Nigerian Islamist sect, Boko Haram, yesterday ruled out
holding peace talks with the Federal Government and threatened to strike media
houses it said fight the group “with the pen”.

The local press, and at least, two foreign news
organizations, have reported that talks are going on between the government and
the militants who have been staging an insurgency against it, citing unnamed
sources.

Information Minister, Labaran Maku, declined comments on
Wednesday on the talks, citing government’s instructions not to discuss the
issue.

Since launching an insurgency against the government in 2009
with the avowed aim of turning all or part of religiously-mixed Nigeria into an
Islamic state, Boko Haram has killed hundreds of people in near daily gun and
bomb attacks.

“We are telling the government to understand that if it is
not ready to embrace Sharia (Islamic law) and the Koran as the guiding book
from which the laws of the land derive, there shall be no peace,” the sect’s
spokesman, Abu Qaqa said in a written statement in the Borno State capital,
Maiduguri, the heart of the rebellion.

Boko Haram has replaced militancy in the creeks of the
oil-producing Niger Delta as the biggest security threat to Nigeria, Africa’s
top energy producer.

A flurry of efforts to start talks followed accusations
early this year that President Goodluck Jonathan was treating the crisis too
narrowly as a security issue.

But attempts at dialogue are complicated by Boko Haram’s
shadowy nature and the fact that there sometimes appears to be more than one
faction.

The main one, led by Abubakar Shekau, has never shown any
overt interest in dialogue.

Qaqa also threatened media houses, recalling the sect’s dual
bomb attack media houses in Abuja and Kaduna in April that killed five people.

“They should understand that for us there is no difference
between those fighting with arms and with the pen,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has confirmed that it is
in dialogue with Boko Haram, the militant Islamist group notorious for terror
attacks against Christians and others across the country’s restive north.

The dialogue began this month with a secret meeting between
Boko Haram’s deputy leader, Abu Mohammed, and Nigeria’s Vice President Namadi
Sambo, Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki, and other top government officials. The
meeting was held in Saudi Arabia.

Mohammed confirmed the talks after they were first announced
by the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, Wednesday.

“The government is willing to negotiate because of the
security challenges posed by the group who are attacking security formations,
universities, and other government formations,” said Mr. Maku.

“The government welcomes any initiative that will usher in
peace, security, and tranquility in the country, especially in the light of the
security challenges that we have faced in the last two years.”

This marks the second time the government and Boko Haram
have engaged in talks. The first dialogue broke off because the federal
government could not accept the mediators. This time, the announcement has been
met with optimism in the conflict-weary North.

“Virtually all people of the northern Nigeria are optimistic
with dialogue. These security challenges cause a lot of fear, loss of hope, and
anxiety among the people because the affected states were in serious
destruction by the Boko Haram,” says Abba Anwar, an analyst based in the
northern city of Kano.

“I pray and hope that
the Federal Government will look into their grievances and find out modalities
to address them for the interest of the teeming people who are suffering from
these security challenges.”

The group’s official name in Arabic translates to “People
Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad,” while its
common name means “Western education is a sin.” The group’s stated goal is to
overthrow Nigeria’s secular government and institute sharia law, at least in
the predominantly Muslim north.

In these talks, Boko Haram is seeking release of all their
members in detention, the rebuilding of mosques destroyed in the fighting, and
the prosecution of those who killed their former leader Mohammed Yusuf,
according to a source at the secret meeting who was not authorized to speak.

The Federal Government finds itself under mounting pressure
to show progress in shutting down the violent rebellion unleashed by Boko Haram
since 2009 that has left thousands dead. So far, the military efforts against
the group have done little to slow the killing spree.

While Boko Haram has attacked churches filled with
worshipers, Muslims have also been targeted by the group. Some celebrations of
the Muslim holiday of Eid were canceled in northern areas including Kano
because of the threat of Boko Haram attacks. At a mosque in Maiduguri, Muslims
attending Eid prayers were allowed near with just their prayer mats; vehicles
were directed to park 200 yards away from the praying ground due to fears of
bombing and attack by Boko Haram.

“Nigeria’s security [forces] are seriously worried with
these challenges, though we are succeeding in dealing with them. But our hope
is to dialogue with them Boko Haram because it’s like a guerrilla war, we are
fighting faceless people who at any time attack and kill our people,” says John
Shehu, a security official in Kano.