he said. “There was an initial meeting between us and the government and in the process, one of our members, Abu Dardaa, was arrested in Kaduna.
“Since then, we never trusted the government. However, following endless pleas by some notable Nigerians, whom we have enormous respect for, we resolved to give another chance.” He said, however, that this second opportunity “was messed up.”
