Boko Haram Ceasefire: We will take them seriously after one month of uninterrupted peace – CDS

Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Ibrahim
Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Ibrahim

Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Ibrahim, has disclosed that the Federal Government would only take the offer of ceasefire by a faction of the dreaded Islamic group, Boko Haram, seriously provided there is no violence for a period of one month.

Ibrahim made this known while addressing newsmen in Abuja, at the opening of the 2013 seminar on National Security with the theme: “Contemporary National Security Challenges: Policy Option”, organised by the Alumni Association of the National Defence College, Abuja. He said that while security chiefs were happy over the development, they are yet to believe until one month after.

The CDS said the federal government would only take the peace overture seriously if Boko Haram could ensure that attacks of whatever form did not take place for 30 days. He stated that security operatives would wait for the period to see if no public place, security formation and places of worship were bombed before taking the sect seriously.

His words: “You see, we must treat that with a lot of caution. You understand there are certain objective tests that will make sense. Let’s assume we can have a long period of about one month where no bomb explodes, where nobody is shot, where nobody is beheaded, where no church is bombed, where no mosque is threatened… If they can guarantee just one month, then we can begin to talk. You see we must take this with a lot of caution. That is what I am telling you.”