Atiku To Boko Haram Leaders: Step Out For Dialogue

Feb 27, 2012 – Atiku To Boko Haram Leaders:  Step Out For Dialogue

The former VP of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar has urged members of the Boko Haram leaders to seize the opportunity offered for dialogue with the Federal Government in the interest of unity, stability and economic development of the country. naijagists.com

Atiku made the call against the backdrop of renewed attacks by the sect in Jos and Gombe, which led to scores of death over the weekend.

He spoke on Monday in a statement issued by his Media Office in Abuja, said that no one will take the group or its agenda seriously when it continues to remain faceless.

According to him, it is high time the group stepped out in person to articulate its grievances and thereby opening a window for dialogue.

He reiterated his earlier position that there can be no justification for the killings of Nigerians under any guise.

He decried the killings and destruction of properties noting that the activities of Boko Haram amount to a declaration of war on the Nigerian State.

“If Boko Haram and its leadership have something to say; if they have any grouse against the Nigerian state, the proper thing for them is to come out in flesh and state it, so that a process of dialogue that will eventually lead to the resolution of the crisis and the siege on Nigerians can commence in earnest,” Atiku said.

He expressed his condolences to the affected families and governments and people of Plateau and Gombe over the weekend killings in Jos and Gombe.