Don't Negotiate With Boko Haram Without FG Approval - Muslims To Sultan

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, who is planing to hold talks with Boko Haram sect, has been warned by the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs to wait until he receives an official approval from the Federal Government.

According to the apex body of Muslims in the country, the Sultan might be blackmailed by the government if he goes ahead to negotiate with the terrorist group, especially on the abducted Chibok girls, without an official consent.

The council warned that the Islamic leader should not be hoodwinked into making such moves by those calling for his intervention in the insurgency by the sect.

Some Islamic elite, under the aegis of Concerned Muslim Professionals, had written to the Sultan, who is the President-General of the NSCIA, earlier in July, asking him to use his position and to lead the dialogue with the Boko Haram sect that would make them stop their campaign of killings.


Similarly, a human rights activist based in the North and President, Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria, Mr. Shehu Sani, had earlier in May asked the Sultan to spearhead the moves to secure the release of the abducted pupils from the group’s captivity.

Sani, in a letter to the religious leader, had said: "You (Sultan) have a moral duty and a spiritual responsibility to be visibly and actively involved in seeking the resolution of this impasse happening within areas you have religious influence."
However, the Secretary-General of the NSCIA, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, in recent interview, warned that the President-General of the council should not be hoodwinked into taking up the task of negotiating with the terrorists.

He said: "The Muslim community had always been taking action; it had always been appealing to the people (Boko Haram) but Muslim leaders are also cautious because in your process to go out to look for these people; if in the process you’re caught talking with them, the government can even turn against you and say you’re part of part of Boko Haram.

"No matter the level of the Muslim leader, he has to think twice before he begins to communicate with these people (sect) because the same government that you want to work for can turn against you and accuse you of complicity; and you will be on your own.

"They (government) have enough machinery to present you as a devil such that members of your family will believe that you’re a devil."

The Founder, MURIC, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, in an interview on Friday said that the Sultan had spoken out against the activities of the sect on several occasions, "what else do they want him to do?"

He said: "I stand by the decision of the Supreme Council; it is a very correct position. The Sultan cannot negotiate, particularly without the Federal Government’s green light. We don’t support the idea of the Sultan negotiating because he would be seen as somebody who has vested interests. Why can’t the Federal Government take that up?"

The Professor of Islamic Eschatology stated that there was no reason for the Muslim community to rise up to the challenge separately, as it would be "tantamount to sedition, separatism and rising when the Federal Government should rise."

Efforts to get the Presidency for comments on Friday and Saturday proved abortive. Calls made to the mobile phones of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, and the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, respectively, were not picked.