Why we’re sheathing our sword – Boko Haram commander

AFTER 42 months of ceaseless
attacks during which it killed about 3000
Nigerians, the Jama’atul Ahalis Sunna
Lida’awati Wal Jihad, also known as Boko
Haram Islamic sect, yesterday, agreed to
lay down its arms for peace to prevail in
the country.
The cease-fire was reached after a
marathon meeting between some
leaders of the group, which has been
terrorizing some states in the North,
particularly Borno since July 2009, and
the Borno State Government.
The peace deal came after unknown
gunmen killed 13 people in Gajigana
town, a remote part of Borno State.
Those killed included three JTF
operatives at the weekend. Also, a
security man attached to AIT/Raypower
in Bauchi State was shot dead Sunday
night by a gang of suspected armed
robbers.
The agreement between the Borno State
government and the sect was reached
after a closed-door meeting between
suspected members of Boko Haram and
Governor Kashim Shettima with other
top government officials and religious
leaders from the state in attendance.
Spokesman for the Joint Military and
Police Forces in Maiduguri, which is the
epicentre of Boko Haram’s campaign, Lt.
Col. Sagir Musa, confirmed the attack on
Gajigana town but did not give further
details.
Meanwhile, an official of the Federal
Government said last night that the
government would critically study the
group’s cease-fire terms before
responding.
I saw eight bodies –Eye witness
Modu Bukar, a trader in the town, saw
the bodies after the attack, which sent
panicky residents fleeing, adding that he
had heard gunshots during the attack.
“I saw eight bodies afterwards – three
of them young men, and another five
who were heads of households,” he
said, adding that he did not know who
was behind it.
Borno State, which shares porous
borders with Cameroon, Niger and Chad,
on the threshold of the Sahara, has
suffered increasing lawlessness since
Boko Haram launched an uprising
against the government in 2009.
A general breakdown of law and order
in the areas where the sect operates has
also created space for armed criminal
networks and ethnic militias with scores
to settle, both of which sometimes kill
dozens in overnight attacks.
Why we’re sheathing our sword – Boko
Haram commander
Briefing newsmen after the marathon
meeting in Maiduguri, Sheikh Abu
Mohammad Abdulazeez Ibn Idris a
commander of Boko Haram in-charge of
North and Central Borno, said after due
consultation with the leader of the sect,
Shiekh Abubakar Shekau, as well as
intervention and pleadings from
respected individuals and groups in the
state, we “have all come to terms and
agreed to lay down our arms.”
The Boko Haram Commander, however,
insisted that government should
immediately release all their members
from custody unconditionally, re-build
their places of worship and compensate
them among other demands.
Sheikh Abdulazeez said that, the sect
observed that during the lingering
insurgency, a lot of Muslim women and
children had suffered untold hardship,
adding that, they also decided to lay
down their arms for peace to reign in
Borno and the country at large.
“I am appealing and calling on all our
members through this medium to lay
down their arms henceforth, till further
notice,” Abdulazeez stated.
On the wanton killings, especially the
slaughtering of eight people in Gajigana
town of Magumeri Local Council of
Borno State on Sunday and burning of
public buildings, he disassociated Boko
Haram from the acts, insisting that the
atrocities were committed by criminals
hiding under the guise of Boko Haram.
Abdulazeez’s comments read in part: “I
am Sheikh Muhammed Abdulazeez Ibn
Idris, the second Commander in-charge
of Southern and Northern Borno after
Imam Abubakar Shekau of Jamaatul Ahjlil
Sunna lidawati wal Jihad, otherwise
known as Boko Haram.
We the members of Jamaatul ahlil sunna
lidawati wal jihad otherwise known as
Boko Haram recently had a meeting and
dialogue with the government of Borno
State where we resolved that giving the
prevailing situation, there is the need for
us to cease fire.
