Boko Haram may link up with ISIS —Australian negotiator
August 28, 2014 by Bayo Akinloye with agency report
Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau
An
Australian hostage negotiator, Dr. Stephen Davis, has warned that Boko
Haram may establish links with two vicious terror groups- Al Shabaab and
the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria- if not effectively checked now by
the Nigerian government.
Al Shabaab, the militant wing of the
Somali Council of Islamic Court, aligned with Al-Qaeda and took over
most of Southern Somalia in the second half of 2006. The ISIS, on its
part, is an Iraqi group that stands with Al-Qaeda as the most vicious
Jihad group in the world.
Davis had visited Nigeria to negotiate the release of the over 200 schoolgirls abducted since April by Boko Haram insurgents.
He previously worked as a negotiator for
Nigerian government under ex-Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Shehu
Yar’Adua administrations during the Niger-Delta militants uprising in
the South-South.
Davis, in an interview posted on
Wednesday by Radio Australia, said that the best ways to stop Boko
Haram insurgency were to block its sources of funding and tracking down
its sponsors.
He identified banks and some Nigerian politicians as the major providers of funds to the insurgents.
The Australian claimed that many of the
politicians sponsoring the insurgency were in the opposition, adding
that it would be difficult for President Goodluck Jonathan to arrest and
prosecute them.
He argued that should Jonathan try
to order their arrest, it would be misconstrued as a political attempt
to rig the 2015 elections.
Davis said, “That makes it easier in
some ways as they can be arrested, but of course the onus of proof is
high and many are in opposition, so if the President moves against them,
he would be accused of trying to rig the elections due early next year.
“So, I think this (insurgency) will run
through to the election unabated. These politicians think that if they
win power they can turn these terrorists off, but this has mutated.
“It’s no longer a case of Muslims
purifying by killing off Christians. They are just killing
indiscriminately, beheading, disembowelling people – men, women and
children and whole villages.”
According to the negotiator, Boko Haram is growing out of the control of the politicians sponsoring it.
He warned that, as it is the trend with
terrorist groups in Somalia, South Sudan and Egypt, the Boko Haram
insurgents might soon link up with the ISIS and Al Shabaab.
Davis added, “I would say it’s almost beyond the control of the political sponsors now.
“Terror groups are linking up in
Somalia, southern Sudan, Egypt and we have fairly strong evidence they
are talking with ISIS members.
“They will link up with ISIS and Al
Shabaab and I think that what we are seeing in that region is the new
homeland of radical Islam in the world.”
The Perth-based international negotiator
claimed he survived months of extreme danger in trying to rescue the
200 abducted schoolgirls.
Davis, who returned from a four-month
sojourn with rare footage of the intense fighting in the North-East,
said his life was threatened more than once, but his Australian passport
saved him.
“When confronted by groups with an AK-47 in my face they’d say, ‘you are American, we have to kill you,” Davis said.
“When you say, no I’m not American, they
think you are British, and say you will still die, but when I said I’m
Australian, they said that’s all right.
“I have no idea why but it’s certainly been helpful.”
He however blamed the aborted rescue of the schoolgirls on sabotage.
“I made a few telephone calls to the Boko Haram commanders and they confirmed they were in possession of the girls,” Davis said.
“They told me they would be prepared to
release some as a goodwill gesture towards a peace deal with the
government, so I went to Nigeria on the basis of being able to secure
their release,” he added.
According to him, the insurgents lived up to their promise, but the rescue was sabotaged.
He said, “The girls were there, 60
girls. There were 20 vehicles with girls. We travelled for
four-and-a-half hours to reach them, but 15 minutes before we arrived,
they were kidnapped again by another group who wanted to cash in on a
reward.
“The police had offered a reward of
several million naira just 24 hours before we went to pick them up. I
understand, from the Boko Haram commanders I spoke to, the girls
eventually ended up back with them.
“I don’t know what happened to the group that took them but I suspect it wasn’t good.”
