Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday waded into the Boko Haram crisis, pleading with the family of its leader, Yusuf Mohammed, who was killed by security agents in 2009, to forgive and forget the past.

Obasanjo who arrived Maiduguri, Borno State yesterday morning met the Boko Haram leader’s relations at the family house in Bayan Quarters.

He said the visit was a personal initiative. The former president also visited the home of Baba Fugu Mohammed, Yusuf’s father in-law, who was also killed after reporting to the police during the Islamist sect’s crisis in 2009.

Obasanjo was met by the late Fugu Mohammed eldest son, Baba Kura Fugu. Sources at the meeting quoted Fugu as saying that it was the first time a high profile personality would be meeting with the family after the 2009 extra judicial killings.

Chief Obasanjo asked to be given an opportunity to mediate in the crisis, adding that if granted, he would ensure they were treated fairly and justly by the government.

He appealed to the families to forget the past and allow peace to reign again in Borno State and the nation.
The former president was received on arrival in Maiduguri by the Borno Deputy Governor, Zanna Mustapha.


http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/sept/16/national-16-09-2011-001.html