Nigerian military denies ceasefire deal with Boko Haram

The Nigerian military has disputed reports of a ceasefire agreement with Boko Haram.

Samaila Uba, the spokesperson for the Defence Headquarters, disclosed this on Thursday during a joint security press briefing held at the National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC), a unit in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

PREMIUM TIMES had previously sought comments from Mr Uba on the matter, but he did not respond. Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga refused to comment on the matter, and advised this newspaper that questions be directed to the ONSA or Ministry of Defence.

The denial came nearly two months after The New Humanitarian reported that the Nigerian government entered into a secret ceasefire agreement with the Boko Haram faction led by Bakura Doro, a development the news platform said kept parts of northeastern Nigeria relatively calm for about three months.

According to the report, republished by PREMIUM TIMES, the truce has been in effect since June and was expected to be extended. It was linked to efforts to secure the release of over 300 civilians abducted in March from Ngoshe, a community in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State.

The publication noted that the truce does not extend to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which remains active and continues to launch attacks against military positions and civilian communities in the Lake Chad region.

HumAngle reported that a Boko Haram judge denied the reported truce, noting that sources familiar with the matter believe that “a small Boko Haram team may have agreed to the government’s request without first securing approval from the group’s leadership.”

“On the issue of whether there is a ceasefire with Boko Haram, I want to make it clear that there is nothing like a ceasefire,” Mr Uba told reporters.

“Considering the terrorists neutralised, suspects arrested, victims rescued and other successes recorded across our operations, it is clear that we are not relenting,” he said. “We will continue to sustain pressure on these criminal elements.”

Mr Uba noted that military operations were not limited to Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), but also targeted kidnappers and other criminal elements threatening innocent citizens.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that there are currently about three factions of Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS), also known as Boko Haram.

The factions, spread across the North-east and North-central Nigeria, are believed to be loyal to Mr Doro, who succeeded Abubakar Shekau, who was killed in a 2021 infighting with the rival Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). Two of the factions are believed to be based in the North-east and led by Ali Ngulde and Alhai Kale, while the one in the North-central is led by Mallam Sadiku.

Mr Doro is believed to be currently based in the Lake Chad island, taking advantage of the weak security presence in the area to deeply entrench himself there.