The order was issued by the Chief of Defense Staff Alex Badeh on Friday. He ordered all the service chiefs to comply with the ceasefire agreement between Nigeria and Boko Haram in all places of operations.
Danladi Ahmadu, who ranks as the secretary-general of Boko Haram, told VOA that a cease-fire agreement had been reached, which necessitated the order by the Federal Government.
A close advisor to President Goodluck Jonathan, Ambassador Hassan Tukur and Ahmadu had told VOA that the sides were holding talks in Saudi Arabia, aided by Chadian President Idriss Deby and high-level officials from Cameroon.
Those talks also focused on the release of more than 200 girls abducted by Boko Haram six months ago, eventhough at the time of filing this report there was no immediate pronouncement on the fate of the girls.
Ahmadu, who said he is at a location on the Nigerian-Chadian border, said the girls are "in good condition and unharmed."
President Jonathan has been criticized at home and abroad for not being able to rescue the helpless girls kidnapped by the insurgents. Even as at yesterday, thursday, the major opposition, the APC through it's publicity secretary, Mr. Lai Mohammed has lashed out on the President for his inability to rescue the girls from Boko Haram and for his slow response to the kidnapping. Lai Mohammed also accused the President of playing politics with the life of the kidnapped girls.
Boko Haram has wrecked havoc, launching series of attacks on churches , mosque and other strategic places in the country with several lives destroyed from those attacks.
Today, seems to mark the beginning of peace, that has eluded the states of the North eastern part of the country in particular and the entire Nation in general, if the announcement of the ceasefire is anything to go by. We hope that this peace is sustained and the girls finally released unhurt.
If this is achieved, the Federal Goverment of Nigeria and the Nigerian Military need to be commended.
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