Military doubts Boko Haram ceasefire, expects deadlier attacks
SELF-acclaimed Secretary General of Boko Haram, Mallam Danladi Ahmadu, has blamed armed robbers and hired assassins among other criminals, who he said had infiltrated the terrorist group for breaching its cease fire agreement with the Federal Government, saying that the agreement is on course.
Ahmadu spoke in an Hausa Service programme of the Voice of America, VOA, monitored in Yola, Adamawa State, yesterday. Ironically, Boko Haram has killed over 12,000 people, kidnapped many young girls and women, attacked and looted homes and banks in the last four years.
However, Military sources said that the intelligence reports in their possession indicate that Boko Haram was plotting deadly attacks across the northern part of the country.
File photo: Members of the court martial sit during the inauguration to try soldiers accused of mutiny tasked with fighting Boko Haram militants in Abuja on October 2, 2014. Nearly 100 soldiers tasked with fighting Boko Haram militants in Nigeria’s far northeast appeared at a military court martial on Thursday, facing a range of charges including mutiny. The hearing comes just weeks after a tribunal sentenced 12 soldiers to death following their conviction for shooting at their commanding officer in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, in May. AFP PHOTO
“Boko Haram is planning simultaneous and co-ordinated attacks in Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Yobe, Gombe and Taraba states, the sources said, pointing out that the Islamic group
had plans to further carry out the same pattern of attacks in Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, apart from Plateau, Benue and Niger states, using several fronts and disguises in a bid to create serious instability in the country.
“We are in receipt of intelligence reports heralding simultaneous attacks across the north with the aim of bringing the region down at a go. They intend to make it wide and to stretch us beyond capacity with deadly attacks across the north. We are in receipt of other details about their fortified capacity and movement across Mali, Niger, Libya, Somalia, Cameroon and Chadian axes to get us on all angles.
“Many confessions of those we arrested at different battle zones and entry points into the country corresponded with the intelligence reports at hand,” the sources said.
We’ll finalize cease-fire agreement on Monday –B/Haram
However, Boko Haram’s Ahmadu stressed that the final meeting between the group and the Federal Government to finalize the ceasefire agreement has been scheduled for Monday in Ndjamana, Chad to be supervised by the Chadian leader, Idriss Derby.
He stressed that the Chibok girls would surely be released on Monday to the Chadian President, Idriss Derby for onward presentation to the Nigerian government.
According to him, an enlarged meeting of the group has been fixed for the weekend to prepare ground for the Monday’s meeting with the Federal Government, even as the final ceasefire and the release of the Chibok girls remain promises that will surely be fulfilled by the group.
He further said that the Federal Government was in close consultations with Boko Haram over arrangements for the Monday meeting in Chad, pointing out that all things being equal, the issue of confrontation between the Nigerian military and the insurgents or vice verse would soon be a thing of the past.
On the latest kidnap of over 40 women and girls in the border villages of Adamawa and Borno states, Ahmadu maintained that as far as the Boko Haram was concerned, it was not aware of the incident, pointing out that although the matter was being investigated, the latest kidnap incident or attacks were carried out by many anti-social groups that had infiltrated Boko Haram.
Ahmadu stated that political thugs, armed robbers, kidnappers, hired assassins and other anti-social groups now parade themselves as members of the sect, but quickly added that if the cease fire agreement was sealed all the groups would fizzle out.
Last week, the Federal Government announced a cease fire with Boko Haram following agreement that the abducted Chibok girls would be released but the hopes were dashed about 48 hours later when suspected members of the sect carried out fresh rounds of attacks killing several Nigerians and abducted another set of 50 women and girls in Adamawa and Borno states. The abductors reportedly freed the old women among the captives and married off about 40 girls.
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