Following the ceasefire deal the
Federal Government entered into with Boko Haram, the violent fundamentalist
sect has split into two. While one faction wants peace, the other doesn't.
It was gathered on Sunday that
the Federal Government might have entered into the ceasefire with the faction
interested in the cessation of hostilities in the North-East.
A reliable source in government said
in Abuja that the leaders of the pro-peace faction of the sect, were the ones
who took part in the negotiations with representatives of the Chadian,
Cameroonian and Federal Government in Ndjamena, Chad last week.
Federal Government and Boko Haram
representatives are expected to fine tune the details of the ceasefire at
another meeting in Ndjamena on Tuesday.
Our source said he believed that
the attacks on Shafa in Borno State and Sina, Adamawa State on Friday, could
have been carried out by the faction not be interested in ending the violence.
He said “The Boko Haram faction
that carried out the attack is the one that wants the insurgency to continue.
It is made up of hardcore elements who believe their goal of
imposing Sharia on the whole country has not been achieved and for them, the
violence must continue until they win the war or perish in their quest.”
There had been reports of
disagreements among the top members of the sect following the clamour by some
of its commanders for an end to the insurgency.
A yet to be verified report had
said that unknown sect members died a few weeks ago in a shoot-out between the
pro-peace and the pro-Jihad factions.
The military is however keeping
its side of the peace deal by suspending all hostilities against the insurgents.
This, according to a top military
source, was a direct outcome of a directive issued by the Chief of Defence
Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh.
Badeh had on Friday ordered
the suspension of all on-going aerial and ground offensives against
the sect.
A source, who pleaded not to be
named because he was not authorized to speak on the issue, said the military
did not consider the latest attacks as a violation of the ceasefire.
He explained that it was very
likely that the operatives of the terrorist cells who carried out the attacks
were not aware of the peace deal.
The source said, “One cannot say
the peace deal has been violated; it is the nature of most terrorist
organisations to act that way, and it should be expected because they have
several layers of operation.
“They have such a long chain that
it takes time for them to communicate with the top unlike the military where
you are very quick communication channels.
“Another thing is that each of
the cells operates independent of the other. So those who carried out the
attacks in the villages might not even be aware of the deal.”
He however explained that
security forces would not allow the other faction to exploit the peace deal to
violate the security and safety of the people.
It was learnt that while the
security forces would not be on the offensive, sustained efforts would be made
to prevent crimes from being committed against the people.
It was gathered
from another source that the military had ensured the suspension of aerial and
land offensive in compliance with the CDS’ directive to give peace a chance.
He said, “We will not be watching
any violation of the security and safety of our people, we will not be on the
offensive but we won’t allow crimes to be committed.
“The air operation is suspended
for the duration of the ceasefire; we will not be on the offensive; we really
need to comply with the peace agreement at least to give peace a chance.”
Investigations
confirmed that soldiers have remained in their areas of deployment in the
North-East.
Another security source warned
that soldiers would be left with no option than to act if attacked.
He said while the troops fighting
the terrorists learnt of the ceasefire from the media, they were awaiting
briefing from their commanders.
He said, “This is ceasefire does
not say pull back soldiers; so soldiers have not been pulled back. It is
logical, if soldiers are attacked, they would fight back; they won’t sit and
watch but soldiers have not gone for any operation since the ceasefire.”
Efforts to speak with the
Director Defence Information, Maj. Gen Chris Olukolade,on the latest
developments did not succeed as calls to his mobile telephone line did not
connect.
But other sources in government
said that the government was still expressing cautious optimism in
its dealings with the sect.
This, it was learnt, was the
reason behind its decision to refrain from making a categorical statement on
the ceasefire since the news broke on Friday.
A top official, who pleaded
anonymity, said the government has so far decided to keep a
dignified silence to “see how the matter plays out during the week.
This, according to him, was the
reason why the government was not surprised about the attacks after the ceasefire
agreement became a public knowledge.
He said, “The government does not
want to jump into the fray. It is true that discussions are ongoing but the
government is watching the situation critically.
“The thinking is that once the
process scales through, the government will make a public pronouncement.
“Hopefully, once the Tuesday
meeting is successful, the government will talk. For now, we are watching
events.”