We, on our own, in the top hierarchy of
our movement under the leadership of
Imam Abubakar Shekau, as well as some
of our notable followers agreed that our
brethren in Islam, both women and
children are suffering unnecessarily;
hence we resolved that we should bring
this crisis to an end.
“We therefore call on all those that
identify themselves with us and our
cause, to from today lay down their
arms. Let every member who hears this
announcement relay it to the next
member who hasn’t heard.
“We have met with the Borno State
Government on two occasions and the
fallout of the meeting is to cease-fire.
Presently, we are going to comply with
the cease-fire order and by the time we
are done with that, then government
security agencies can go ahead to arrest
whoever they find carrying arms or
killing under our names.
We are very much aware of the fact that
some criminals have infiltrated our
movement and continued attacking and
killing people using our names.
“We have also told the government to
try to live up to our demands that our
members in detention should be
released.
We hope the government will not betray
us this time around because we all know
that it was because of the continued
detention of our members that this crisis
continued for this long. And if
government fails to do as it has
promised, then this conflict will never
have an end.
“Of course there is a faction within us,
but the larger faction of our movement
is the one in support of this cease-fire
moves. Moreover, once top members of
our group including Imam Abubakar
Shekau are in support of the need for
ceasing fire, other smaller factions can
be dealt with easily.
This message, by the Grace of Allah,
comes directly from the office of Imam
Abubakar Shekau, the supreme leader of
Jamaatul ahlil Sunna lidawati wal Jihad.”
It’s a welcome devt – Borno State govt
Reacting to the development, Special
Adviser to Governor Kashim Shettima on
Communication, Alhaji Isa Umar Gusau,
said it was a welcome development,
noting that the state government under
the leadership of Shettima, since
inception, had opened its doors for
dialogue to end the hostilities which had
disrupted economic activities and
peaceful co-existence in the state.
Contacted, Borno State Commissioner for
Information, Inuwa Bwala, said he was
just arriving from the burial of his first
cousin who was killed last Thursday and
did not have details of the meeting.
FG to study their conditions
The Federal Government is to critically
study the conditions given by the Boko
Haram sect while announcing its
unilateral cease-fire before making a
pronouncement.
A highly placed government official told
Vanguard in Abuja, yesterday, that
government was not in a hurry to jump
at the offer being made by the sect.
The official who pleaded anonymity
because government has not taken a
formal position on the matter noted that
“from our experience, the sect is not
reliable and their words cannot be taken
at face value. All facets of governmental
apparatus would be consulted before a
final decision would be taken on the
matter. We are not in a hurry to jump at
their offer.”
The official noted that while
government was committed to dialogue,
it was not going to negotiate with any
group on a position of weakness and
proactive security measures would
continue to be taken to safe-guard the
lives and properties of Nigerians.
How AIT man was killed
Meanwhile, Vanguard gathered that the
AIT/Raypower security man identified
as Malam Idris Yusuf was reportedly
killed sometime between 10 and 11pm
when he had closed from duty and was
going home.
The robbers who were said to have
stolen a car asked him to help them with
petrol as their tank was empty and they
were without money.
It was learnt that when the owners of
the stolen car who were trailing the
robbers sighted them and raised an
alarm, late Idris held the arms of one of
the suspects as he was about to escape
with his colleagues not knowing that the
suspect had a gun.
He was said to have been shot in the
abdomen by the robber in the ensuing
scuffle but he died on the way to the
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching
Hospital, ATBTH, where he was being
rushed to by good Samaritans around
4am.
The Head of station of the AIT/
Raypower Mr. Terver Tsav who was at
the hospital described the deceased as
“a good Samaritan who wanted to use
his money to buy the fuel for the
stranded men not knowing that they
had stolen the car.”
Deputy Police Public Relation Officer,
Muhammad Auyo denied any
knowledge of the incident, pointing out
that the state Police Commissioner,
Mohammed Ladan, was in the best
position to speak on it.
