President of Chad Idriss Deby Deceived FG on Fake Ceasefire deal with Boko Haram

It has been revealed that the President of Chad, Idriss Deby, deceived the Federal Government about the alleged ‘ceasefire deal’ he arranged between Boko Haram and the Nigerian government.

According to a government official who spoke to thecable, the Nigerian governent is currently thinking either Deby deliberately deceived them into thinking the deal was true or he (Deby) was also deceived into believing the deal was genuine.

Government officials according to thecable believe Deby was “was working for Boko Haram as he has refused to communicate with Nigeria since the insurgents renewed their attacks.” The official also told thecable that ever since the so called ceasefire didn’t materialise, Nigerian government officials “no longer have access to Déby who is now said to be sick.”

It would be recalled that on 17 October, a man, Danladi Ahmadu, who claimed to be Boko Haram’s general-secretary in the ceasefire negotiations told the VOA that the government was currently in talks with the sect.

Following this development, the Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Alex Badeh, later addressed a news conference where he confirmed the negotiations and ordered the soldiers in the battlefront to ceasefire. Once the ‘ceasefire deal’ was announced, many people were skeptical about it. A Nigerian journalist who has access to the insurgent said the alleged ceasefire deal was false and warned Nigerians not to believe.

He argued that if a deal was reached, leader of the terrorist group, Abubakar Shekau, will announce it himself. Shekau later released a video where he denied the ‘ceasefire deal’ and said the abducted Chibok girls have been converted to Islam and married off. The cable had also reported of how Déby put the deal together revealing how he said Boko Haram got in touch with him, how he authenticated the message and how he got the Nigerian government involved in the negotiations.

A few days after the Nigerian government announced the ‘ceasefire deal’, Boko Haram stepped up their attacks and took over more territories in the North East, including the hometown of CDS Alex Badeh. According to a government source who spoke with thecable on Saturday, he accused Deby of deceiving Nigeria with the ‘ceasefire deal’ to give the insurgents time to regroup, reinforce and restrategise. “The period of the phantom negotiations gave the terror group time to regroup, reinforce and restrategise, which is the intent of Déby for asking the Nigerian government to negotiate a ceasefire with Boko Haram,” the source told thecable.

“As soon as Nigeria began to make a lot of gains in the war against Boko Haram, owing to the efforts of the military and President Goodluck Jonathan who has been discussing with regional leaders to halt the insurgency, and at a time the commanders of the sect were being rounded up, that was when the Chadian president approached the Nigerian government asking that it mediates between the parties in the conflict. “The discussions between the government and the Chadian president on Boko Haram started in September.

However, Déby said he was already talking with Boko Haram. “The government was trying to verify the authenticity of Boko Haram’s representatives in the supposed negotiations, but Déby asked the Nigerian government to take a chance that he had done the verification already. He affirmed that Boko Haram’s representatives were truly standing in for the group in the negotiations. “It was at this stage the government nominated the principal secretary to the president, Awwal Tukur, to be part of the negotiations in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad. “Tukur was the one spearheading the dialogue with Boko Haram on behalf of the Nigerian government.

He had the first contact with group. It was still in the middle of the supposed negotiations that Danladi Ahmadu announced on Voice of America that the group had ceased fire. Following the announcement of ceasefire by the group, the Nigerian government equally announced a ceasefire on October 17 for the supposed negotiations to continue. “A Nigerian delegation left for Chad on October 21 for talks with Boko Haram, but the Chadian president became evasive.

The Nigerian delegation was told that Déby was sick and that the meeting be rescheduled for October 23. “However, on that date, the delegation was told that the Chadian president was still sick after waiting for six hours. The delegation made visits to Chad a number of times, but met a brickwall. “As Boko Haram’s resumed attacks grew in intensity, the Nigerian government became worried. Many attempts were made to inquire from the Chadian president who was supposed to be mediating between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram, but the attempts were all futile. “France was privy to the botched negotiations, but said nothing just like the Chadian government. “It became clear to the Nigerian government that Déby was working for Boko Haram.

The government of Chad has not said a word to the Nigerian government since Boko Haram’s resumed onslaughts. It has simply refused to make any comment or communicate with the Nigerian government. “The Nigerian government has also ceased to speak with the Chadian government on the matter since it is now clear that Chad is working with Boko Haram.” The official however told the cable that the Nigerian Military will now resort to using its military might to crush the insurgents. “The only option left for the Nigerian government is to continue to use force to end the crisis. As it is now, there is no negotiation or mediation going on.

The statements by some government officials that the abducted Chibok girls would return soon were based on assurances by the Chadian government, but now there is no negotiation going on anywhere,” he told thecable. “It is important to add that the Nigerian government decided to honour Chad’s request for negotiations with Boko Haram, because it was the first time a foreign government would be mediating in the protracted insurgency in the country. Other individuals have tried, but the government has always spurned them.”

Source: Today

Follow Us