INSURGENCY: Fear of Boko Haram factions threatens ceasefire

TOP hierarchy of the Nigerian military, Nigerian Tribune gathered on Sunday, is expressing worries as to the possibility of a faction of the Boko Haram sect playing the spoiler role in the ceasefire deal.

This was as a result of series of attacks traced to members of the sect in Abadam and Dzur, Borno State communities, on Saturday and the attack on Shaffa, another town in the state, by the suspected members of the sect on Sunday, leaving about 19 people dead.

Nigerian government announced on Friday that it had agreed a ceasefire with Boko Haram, but the sect has not confirmed the truce and since the announcement, there have been, at least, five attacks – blamed by security sources on the insurgents.

Analysts said the sect is divided into various factions who, although using the same name, are driven by different aims.

Some, it was gathered, are motivated by internal politics, while others appear to have ideological links with other Islamist extremists such as al-Qaeda.

A source said the military was afraid that the Boko Haram leaders needed to act fast to save the integrity of the ceasefire, especially following attacks on Borno villages on Saturday and Sunday.

“There are fears of a faction of Boko Haram threatening the ceasefire accord. But the government believes their leaders would keep their words,” a source said.

The sect reportedly killed no fewer than 30 civilians around Gwoza town and another five in Abadam Local Government Area of Borno State recently.

Nine persons were also reportedly killed in Dzur and Abadam between Friday evening and Saturday morning, as they were jubilating over the ceasefire.

The Boko Haram sect attacked Shaffa village of Hawul Local Government Area of Borno State for the second time in less than one month and killed about 19 people.

According to resident of the town, the sect attacked and killed eight villagers along the Zhur forest, before they headed to Shaffa town, where they clashed with vigilante, leaving eight members of the insurgents and three locals dead.

The town came under attack barely 48 hours after security operatives raided the town and arrested seven suspected members of the sect, said to be indigenes of the area.

Meanwhile, details emerged on Sunday as to why the 219 Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents will not be released in one fell swoop, as sources confirmed that the students were distributed to no fewer than five African countries spread between West and Central Africa.

It was learnt that the death of Bokon Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, had left a hole in the leadership hierarchy, with some commanders not showing faith with the central command.

Sources close to the administration, however, insisted that the commanders of the sect, who wrote the Chadian President, Iddris Derby, over the ceasefire deal, were sincere enough and that could handle the factions.

It was gathered that trainers of the sect had link with Chad, a reason they contacted the Chadian president, picking him as the intermediary to the deal.

It was learnt that the Federal Government’s delegation to the negotiations with Boko Haram and Chadian authorities was kept as top secret, though the team met for weeks.

Sources said in Abuja on Sunday that the release of the Chibok girls was the major demand of the Federal Government, which was then followed be a demand for cessation of violence against Nigerian villages.

It was learnt that the government’s team accepted the excuse by Boko Haram’s commanders that the girls were already spread in, at least, five West and central African countries and that it would be difficult to get all of them together.

“The Boko Haram leaders told the delegation that the girls cannot be released in one fell swoop and that was acceptable, because they explained that the girls are already in, at least, five African countries.

“They said the girls are in good health and are not being kept in the forest as initially insinuated. It was learnt that some of the girls are in Chad, Niger, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, while only a handful are kept in a location in Nigeria,” the sources said.

It was, however, gathered that the first batch of the girls could be on their way home as early as tomorrow.

Meanwhile, as negotiations continue today in Chad, a top military source revealed to Nigerian Tribune that there is hope for the release of the girls today.

The source also said the Federal Government was already aware and set to meet some of the conditions set by the terrorists to enhance the release of the girls.

Coordinator of National Information Centre, Mr Mike Omeri, who confirmed this, said “the discussions are essentially in relation to the general insecurity in the North East and also the need to rescue all captives of the terrorists, including the students of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok.”

Nigeria is, however, “inching closer” to securing the release the schoolgirls, despite fears that reports of a ceasefire with the Islamist militant group have not come to fruition.

Omeri, on Sunday, said “I wouldn’t want to speculate about a date – it could be next week or the week after – but we’re inching closer to securing the release of the girls.

“We will have further meetings next week. There’s no conclusion, but there is a general understanding on which basis a ceasefire was reached.”

Omeri said discussions would include what happens to those who lay down their arms.

“There are members who want things like jobs, anything that will give them a start in life, because not all of them are truly convinced by Boko Haram’s ideology,” he added.

On the ceasefire agreement reached by the terrorists and the military, the source said so far, the military was maintaining its part.

The source said the military was not ready to make any statement until later in the week, after examining response to the ceasefire agreement.

The North in a shambles –Shettima

Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima, has called on northerners, irrespective of religion and tribe, to summon courage and come together, to salvage the country in 2015.

Shettima said the North, in the best of times, was the least in all indices of economic development, adding that now that insurgency was ravaging some of its parts, “we are now the poorest of the earth.

“Poverty has no religion, it has no ethnicity, therefore, we must reach out to other parts of the country, so that by 2015, other Nigerians can join forces with us to salvage the country.”

He spoke in Kaduna at a meeting organised by the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the weekend.

“The North is in a shambles. Citizens have become refugees in their country. There is the need to bury our differences and become united to confront the challenges ahead,” he said.