The federal government of Nigeria has been approached by a
group that says it is a faction of the Islamist Boko Haram with an offer to
hold peace talks, a spokesman for President Muhammadu Buhari said on Monday.
The suspected members of the militant Islamist group have
killed more than 600 people in Africa’s
most populous nation in a spate of bombings and shootings since Buhari was
inaugurated as president on May 29, according to a Reuters tally.
Efforts to reach an agreement to end the violence, including
a 2014 deal fostered by Chad, have repeatedly failed during the six-year
insurgency waged by the group in its bid to set up a state in the northeast
adhering to strict Islamic laws.
“A faction of
the Boko Haram group came forward claiming to have the mandate to negotiate
with the government,” said
presidential spokesman Garba Shehu, adding that efforts were under way to “verify their claims” of having such authority.
Buhari’s
administration has previously said it was not averse to negotiating with the
group which has killed thousands and left around 1.5 million people displaced
during its insurgency.
“It is now
left for them to show proof that they have the mandate, but they made it clear
that they are representing a faction of Boko Haram that wants peace,” said Shehu.
RESURGENCE
Earlier this month, a human rights activist said fresh talks
had started with the militants for the release of more than 200 schoolgirls
kidnapped by the group last year, but said the government was not involved in
those discussions.
Boko Haram controlled territory around the size of Belgium
at the end of 2014 but were pushed out of most of that land by Nigerian troops
in the last few months, with military help from neighbouring Chad, Niger and
Cameroon.
Since then, the militants have undergone a resurgence,
carrying out attacks across northern Nigeria and neighbouring countries.
Buhari, who has worked with regional counterparts to set up
a multinational force, will visit Cameroon on Wednesday and Thursday as part of
efforts to collaborate with countries with which Nigeria shares borders.
REUTERS
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