Nigeria And Boko Haram Reportedly Reach Cease-Fire

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria's government and Islamic extremists from Boko Haram have agreed to an immediate cease-fire, officials said Friday.
The fate of more than 200 missing schoolgirls abducted by the insurgents six months ago remains unclear. Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade said their release is still being negotiated.
Boko Haram negotiators "assured that the schoolgirls and all other people in their captivity are all alive and well," Mike Omeri, the government spokesman on the insurgency, told a news conference.


The chief of defense staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, announced the truce and ordered his troops to immediately comply with the agreement.
"Already, the terrorists have announced a cease-fire in furtherance of their desire for peace. In this regard, the government of Nigeria has, in similar vein, declared a cease-fire," Omeri said.

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Well this can be seen as good news. Its not a question of "will the cease fire hold", I think its more of a question, "How long will it hold?". At some point one of the sides is going to break the cease fire. But none the less, hopefully this calm period can lead to some positive negotiations.

So from the article:

"Already, the terrorists have announced a cease-fire in furtherance of their desire for peace. In this regard, the government of Nigeria has, in similar vein, declared a cease-fire,"

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Let's see if we have the score straight. Boko Haram goes on a killing spree, killing thousands, kidnaps 200 girls and now the government is "negotiating" with Boko Hararm?

Sounds like the terrorists have won and they have set the precedence of "If you are violent enough, long enough, the government will listen to you.".

I don't consider that a win, in any way.

Personally, I'm not confident that a ceasefire has been reached. Certainly, Boko Haram has not confirmed the account. Indeed, Boko Haram carried out some terrorist attacks following the Nigerian government's announcement. One can't completely dismiss the scenario that Nigeria's government announced a "ceasefire agreement" to coincide with its President's campaign rally. Afterward, when the "agreement" fails to materialize, the government will accuse the terrorist group of having broken it.

In terms of substance, if a ceasefire has been reached, I would be concerned about a possible quid pro quo to secure such an agreement. The Boko Haram terrorist organization has long demanded prisoner releases in exchange for a ceasefire. Such an outcome would strengthen a very violent group that has already killed thousands of people. Moreover, such terms would signal that the government cannot defeat Boko Haram, has accepted that reality, and is now trying to cut its risk exposure.

If, in fact, there has been such a quid pro quo involving the release of captured Boko Haram terrorists, I don't support such a ceasefire. Such an agreement would merely bring Boko Haram a step closer to achieving its goal of creating an Islamic caliphate in at least a portion of Nigeria and lower its costs of doing so.

Another source and information coming in that the girls will be released: Boko Haram ceasefire announced, Kidnapped schoolgirls may soon be released

TheNextEra said:

So from the article:



Let's see if we have the score straight. Boko Haram goes on a killing spree, killing thousands, kidnaps 200 girls and now the government is "negotiating" with Boko Hararm?

Sounds like the terrorists have won and they have set the precedence of "If you are violent enough, long enough, the government will listen to you.".

I don't consider that a win, in any way.

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I agree. Somehow the government has allowed what used to be a handful of radicals to become an insurgent group capable of extracting concessions from the legitimate government. The only way I can see this cease fire being beneficial is if it leads to the prompt return of the girls, and following that the government begins a more vigorous campaign to eradicate Boko.

I wasn't confident that a ceasefire had been reached when it was announced by Nigeria's government. Another Boko Haram attack occurred today (Blast rocks bus station in northern Nigeria - Africa - Al Jazeera English). As Boko Haram had continued to carry out attacks and had never acknowledged a ceasefire, my guess is that Nigeria's announcement had no basis in fact.

Of course, this would not be the first case where Nigeria's government has given false information regarding the Boko Haram terrorist group. Usually such information has claimed military victories over Boko Haram, with those accounts falling apart shortly thereafter when villagers or other witnesses contradicted those claims. It appears very likely now, that the ceasefire claim was also an inaccurate one.

From Reuters:

Suspected Boko Haram militants kidnapped at least 25 girls in an attack on a remote town in northeastern Nigeria, witnesses said, despite talks on freeing over 200 other female hostages they seized in April.

John Kwaghe, who witnessed the attack and lost three daughters to the abductors, and Dorathy Tizhe, who lost two, said the kidnappers came late in the night, forcing all the women to go with them, then later releasing the older ones.

Suspected Boko Haram fighters kidnap 25 girls in northeast Nigeria | Reuters

So much for Nigeria's claim of a "ceasefire" that never was. Hopefully, in the future, the media will be cautious about airing the Nigerian government's claims.

It's now official so to speak that Nigeria fabricated the story of a ceasefire. From CNN:

Boko Haram laughed off Nigeria's announcement of a ceasefire agreement, saying there is no such deal and the abducted schoolgirls have been converted to Islam and married off.

Nigerian officials announced two weeks ago that they had struck a deal with the Islamist terror group.

Boko Haram: No deal with Nigeria government - CNN.com