Leader of the Boko Haram Islamist sect, Abubakar Shekau has disclaimed the ceasefire agreement the group was believed to have reached with Federal Government
Minister of Special Duties, Alhaji Tanimu Turaki had claimed on Tuesday that the government and the sect reached an agreement with Boko Haram to end years of killings. Imam Muhammadu Marwana, a member of the sect, spoke on behalf of the sect, begging Nigerians for forgiveness.
But in his latest video message, Shekau expressed “support” for the July 6 attack on Government Secondary School, Mamudo near Potiskum, Yobe State, which resulted in the killing of 20 students and one teacher, and over 40 lives in all.
“We fully support the attack on this Western education school in Mamudo,” Shekau said, before going on to describe all “Western education schools” as a “plot against Islam.”
Despite the support, he denied that the sect was responsible, saying the Holy Quaran forbids fighters from killing children, women and elderly people.
“School teachers who are teaching Western education? We will kill them!” he said. “We will kill them. We don’t attack students.”
In Tuesday’s ceasefire announcement on the Hausa Service of Radio France International, Tanimu had said: “We have sat down and agreed that Jama’atu Ahlul Sunnah Lidda’awati wal Jihad, known as Boko Haram will lay down their arms as part of the agreement so as to end the insurgency.
“Government agreed with ceasefire and will look into ways to ensure that the troops relax their activities till the final take off of the ceasefire.”
