Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, Aminu Wali, today defended Boko Haram stating that the terrorist group claimed that it was not responsible for the ongoing violence and abductions in Nigeria’s northeastern regions according to a Reuters report.
"Boko Haram are saying that those [attacks] were done by other rogues and criminals… Kidnapping has been going on in Nigeria for some time ... by miscreants," Wali said.
Decades of economic mismanagement and lack of adequate governmental direction has left the Northern regions largely underdeveloped, areas where Boko Haram is most active.
Foreign Minister Wali also claimed that negotiations with Boko Haram were ongoing in Chad this week and he was optimistic of the government’s efforts in securing the release of 200 Chibok girls and other kidnapped victims of Boko Haram.
"There are still negotiations going on and we expect a lot of progress to be made. Soon we will announce exactly where we are," Wali told journalists after meeting French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.
Boko Haram is made up of various splinter groups and despite the optimism shown by Foreign Minister Wali, many Nigerians remain skeptical of the ceasefire agreement and of Nigeria's ability to secure release of the abducted Chibok girls.