Efforts to get the reaction of
the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati,
did not yield result of the time of filing this report.
Sect captures another Borno town,
beheads six
On Sunday, members of the
sect captured another Borno community, Abadam, after laying siege to it.
They also beheaded six people
along the Biu – Garkida Road in the state.
It was gathered from security
sources that the insurgents, numbering 100, invaded Abadam on
Friday night and took it over on Sunday morning.
They said the heavily armed
terrorists arrived in the town in a convoy of about 50 Toyota Hilux vehicles
and motorcycles.
They however did not give a
casualty figure but a resident told journalists in Maiduguri on the telephone
that he saw six corpses, including that of his friend, while fleeing the town.
He said, “Boko Haram gunmen
entered Abadam on Friday night and shot at any resident in sight
for almost two days until the early hours of Sunday when many of us started to
flee to our farmlands, bushes and border areas of Bosso in Niger
Republic.
“I escaped by crossing River Kumadugu
to Diffa and from there, I boarded a bus to Damasak before arriving
in Maiduguri today (Sunday).
“Among the people killed was my
friend. My parents and other relations I believe are still in the bush and I do
not know their state as I speak to you.”
The resident added that there was
no security presence in the town throughout the period of the attack.
Another resident also
told journalists that the sect members, as in other
places they had captured, hoisted their black and white flag in three strategic
locations in the community.
He lamented the possibility of
the town, being declared an Islamic Caliphate.
Some communities
in the state under the control of the sect are Dikwa, Gwoza, Marte, Damboa,
Banki, Bama, Wulgo, Kirenowa.
Our correspondent in Borno State
also gathered that the insurgents beheaded six people on the same
road where the Emir of Gwoza, Idrissa Timta, was killed a few
months ago.
The Executive Director of
Stefanos Foundation, Mr. Mark Lipdo, said on Sunday that the terrorists left
the bodies of the slaughtered victims lying on the road for a long
time.
He said the son to one of the
victims was injured by the insurgents when he attempted to remove
his father’s body from the scene.
Lipdo said, “Information says in
spite government ceasefire agreement with the insurgents, six
innocent civilians were held hands bound and slaughtered on the Biu Garkida
Road of Borno State on Friday.”
The BringBackOurGirls group, has however
asked the Federal Government to continue to secure lives and properties of
Nigerians in the areas under Boko Haram attacks.
It also urged the government to
maintain a delicate balance in its negotiation with the sect.
The spokesman of the group, Rotimi
Olawale, said the government should have asked for the release some of the
abducted Chibok schoolgirls as a proof that the negotiation was being done with
the real Boko Haram leadership.
Olawale said, “For us in the
BringBackOurGirls, the government needs to maintain a delicate balance in its
negotiation with Boko Haram because the recent statement credited to principal
secretary to the President says the negotiation is still going on.
“I think they should continue to
negotiate with Boko Haram on that platform and secure the release of all those
abducted.
“The initial question would be,
is the government negotiating with the right group? I don’t know, government
needs to take necessary caution.
“For me, the first thing would
have been for the group to release some of the girls, so that we can be assured
that they are the right group.”
Senator cautions FG
The lawmaker representing
Borno Central Senatorial District in the Senate, Ahmed Zannah, has
advised the Federal Government to be cautious in implementing any ceasefire
with Boko Haram.
Zannah, in an
interview with the News Agency
of Nigeria in Maiduguri on Sunday, said the government must
exercise high level of wisdom and discretion in dealing with the issue.
He said, “I do not think it is
true, because Boko Haram insurgents are still attacking communities in Borno.
The insurgents attacked villages in both northern and southern Borno on
Saturday.”
Zannah said if the ceasefire was
real , the insurgents would not have attacked the villages.
When contacted, the Borno State
Government declined comments on the issue.
However, a media associate of
Governor Kashim Shettima, Isa Gusau, told journalists on Sunday
that the governor had no comment on the issue.
He said, “Governor Kashim
Shettima has no comment on the issue for now. Shettima, whose state has been at
the centre of Boko Haram attacks since 2009, says he has no comment for now
over the reports, but he will speak at the appropriate time.”
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