Nigeria's security chief says in contact with key sect leaders

Nigeria's National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki, a retired army colonel, said on Wednesday in Jos that he had got contacts with key Boko Haram leaders for possible dialogue with the group.

Dasuki, who spoke during a meeting with stakeholders in the north central Plateau State, said he was planning to meet with the group on the need for it to cease fire and embrace dialogue as soon as possible.

"I was in Yobe and Borno States last week and I have got the telephone numbers and contacts of key Boko Haram members and I will meet with them," he told his audience.

"I saw the dangerous effect of Boko Haram in these states and what I saw was pathetic, but I have the mandate to put heads together with religious and traditional leaders as well as the state governments to ensure an immediate cease fire," Dasuki said.

The security adviser said he was in Plateau for on-the-spot assessment of the security challenge and in furtherance of the Federal Government's peace efforts, particularly across the northern part of the country.

He expressed the confidence that the people of Plateau could put their problems behind them and forge ahead with genuine peace and reconciliation.

"I have a stake in Plateau because, I have lived in Pankshin and Jos when my father resided here. So if we lived peacefully way back then, it is possible to go back to those good old days," he said.

"Before now, it is difficult for me to believe that you can see a Fulani and Berom man together on the street of Plateau," he said.

"But the presence of various ethnic and religious groups at this parley is a pointer to the fact that we want to forge ahead," he said.

The parley had in attendance, traditional, religious and community leaders, heads of security services, women, youth groups, and government functionaries, among others.