The Nigerian government has said that it will not oppose negotiation “if the Boko Haram terrorist group opt for it”.

However, the government said such negotiation would not be made from a position of weakness but that of strength.

In a statement on Saturday, Mr Femi Adesina, a spokesman for President Muhammadu Buhari, pointed out that most wars, however furious or vicious, often ended around the negotiation table.

The government expressed confidence that it had put machinery in place to tackle the insurgency in the nation’s north-east and bring it to an end.

“The machinery put in place, and which will be set in motion soon, can only devastate and decapitate insurgency.

“It is multinational in nature, and relief is on the way for Nigeria and her neighbours.

“President Muhammadu Buhari is resolute. He has battled and won insurgency before, he is poised to win again. It is a promise he made to Nigerians, and he is a promise keeper,” the statement read.

The government emphasised that no decent government would oppose negotiations if the insurgents want to negotiate, citing the negotiation between the American government and Taliban in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, President Buhari had implored the nation’s military officers to be mindful of their actions by taking into cognisance, the religious and ethnic sensitiveness of the country in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgents in the northeast, and other criminal elements across Nigeria.

He made the call to officers of Senior Course 37 during their graduation ceremony on Friday at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, Kaduna State.

President Buhari, who was represented by his Vice, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, said that the Federal Government under his leadership, would do everything possible to equip the military and other security forces to effectively dislodge the Boko Haram insurgents in the region.