The President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has said that his government does not have a basis yet to dialogue with dreaded sect, Boko Haram.
Jonathan, in an interview with Reuters today, said that the government can only embark on dialogue with Boko Haram if it knows what the issues are.
He also said the group remains faceless as far as the government is concerned.
The President spoke hours after Boko Haram denied killing civilians in the massacre of 0ver 186 persons in Kano on Friday.
The interview was also made public a few hours after another blast was reported to have rocked Kano City.
President Jonathan said Boko Haram had not yet told the government what the issues were and why it has embarked on killing of Nigerians, hence there still remains nothing to discuss with the group.
The President said: “If they clearly identify themselves now and say this is the reason why we are resisting, this is the reason why we are confronting government or this is the reason why we destroy some innocent people and their properties … then there will be a basis for dialogue.
“We will dialogue.
“Let us know your problems and we will solve your problem.
“But if they don’t identify themselves, who will you dialogue with?”
President Jonathan advised the group to engage in dialogue or get crushed.
Though the President admitted that bringing Boko Haram under control might not be as easy as it happened with the Niger Delta militants, he said government was going to go all out to ensure the security of lives and property of Nigerians.
However, the leader of Jama’atu Jama’atu Ahli Sunna lid Da’awati wal Jihad, popularly known as Boko Haram, Imam Abubakar Shekau, has said that the government should forget about crushing the group.
Shekau also denied that the group killed all the 186 persons confirmed dead in Friday’s bomb explosions and shootings in Kano.
He said the military was responsible for the greater number of death.
Shekau, in a video posted on You Tube, said: “We never touched ordinary people in the city.
“Instead, we gave them protection.
“They (soldiers) would rush to the media and say it was us who did it,”
He said the target of Boko Haram during the attack were security agents and Christians, adding: “Nigerian government cannot crush or overpower Boko Haram.
“Jonathan cannot crush us.
“Killing us is not a victory over us.
“Many prophets and learned men of Islam were murdered but their legacies still live.”
Meanwhile, another explosion was recorded in Kano City today at a bus terminal.
Though there were initial skepticisms about the sound being a bomb or a burst tyre because the impact was not as strong as that of Friday, AFP said police sources have confirmed it was a bomb that exploded.
Two persons were reported injured in the explosion.
As earlier reported by The Eagle Online, over 200 persons have been arrested in connection with the blasts in Kano on Friday.
About 160 of them are said to be Chadians.