FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REACHES SECRET CEASEFIRE DEAL WITH BOKO HARAM FACTION LED BY BAKURA DORO - REPORT

The Nigerian government has reportedly entered a secret ceasefire agreement with the Boko Haram faction led by Bakura Doro, according to The New Humanitarian, in a development said to have contributed to a relative lull in vi%lence across parts of northeastern Nigeria since June. 

Sources with links to senior Boko Haram members told the publication that the truce was connected to negotiations for the release of more than 300 civilians abd¥cted in March from Ngoshe in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State. 

The victims spent about 95 days in captivity before their release, which the government described as the result of an intelligence-led operation involving Operation Hadin Kai and the State Security Service (SSS). However, The New Humanitarian reported that negotiations involving government representatives, intermediaries and insurgents preceded the release. 

The report also alleged that N5 billion was paid as ransom, although the Nigerian government has denied paying ransom. A similar claim was made by Borno youth leader Samaila Kaigama and later reported by SBM Intelligence. Kaigama was subsequently arrested and arraigned by the SSS over alleged extortion of families of kidn@p victims. 

The reported ceasefire is said to have reduced att@cks linked to Doro’s faction, but it does not cover Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which remains active in the Lake Chad region. 

The Federal Government has not publicly confirmed the existence of the truce. Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga directed inquiries to the Ministry of Defence or the Office of the National Security Adviser, while Defence spokesperson Samaila Uba said the military does not directly engage in such deals and does not support ransom payments. 

“We do not also support the payment of any ransom,” Uba said, adding that the military’s major responsibility is “kinetic (combat) operations.” 

Conflict researcher Malik Samuel warned that the arrangement could be only a “temporary, tactical ceasefire” that benefits both sides without changing the course of the insurgency.