Obasanjo Has Lists Of Boko Haram Leaders And Lawyers

Speaking on a BBC programme, Focus on Africa, which aired a special edition on Nigeria's insecurity yesterday night, Obasanjo said there's nothing wrong in trying a new approach to end the Boko Haram menace.

"If you had tried stick and stick alone and it has not worked, is there anything wrong to try something along with the stick," he said.

According to Obasanjo, in 2011, he took upon himself to investigate Boko Haram when they were getting out of hand in order to be a mediator and also find out if it was an organisation with aims and objectives and if they have foreign backing.

He said he met with people who knew the sect and he found out that Boko Haram has leaders and they had somebody acting as their lawyer.

"The lawyer, who was acting in proxy told me: 'Mr President if you want to meet their leaders give me three hours. I will gather their leaders, not in Nigeria but outside Nigeria. Obviously, they have leaders," Obasanjo said.

Meanwhile, human rights activist Shehu Sani said Obasanjo has a list of the leaders of Boko Haram sect which has a theocratic agenda. He warned the Federal government against using force to fight Boko Haram as it has not been able to yield any results.

He added that the federal government should first get the girls back home safely before using force on the Boko Haram insurgents.

President Goodluck Head To France For Summit On Boko Haram Crisis

President Goodluck Has Revealed he Will Travelling To France Today For The Planned Summit On The Boko Haram Rebellion

The summit is being hosted by France to try and find a resolution to tackle the the Boko Haram insurgency.
Jonathan thanked the support by the Britain and other foreign nations in trying to find a solution against the insurgency.
Mr Jonathan told the British Minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Mr. Mark Simmonds that his government is willing to allow international support in its search and rescue mission for the abducted girls from Chibok.
The plan for the summit was initiated by French President François Hollande last Sunday.
He had earlier said during his visit to Azerbaijan: "With Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, I have proposed to hold a meeting with the countries bordering Nigeria,".
Mr Jonathan praised the initiative saying that if the nations collaborate, the curse of Boko Haram would be taken care of.
Mr. Simmons said:"We are keen to support Nigeria in every possible way and help you overcome present challenges," he declared.

FG Express Readiness To Negotiate With The Boko Haram Islamist Sect

The Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki, confirmed this opportunity during an interview with the BBC on May 13, 2014, Tuesday.
He said that if Boko Haram was sincere, its leader, Abubakar Shekau, should send people he trusted to meet the standing committee on reconciliation.
Turaki, who is Chairman of the Presidential Committee aimed at finding the ways to reach and agreement with Boko Haram, noted that "dialogue is a key option" in bringing the crisis to an end and that "an issue of this nature can be resolved outside of violence".
It would be noted that the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, has previously rejected any possibilities for dialogue with terrorists, mentioning that Boko Haram shall not dictate conditions. On the same day, an official of the Ministry of Information, Mike Omeri, declared that the Federal Government is considering "all the options" to resolve month-long crisis.
However, it is likely that some sort of negotiations would start soon because of the large presence of international advisers in Nigeria, including hostage negotiators. The total number of working U.S. defence and security experts has reached 30 people.

CHIBOK: Video May Be Authentic As Parents Identify Wards

A screen capture taken from the latest Boko Haram video shows the alleged kidnapped girls dressed in hijabs and praying in an undisclosed rural location.
Mutali told SaharaReportes in a telephone interviews that she watched the video and spotted her daughter, Douka Yakubu, among 130 kidnapped girls wearing hijabs and reciting parts of the Qur'an in an unknown rural location.
She also said that two of the identified girls are seniors from Askari Uba Secondary School and Wuyo Secondary School near Chibok.
When asked if the parents possess any information regarding the location of the girls, Mutali said they kept hearing that their children were in Sambisa forest, the stronghold of Boko Haram.
School mates also identified three of the girls in the video, the BBC reports.
"The video got parents apprehensive again after watching it but the various steps taken by the governments and the coming of the foreign troops is boosting our spirit, even though I have not seen the any one soldier in Chibok yet," Dumoma Mpur, parent-teachers association chairman at Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, told Reuters by telephone on Tuesday.
Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima ordered on May 12 for mass production of the video to enable parents identify their children.
A Chibok community leader Allan Manasseh told SaharaReporters that he personally visited seven parents and also met with one of the girls who escaped from the Boko Haram captivity, but none could recognize any of the girls in the video. Manasseh expressed concern that the insurgents may be using the new video to distract the world from pursuing the rescue of the abducted Chibok girls. He said that the video demonstrated that Boko Haram had many girls in their possession, stating that all them should to be rescued.
Boko Haram issued the video on Monday. The rebels' leader Abubakar Shekau said in the video that majority of the girls have converted to Islam and those who did not could be exchanged for the insurgents held in various prisons across
Nigeria. Nigerian government is now considering all options.
More than 200 school have been abducted by Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok on April 14. Some managed to escape while others are still missing.
Meanwhile, the United States with Nigeria's government's permission has deployed manned surveillance aircraft over Nigeria to find the girls
In a parallel development, President Goodluck Jonathan has sent a request to the National Assembly to approve another six-month extension to the year-old state of emergency in three north- eastern states worst hit by Boko Haram insurgency.