Australian hostage negotiator,Dr. Stephen Davis,has given a deeper insight into the Boko Haram group. Davis who worked as a negotiator on the Niger Delta militancy uprising,under the Obasanjo/Shehu Yar’Adua administrations has alleged that Boko Haram is being funded by politicians and the group may soon link up with the dreaded ISIS.
In an interview posted by Radio Australia,he 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.” 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.”
On his experience, he said being an Austrialian helped him
“When confronted by groups with an AK-47 in my face they’d say, ‘you are American, we have to kill you,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.”
On why the release of Chibok girls didn't pull through,he said it was sabotaged
“I made a few telephone calls to the Boko Haram commanders and they confirmed they were in possession of the girls,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,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.”
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