FG to go after Boko Haram financiers, strategists

Also being targeted by security agencies are
those believed to be inciting the sect into violence through the spread of hate
messages in certain parts of the country.

A reliable
government source told Vanguard that
security agents had decided to look beyond those who merely throw bombs in
their bid to find a lasting solution to the cycle of violence in parts of the
North.

About 1,000
Nigerians have so far been killed in various parts of the country since the
sect began its bombing activities in 2009, according to Human Rights Watch.

The source said the
administration decided to take on other elements of the sect, who have decided
to make life unbearable for other Nigerians.

The source said:
“The focus of the search is gradually shifting from the sect’s foot soldiers,
who merely go on suicide missions to the financiers, intelligence class and
those who indoctrinate the bomb-throwers”.

Asked if indeed the
sect was involved in any form of dialogue with the government, the source
admitted that some form of discussion was going on with the administration but
declined to give further details.

The source said the
recent listing of three Boko Haram leaders as terrorists by the United States
had made some members of the group to seek dialogue, apparently to avoid being
designated as a foreign terrorist organisation.

“The sect has come
to realise that the government is fully aware of what it is doing and that is
why they have soft-pedaled. The heat is more than what the sect can take,” the
source said.

Last week, a
prominent northern leader, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, warned people to stop
associating the sect with any religion, as its activities did not have anything
to do with any of the religious groups in the country.

Mohammed said: “As
far as I am concerned, Boko Haram is a terrorist group; it has nothing to do
with Islam or Christianity. Let those who are ignorant stop associating it with
any religion and face the reality on the ground.