Origin of Boko Haram
Boko Haram, which figuratively means
‘Western education is sin’ was founded
in 2002 in Maiduguri by Ustaz
Mohammed Yusuf. The sect opposes not
only Western education, but Western
culture and modern science as well.
In a 2009 BBC interview, Yusuf stated
that the belief that the world is a sphere
is contrary to Islam and should be
rejected, along with Darwinism and the
theory that rain comes from water
evaporated through the atmosphere.
In 2004, it moved to Kanamma, Yobe
State, where it set up a base called
“Afghanistan”, used to attack nearby
police outposts, killing police officers.
Yusuf was hostile to democracy and the
secular education system, vowing that
“this war that is yet to start would
continue for long” if the political and
educational system was not changed.
In Bauchi, the group, which includes
members who come from neighbouring
Chad and speak only in Arabic was
reported as refusing to mix with local
people.
Clash with the state
In July 2009 the Nigerian police started
investigating Boko Haram, following
reports that the group was arming itself.
Yusuf, the leader and others were
arrested and on July 30, 2009
allegations were made that Yusuf
himself was killed by Nigerian security
forces after being taken into custody.
The development invigorated deadly
clashes with Nigerian security forces
and attacks on churches, public
institutions and military facilities among
others which led to the deaths of an
estimated 3000 people, according to
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant
General Azubuike Ihejirika.
The Attacks
Prior to the clashes, many Muslim leaders
and at least one military official had
warned the authorities about Boko
Haram. Those warnings were reportedly
ignored.
According to Human Rights Watch,
between July and December 2010, at
least 85 people were killed in some 35
separate attacks in four states in
northern and, as well as in Abuja, the
nation’s capital. Attacks attributed to
Boko Haram in 2011 left at least 550
people dead in some 115 separate
incidents.
In the first nine months of 2012 alone,
more than 815 people died in some 275
separate attacks in 12 northern and
central states, and Abuja.
Among the litany of attacks include
those of the United Nations Office,
Abuja, Police Headquarters, Abuja, the
building housing ThisDay Newspapers,
Sun Newspapers and Daily Trust in
Abuja, St Theresa’s Catholic Church,
Madalla, Niger State, Deeper Life Church,
Okene; Military Cantonment Jaji, Special
Anti-Robbery Squad (SAS) office and
other numerous security facilities
especially police stations.
The security agencies also went on
counter-offensive arresting, detaining
and in many instances killing Boko
Haram members and leaders.
Disturbed by the escalating violence,
many northern leaders and groups
including the Arewa Consultative Forum
(ACF) urged government to dialogue
with the group to end the killings.
Last November, the group gave the
government conditions for ending the
hostilities
The acclaimed spokesman of the group,
Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulazeez in a
tele-conference with journalists in
Maiduguri stated that if the state and the
Federal Government want the group to
cease-fire completely, then former
Borno state governor Ali Modu Sheriff
must be arrested and prosecuted
according to the laws of the land.
He also said that the government should
compensate the group and rebuild their
places of worship which were
destroyed during the 2009 uprising.
He pointed out that for a dialogue to
take place, it must be through the
following elders: Dr. Shettima Ali
Monguno; Former Head of State General
Muhammadu Buhari; former Yobe State
Governor, Bukar Abba Ibrahim;
Ambassador Gaji Galtimari and Barr
Aisha Alkali Wakil and her husband, Barr,
Alkali Wakil, insisting that the dialogue
must not take place in Saudi Arabia.
Abu Abdulazeez also said that the group
has mandated five members who are to
mediate on their behalf; they include
himself (Abu Mohammed Abdulazeez),
Abu Abbas, Sheikh Ibrahim Yusuf, Sheikh
Sani Kontogora and Mamman Nur.
Buhari later distanced himself from the
group and the Federal Government said
it could not negotiate with pre-
conditions, thus the crisis was allowed
to fester.
With the latest decision of the group to
sheathe their sword, it is hoped that all
stakeholders will play their required
roles for normalcy to return to the
country.