Nigeria offers amnesty to members of Boko Haram militant group

The Nigerian government has offered an amnesty to members of Boko Haram militant group in case they surrender.

Reuben Abati, the spokesman for Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, made the remarks in an interview with Reuters on Sunday.

Last month, the Nigerian president established a committee to work out the option of amnesty for the members of the militant group.

“Mr. President has urged Boko Haram members to surrender their arms and embrace the amnesty option, which is still open as the committee is working on the option of dialogue for a peaceful resolution,” Abati said.

Earlier in the day, Brigadier General Chris Olukolade, the director of Defense Information, said the fighting against the militants would continue “as long as it takes” to achieve its main objectives.

On May 16, the Nigerian army launched a large-scale military campaign against militants in border areas.

On May 14, Jonathan declared a state of emergency in the three northeastern states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, phones were mostly cut in the northeastern region in an attempt to prevent the militants from communicating.

“The insurgents have people who look out and tip them off by phone, which opens the military up to ambushes. Without phones, raids will have the element of surprise,” a security source in Maiduguri said.

On May 7, Boko Haram militants launched attacks on military barracks, a prison, and police stations in the town of Bama in northeastern Nigeria, killing 55 people, and helping 105 inmates escape from the prison.

“In these attacks, 55 people including two soldiers, some prison warders, policemen, and civilians were killed,” said Musa Sagir, the military spokesman in nearby Maiduguri, Boko Haram’s stronghold.

Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly gun and bomb attacks in various parts of Nigeria since 2009.

Over the past four years, violence in the north of Africa’s most populous country has claimed the lives of 3,600 people, including killings by the security forces.