BOKO HARAM: Conditions For Ceasefire

Four people were on Sunday night shot dead at a beer parlour in Bulunkutu, a Maiduguri, Borno State suburb even as the Islamic sect gave conditions before it could ceasefire.

Among the conditions given for truce was the resignation of the newly-elected governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, prosecution of his predecessor, Senator Modu Ali Sheriff and strict practice of Sharia law in at least 12 Muslims-dominated states in the North, equivalent to one-third of the country. The group also demanded the prosecution, under Islamic law, of some politicians, traditional rulers and security personnel, who were responsible for alleged extra-judicial killings of its members in the 2009 uprising in Borno.

In the Sunday’s attack, the state Assistant Police Commissioner, Zakari Adamu, said: “Four people were killed in an attack by gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram sect at a beer parlour in the Bulunkutu suburb of the city last night.

“The gunmen opened fire on people drinking in the beer parlour, killing four before engaging in a shootout with police, who were attracted to the scene by gunshots”, Adamu said on phone from Maiduguri. The assailants, however, escaped police arrest. Although Borno is one of the 12 Northern states that have adopted the Sharia law, which bans consumption of alcohol, residents of the state still drink beer openly.

Sunday’s attack came a week after multiple bomb explosions and shootings, targeting two police stations and a church, rocked the city of Maiduguri. At least, 14 people, including a Pentecostal church pastor, were killed. Police have intensified surveillance in Maiduguri since last week’s attacks, leading to the arrest of 19 suspected members of the sect and the recovery of weapons, including two rocket launchers and Kalashnikov rifles.

“We arrested 14 people along with the weapons while five others were arrested for bringing in bombs into the city”, Adamu stated, adding that the suspects have been taken to the Force Headquarters, Abuja for further interrogation.
Meanwhile, in a terse statement written in Hausa and circulated around Maiduguri, yesterday, Boko Haram gave strict conditions for truce in the over two years uprising in the state.

Signed by one Usman Al-Zawahiri, who claimed to be the spokesman of the group, and entitled; Conditions for Dialogue with President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Kashim Shettima’, the group used the statement to react to recent overtures for talks by Governor Shettima and the calls on government to grant amnesty to detained members of the religious sect.
“We demand for the strict enforcement of Sharia legal system in the Muslim-dominated states in the North as part of conditions for dialogue with the government”, the group said in the statement. The Islamic sect also demanded the prosecution of the immediate past governor of Borno State, Senator Modu Sheriff for the killing of its leader two years ago as well as the release of all its detained members.

“If the government meets these conditions, we will agree to a ceasefire and enter into dialogue with them”, the statement added.
Boko Haram, which means ‘western education is sin’, launched its operation in 2009, but was checkmated by security forces, leading to the killing of its leader, Muhammed Yusuff.

Since then, the sect had been launching violent attacks on Borno State and its environs, killing several persons. It also claimed responsibility for some of the bombings in the northern part of Nigeria as well as attacks on a number of police stations across Borno.
Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the January killing of the governorship candidate of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in Borno State, Alhaji Modu Gubio and six other persons, including the brother to the immediate past governor, Alhaji Modu Sheriff. It also claimed to have masterminded the recent killing of the brother of Shehu of Borno and bombing of the state office of National Programme on Immunization (NPI) early this month. In its statement, yesterday, it boasted that the deployment of more security personnel would not deter its members from carrying out attacks in Borno State.

SOURCE: SUNNEWSONLINE

9 COMMENTS

  1. who will prosecute the Boko haram for the killings they did if they also want others to be prosecuted, so ti’s thier own life that is important, northern Nigeria is not for one religion, this is not Islam but politics. lets think well and also the security men in Borno are busy tasking okada men and taxi and innocent citizens (extortion) instead of doing what they are sent to do, the government should do something about this because we don’t even know who to trust since the army and police are now concern about money only. thank you

  2. We r nt even sure if this ‘boko haram’ members r Nigerians, since borno is a border town (d same way many beggers nd shoemakers in Lagos claim to b hausa bt cant even speak it, i kno several of dem personally).
    D way dey r just bombin nd killin pple, one cnt help but wonder if they r nt frm chad. Cuz i dnt think Borno pple would intentionally bomb their city.
    The immigration officers should start workin, d rate of immigration of these foreigners is overwelming

  3. WELL,LET US KEEP RELIGIOUS BIAS ASIDE AND SPEAK THE TRUTH.THE EXTRAJUDITIAL KILLING OF THE BOKO HARAM LEADER IS THE MAJOR CAUSE OF THIS CRISES.IF JUSTICE WERE 2 BE DONE,ALL THOSE INVOLVED WERE SUPPOSE 2 HAV BN BROUGHT 2 BOOK.BT THE GOVERNMENT DID NT DO THIS BECAUSE THEY AR INVOLVED.IF THEY ARE NT,Y DID THEY KIL YUSUF WITOUT ANY TRIAL?ITS BECAUSE THEY ARE SCARED OF BEING EXPOSED.MAY GOD SHOWER HIS PEACE UPON US AND PROTECT THE INNOCENT SOULS FROM BOTH GOVERNMENT AND BOKO HARAM SUBSEQUENT ATTACKS,AMEN.

  4. Justice I think can be achieved tru peace & dialog. The killing of innocent people is totally out of it. I think d Govt should make d issue of BOKO HARAM a top priority, as they may “develop” into terrorist group like Alqaeda and the Talibans like we in some countries in d Middle East.

  5. boko haram is unislamic,dis pple shld nt use their barbaric act 2 get what is rigth islam is peace,Allah says’know me b4 u worship me’Allah’s messenger said ‘look 4 knowledge if it wil take as far as china’.Allah’s messenger (pbuh)said anybdy dat bring any new thing to dis religion isnt 1 of us.Boko Haram revisit Quran/hadits may Allah 4giv us our shrtcmit

  6. IT IS HIGH TIME YOUR BOKO HARAM POLITICAL AGENDER CEASE FIRE IN NIGERIA. THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THIS ISSUE OF BOKO HARAM ARE NOT ORIGINAL CITIZENS OF NIGERIA AND THAT IS THE REASON WHY THEY ARE TAKING BOMBING AS A DO OR DIE AFFAIRS TO DISTABILIZED NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT. THEY HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT COULD INVITE EMMINENT AND RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE FROM SAUDI ARABIA TO COME AND CAUTION THOSE WHO WANTED TO LABEL NIGERIA MUSLIM WITH THEIR BOKO HARAM . THEY SHOULD NOT FORGET THAT THOSE WHO ARE BEING USED ARE NOT FROM NIGERIA THEY COULD BE SEEN AS THOSE WHO WANTED TO DISTABILIZED NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT AND WANTED TO BE TERRORISING NIGERIANS , THEY ARE ADVISED TO CAUTION THEIR DIABOLICAL ACTIVITIES IN NIGERIA . THEY SHOULD NOT FORGET THAT THEIR ORIGIN COULD BE TRACED SOONEST!!

  7. If a sinner did not want to repent he will be thinking of imposibilities, what a funny condition of ceasefire by Boko Haram ,it is unfortunate but i think that their knowledge about Islam is so limited that they never think of what ALLAH will do to them for taken innocent soul in the name of religion i know GOD will surely judge, ALLAH YA ISA