Abuja: The leader of radical Islamist sect Boko Haram on Thursday rejected a possible amnesty plan offered by the government to the terror group to put an end to the wave of violence that has plagued the country.
"We are the ones to grant amnesty to the government of Nigeria not the other way round," the leader of the violent sect, that has carried out several bombings and shootings that have claimed thousands of lives, said in a video message.
The government of President Goodluck Jonathan has set up a committee to study the feasibility of an amnesty to the terror group.
The leader said the sect has not done anything wrong to deserve amnesty.
Boko Haram carries out frequent attacks on police stations and other public institutions in the northern part of the oil rich African country.
The setting up of a committee to study the possibility of granting them an amnesty came as several politicians from the north saw this as a possible solution to the insurgency.
Since the sect commenced its attacks in 2009, more than 4,000 lives have been lost.
The group engages in suicide bombings, shootings, remote controlled bombings in their quest to install an Islamic caliphate in the northern part of the country.
PTI
