The ambassador of Ireland to Nigeria, Patrick Fay has said that there is a need for cease fire between the Boko Haram fundamentalist sect and Nigerian security forces for any meaningful negotiation to commence between the Federal Government and the sect members.
Addressing the national executive members of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) in Kaduna, the Irish envoy noted that the security challenges facing the north is not a religious problem but one that was caused by political differences.
He said that the application of force by the Nigerian government to tackle the situation has not yielded any meaningful result hence dialogue remains the only option to address the problem.
National publicity secretary of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Anthony Sani however told the visiting ambassador that the north is in full support of the proposed amnesty for the Boko Haram sect and urged the federal government to continue with the plan in spite of the rejection of the amnesty offer by a faction of the Islamist group.
