Nigeria Will Not Negotiate With Boko Haram- Mark

Source: pointblanknews.com

…———–says sect demands unreasonable
Senate President, David Mark yesterday has said the Federal Government of Nigeria will not consider negotiating with the Boko Haram insurgents for release of the 276 abducted school girls in Chibok, Borno state as an option but will do all that is expedient to free the girls held captives..

The Leader of Boko Haram Sect had in a video message boasted ” These are the girls abducted by us that the Nigerian government has been calling for their release. We won't release them to you and you can't take them away from us no matter how you tried. We would only release them if you, the government release our brothers you have arrested and detained for 4 to 5 years now”, declared Shekau in the video message .

But the senate president in his reaction to Shekau”s  brazen declaration pointedly told journalists in Beijing , China , that the federal government would not negotiate with terrorists of which Shekau is one, under whatever circumstance,

Mark said negotiating with terrorists as proposed by Shekau over the abducted girls , may not serve any good purpose but to further give them room to wreck more havoc on both the country and the citizens without even them fulfilling any terms of agreement that may be entered into with them with no platform of trust whatsoever.

He said : Nigeria will  not  negotiate  with terrorists under any circumstance because you don't negotiate with criminals which Boko Haram insurgents are.

“We are doing every thing possible to bring the girls back safe and sound for their parents without any negotiation with Boko Haram as every effort towards that which cannot be disclosed in the public is being made to rescue the girls”.

Mark who added that he was worried about the abduction of the girls like other Nigerians, disclosed  further that at the beginning of the insurgency in 2010 or thereabout, government  never knew that they had international network with other terror groups of the same mission which made government position then to be largely centered on dialogue since the insurgents were largely believed to be Nigerians then.

But according to him , with the situation of things now , government has no any other option than to militarily wipe out the insurgents from the country's territory through on going collaborations being made with other countries that had faced or facing similar challenges.

“We didn't realize on time that they have international connections but now that we do, we are already mobilizing all the resources  and weapons at our disposals along with needed expertise and intelligence sharing from other countries to frontally tackle the insurgents”, he said , just as he disclosed that if the situation arises that he was prepared to join other  army reserves In the war against terrorism.

He however urged Nigerians to cooperate with both the government and the security agencies on the war by giving out vital information at their disposal on the insurgents and their sponsors.

“The cooperation the Nation needs from Nigerians now is for every one of them having vital information on the insurgents and their sponsors in and outside the country, to make it available to government through its relevant security outfits in the general interest of all”, he stressed.

For the over 60,000 Chinese nationals  resident in Nigeria across the 36 states of the federation and Abuja, the Senate President assured them of their safety, saying the Nigerian government has put necessary machinery in place to guarantee their safety at all times and those of nationals of other countries.

kola Ologbondiyan , Special Adviser Media & Publicity to the President of the Senate.