Boko Haram gives conditions for dialogue

Leaders of the Jama’atu Ahliss-Sunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jihad, popularly known as Boko Haram, have told Daily Trust in an interview that the dialogue being offered to them will not be possible under atmosphere of the threats of use of force by security agencies.

 

Spokesman for the group Abu Zaid said, “A true believer will not allow himself to be attacked twice.”

The interview was conducted by phone and email in Hausa language. A Daily Trust reporter who has been reporting the activities of the group gave the questions by phone to Abu Zaid, who has been speaking on behalf of the sect.

The group has claimed responsibility for last week’s deadly bomb attack on the police headquarters in Abuja and persistent gun raids in Maiduguri, Borno State, prompting calls for dialogue between the government and its leaders.

Responding to these calls, Abu Zaid said, “We have been signing agreement with them (government) but they have been reneging and now they want us to surrender our arms whereas they are terrorizing Islam and Muslims just like what happened two years ago.

“The Inspector General of Police recently said that he will deal with us within two weeks because he believes he controls our lives. And look at how the governor of Borno State (Kashim Shettima) donated 10 armour personnel carriers to the police while the Nigerian President (Goodluck Jonathan) directed that more soldiers and mobile police be deployed to attack us. Is this move aimed at achieving a dialogue?”

He added: “I think they are equipping themselves more and they want us to surrender our arms. Despite these contradictions, they (authorities) are telling the public that they want to engage us in dialogue. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him said a believer should not allow himself to be attacked twice in one place.”

He acknowledged that Islam encourages dialogue when certain conditions are met. “It is mandatory for Islam to have a sovereign land where Sharia is being practiced in the strict sense so that the dialogue will be between the Islamic country and the country of the unbelievers,” he said.

He said the sect members will not also lay down their arms even as he claimed responsibility of the attacks launched in parts of the North and Abuja.
“Some unpatriotic scholars gave them misleading justification on the need to attack us and the Federal Government under Umaru Yar’adua gave the open directive to attack Muslims which led to the destruction of their mosque and desecration of the Holy Qur’an as well as ill treatment of innocent women and children.

“We want people to know that the Federal Government fought us and therefore, by the grace of Allah, we would continue fighting until we succeed or die in the process,” he said.

Abu Zaid said the sect members would continue to trail former governors of Borno and Gombe states as well as the Bauchi State governor until they apologise for approving attacks on the Boko Haram sect.

“We would not relent in our efforts of searching for them until they come out publicly and apologize. They must also distance themselves from this illegal democracy and give unalloyed support towards entrenching Sharia system,” he said.