The Federal Government has reopened talks with militant group Boko Haram,  the sect which is behind the state of bombings and killings in the North, it was learnt yesterday.
An earlier attempt of third party talks between the sect and the government, which was brokered by National President of the Supreme Council for Sharia’ah in Nigeria, Dr. Datti Ahmad, broke down as soon as it started.
Ahmad claims that the talks, which were meant to be secret, were exposed to the media by government officials.
President Goodluck Jonathan has consistently called on the group to give a face not to remain faceless but to come forward to put its  grievances on the table.
Yesterday, a purported spokesman for the group said it had begun talks with the government to end violence in the North.
In a statement obtained by Voice of America (VOA), Habu Mohammed, who claims to be a deputy to Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, said the group decided to initiate the peace moves in response to public appeals for peace in the country. The statement, VOA said, was given to it in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
It did not provide additional details.
The Islamic militant group has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks, including church bombings and the bombing of a United Nations building and the police headquarters in Abuja. The group has also threatened media organisations.
It could not be confirmed yesterday who Mohammed is as he had neither spoken on behalf of the group nor issued a statement.
Vice-President Namadi Sambo was in Mecca to observe the lesser Hajj where the Boko Haram statement was reportedly made available to VOA.
But the statement’s at variance with the position expressed by Shekau in a You tube post last month in which he foreclosed further dialogue with the government.
Thereafter, there was the attack on a Deeper Christian Life Church in Okene in which 20 worshippers were shot dead during a Bible Study class. Boko Haram claimed responsibility for shooting.
No government official was willing to comment on the talks yesterday.
But a source said National Security Adviser Col. Sambo Dasuki had opened talks with Boko Haram leaders as a way of finding solutions to the insecurity in the country.
Details are under wraps, however.
A source said the talks started a few weeks ago but nobody was ready to say where the two parties met.
The source said: “The NSA has met with Boko Haram leaders, but you cannot have the details now. These sessions were meant to appease the leaders of the sect and give insight into their grievances.
“All I can tell you is that the signs so far are positive. We are hopeful that the two parties can come to the roundtable for dialogue.”
Asked who the NSA had talks with, the source said: “I won’t mention any name but they are leaders of the sect. It is when the whole issue is finally resolved that we can tell you how the peace deal was sealed.”

At last. Good one.