We Are Tired Of Fighting, Boko Haram Tells Mediator

The Executive Secretary of the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC), the group acting as the go-between for government and Boko Haram, Air Commodore Yusuf Anas, on Wednesday told Channels Television that he got a message from Boko Haram saying “they are tired of fighting and are ready for a quick deal to end the war”.

Air Commodore Anas said that although the insurgents are not asking for monetary compensation as a pre-condition for laying down their arms, they are seeking genuine commitment from government in the ongoing negotiations.

He further claimed that some Boko Haram elements had approached the CCC to help facilitate negotiations between them and the Federal Government sometime in August 2015.

He applauded the Federal Government’s willingness to dialogue with the genuine leaders of the terrorist group, adding that the CCC believes that the new position has become imperative in view of the fact that military option alone has failed to resolve the issue.

President Muhammadu Buhari had on Tuesday confirmed that the Nigerian government has started negotiations with members of the Boko Haram sect, with the view to securing the release of the over 200 school girls kidnapped in Chibok, Borno State.

The President made the statement while responding to questions from members of the Nigerian community in France under the auspices of Nigerians in the Diaspora Organisation (NIDO).

He said his administration was worried by the continued stay of the girls in the hands of their captors and was working tirelessly to get them released.

The girls were abducted from their school’s dormitory in the north-eastern Borno State on April 14 by members of the Boko Haram sect.