We are in talks with Boko Haram - FG confirms Back Door Discussion

 Despite the denial by Boko Haram, the presidency Sunday confirmed that it had initiated talks with the terrorist group that has unleashed mayhem on the North, killing about 2,000 people in the last three years.

The presidency, through the presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, said the Federal Government is reaching out to Boko Haram, talking with some of its members through "backroom channels".

The sect, in the wake of a report last week that one of its leaders met with Vice-President Namadi Sambo, National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), and other top government officials for talks in Saudi Arabia, on Thursday had denied such an overture even as it ruled out peace talks with government.

During the meeting in Saudi Arabia, Boko Haram was said to have demanded the release of its detained members, prosecution of those who killed its leader, Mohammed Yusuf, in July 2009 and the rebuilding of mosques destroyed in the fighting, according to a source at the secret meeting.

Abati, who was speaking with State House correspondents in Abuja, reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to discussing with the insurgents with a view to finding a permanent solution to the siege on the North.

The government, however, explained that such engagements with the sect or its affiliates would not be the conventional roundtable talks that are the norm across the world; instead, it would be a meeting by proxy.

Abati said the Federal Government decided on the use of backdoor channels so as not to endanger government negotiators or expose the sect members.

The Federal Government, Abati added, would follow the process “through multi-level, constructive interventions aimed at addressing a difficult issue that is multifarious”.

“When government says it is already talking to Boko Haram, the form of that dialogue must be properly understood.

“I think a lot of people are under the impression that the dialogue involves a situation whereby government officials are sitting on one side, Boko Haram persons are sitting on the other side in an air-conditioned room and there are negotiations across the table. That is not the form of the dialogue.

“The form of the dialogue is that backroom channels are being used to reach across with the sole objective of understanding what exactly the grievances of these persons are.  What exactly can be done to resolve the crisis, in the overall best interest of ensuring peace and stability in Nigeria and the security of lives and property?

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