A former commandant of the insurgent group, Boko Haram, Abdulkadir Abubakar has reportedly announced that two factions of the group may be ready for talks with the Federal Government.

Abubakar, also known as Abu Muhammad, was the chief intelligence officer of the Boko Haram group and one of its top commanders, until his arrest in June by the military in Buni Yadi, Gujba local government area, Yobe.

Highlights:

• Albarnawi and Mamman Nur factions of Boko Haram were willing to dialogue and cooperate with the government to defeat the most visible leader of the group, Abubakar Shekau.

Key excerpts:

• “Shekau is not willing to surrender due to his high handedness. Unfortunately, the government and military authorities accorded priority on dealing with Shekau, who is blood thirsty.”
• “Albarnawi has indicated interest to dialogue with the government to end the insurgency and provide a lasting solution to the crisis. Albarnawi discusses this with members of his circle.”
• “The intensified military offensive has weakened Shekau’s position and that of the other groups.”
• “During the early days of the insurgency, we fought for what we thought was a just cause, to establish a caliphate where human beings are valued, cherished and respected. After annexing vast territories, Shekau began to demonstrate his cruelty and atrocities against humanity.”
• “Shekau has left his enclave in Sambisa and moved deep into Mandara Mountain. I know the area where he is hiding and willing to provide a guide to the military.”
• “Shekau is fond of using the girls and other abducted women as sex toys, and suicide bombers. He kills on the pretence of punishing for lies, theft, and rebellion. Shekau kills without justification.”

Other details of the report:

• As reported by NAN, Abubakar’s claim about the readiness of the factions to dialogue with the Nigerian authorities could not be verified as he had been incarcerated since June.
• Abubakar claimed to have undertaken various espionage missions and provided intelligence to the insurgents, which enabled them to hit a long list of targets, among which were the abduction of 275 students at Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok and the massacre of students at Federal Government College, Buni Yadi. Over 20 students were murdered at Buni Yadi.
• He also claimed to have been involved in other attacks on schools in Maiduguri, Damaturu, Postikum and Mamudo. The detained Boko Haram commander expressed his willingness to give the military useful information to crush the insurgents and arrest Shekau.
• According to him, both Mamman Nur and AlBarnawi opposed the abduction of the Chibok school girls, women and children.

Omoleye Omoruyi

Omoleye Omoruyi… an apprentice web/game developer, novelist, sensitive to happenings in the world. Meet him @Lord_rickie on Twitter/Instagram