The Jamaatu Ahlil Sunna lidawati Wal Jihad, otherwise known as Boko Haram on Wednesday warned they Federal Government of Nigeria to either embrace Sharia legal system for the nation or risk continuous bloodshed.
The group also debunked media reports that it was engaged in negotiation with the Nigerian government in order to resolve the protracted violence and bloodshed caused by the group’s activities in some parts of the North.
Making this known today in Maiduguri, the spokesman of the sect, Abul Qaqa, in an emailed statement, said his group has no person under the code name Abu-Muhammad as the deputy to their commander, Imam Abubakar Shekau, just as they refuted earlier media reports that there was a dialogue between the group and the federal government in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Boko Haram categorically stated that unless the government resolves to jettison the 1999 Constitution and embrace the adoption of Sharia as only prerequisite for dialogue in the country.
Warning Nigerian media houses to desist from what it described as biased reports on the activities of the group, the statement said the sect would no longer treat with levity deliberate falsehood by the media.
Qaqa warned that blood would continue to flow in Nigeria until their conditions for peace were met.
The group described past efforts at commencing dialogue with the government as deceitful. Boko Haram said it has no confidence on the any peace move initiated by government.
*Below is the translated text of Qaqa’s statement:*
‘In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful. All Praises and thanks be unto Allah, blessings and acceptance by unto his prophet Muhammad (S.AW.)
This is another important message from the Jama’atu Ahlissunnah Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad.
As a result of what we are seeing being published by some media houses that this group of ours is in some dialogue with the government of Nigeria, we are issuing a serious warning on three different sectors:
1. Media Houses:- If it could be recalled, we had once published the names of media house that are on our watch list for possible attack after that of the ThisDay, for not being fair to us in their publications and also for poke nosing and interfering in our affairs and how we carry on with our religious strife.
Just like everyone can testify, Imam Abu-Muhammad Abubakar Bin Muhammad Shekau is the leader and commander of this movement, and recently we have released a video message of his in which the Imam took time to explain to the world on the stand of this our movement on the issue of going into dialogue with government. But some media houses, as a result of their bias motives they had against us, chose not to relay the message of our Commander’s video as expected, instead they went and cook up another fake story that we have been in some talks with the federal government of Nigeria in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We were even surprise to hear that one Abu-Muhammed who claim to be the deputy of Imam Shekau. We all know that all these lies had been their plot to misinform people in this part of the world in misunderstanding the essence of this Jihad that we are promoting; but by the permission of Allah, they will not succeed. And they should understand that on our side there is no difference between the person that is fighting with arms and the one that is fighting us with the tongue of pen.
2. We have heard much about those who go about using our names in order to collect huge sums of money from government. We are still warning these kinds of people that they should fear Allah and stop doing that even before Allah deliver them to the hands of His soldiers! We have no intention of going into dialogue in which government had once showed us its treachery by deceiving us to arresting our Abu-Dardaa. Also on that of Dr. Ibrahim Datti, which we had not even commenced any dialogue except some preliminary talks through a journalist that we trusted, whose name is Ahmad Salkida, but they went to say we have dialogued with government. And since after that attempt at dialogue was aborted, there has not been any other move for dialogue that we agreed on till date. For these reasons, we are calling on all these kind of people especially elderly persons like Dr. Ibrahim Datti, to desist going into any form of dialogue using our name, lest they risk losing the regard they have as elders
3. We are also telling the Federal Government of Nigeria to understand that if it is not ready to embrace Sharia, and Holy Quran as its only guiding book from, which laws of the land is being executed, and also do away with the constitution as well as other Western beliefs from this land called Nigeria, then government should stop dreaming for the return of peace; and there will be no day our warriors will stop waging war until all these conditions are met.