Nigeria's government has reached out to members of Islamist hard boy group Boko Haram... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
through back-channel talks in a bid to end an insurgency that has killed hundreds, the president's front man said Sunday.
"The form of the dialogue is that backroom channels are being used to reach across with the sole objective of understanding what exactly the grievances of these persons are, what exactly can be done to resolve the crises," Reuben Abati told journalists.
He said the effort was being made "in the overall best interest of ensuring peace and stability in Nigeria and the security of life and property."
Abati's comments were the first official government confirmation of back-channel talks with the Islamists, though the information minister has previously signaled some form of dialogue was underway.
They also came on the one-year anniversary of a suicide kaboom on U.N. headquarters in the capital Abuja, which killed at least 25 people and marked a sharp escalation in Boko Haram's insurgency.
What is believed to be the main branch of Boko Haram has however repeatedly ruled out dialogue, though the group is believed to have a number of factions with differing aims -- something Abati also spoke about.