Don't negotiates with Boko haram

Chad’s President Idriss Deby has said Boko Haram is no longer led by the fearsome Abubakar Shekau and that his successor is open to talks. Deby made the revelation Tuesday while addressing reporters in the capital N’Djamena on the 55th anniversary of Chad’s independence AFP) reported yesterday. He did not say what had happened to Abubakar Shekau, but said he had been replaced by Mahamat Daoud - who has not been heard of before. “There is someone apparently called Mahamat Daoud who is said to have replaced Abubakar Shekau and he wants to negotiate with the Nigerian government. “For my part, I would advise not to negotiate with a terrorist,” he said. He added: “Boko Haram is decapitated. There are little groups (of Boko Haram ) scattered throughout North-East Nigeria, on the border with Cameroon. It is within our power to definitively overcome Boko Haram. “The war will be short, with the setting up of the regional force, it will be over by the end of the year,” Deby added, referring to a new five-country force aimed at ending Boko Haram’s six-year insurgency. He added that the force would be “operational in a few days”. Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria have all pledged troops towards the new force. While claiming progress against the insurgents, who have repeatedly hit border areas of Cameroon, Chad and Niger, and wrought havoc in northeast Nigeria, Deby admitted that suicide bombers still posed a threat. In the past few weeks, suicide bombers, many of them women, have staged several attacks in Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad. The challenge, Deby said, was to “avoid terrorist acts and that’s why we must organise at the regional level to prevent bomb-making materials and other explosives entering our countries.” He said the efforts to comb through Boko Haram insurgents had succeeded in “decapitating” the group and would be wrapped up “by the end of the year”. It has been noted however that this is not the first time that reports have emerged claiming Shekau’s demise. Reports from the Nigerian military and the media have declared him dead on several occasions, although experts also believe that the various videos that have appeared purporting to be him sometimes featured lookalikes. The Chadian leader was said to have brokered peace talks with Boko Haram but the negotiations never really happened and were widely seen as a sham. Defence spokesman Colonel Rabe Abubakar yesterday told Daily Trust that whether there is a new Boko Haram leader or not, would not deter the military in its counter terrorism operations. Colonel Abubakar emphasized that the tempo and nature of military operations at the flash points of terrorism activities in the north east will be maintained. “We will continue to dominate the area and conduct our counter terrorism operations until we rid the country of terrorists,” he stated.