CPRA Daily Briefings Week 48

This briefing from the Conflict Prevention and Risk Analysis (CPRA) division of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) discusses reports of secret peace talks between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram in December 2012, analyzing the incoherence of the government's strategy and recommending a shift from military-oriented responses to political and preventive governance.

• Reports from the ECOWAS Early Warning Daily and the Nigerian newspaper Punch indicated that the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Salafist Jihadist group Boko Haram held secret peace talks in Senegal, mediated by officials from Senegal and Mali. The Nigerian team was led by Godsday Orubebe, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, and the talks aimed to find political alternatives to terrorist activities that have occurred on Nigerian soil since approximately 2009.
• Boko Haram has increased the violence of its attacks, with more than 770 people killed in 2012 according to the Associated Press. The group's fighters also support jihad in Somalia, Mali, Libya, and Algeria, which poses risks to West Africa and non-African countries.
• The Nigerian government's response to Boko Haram is characterized by incoherence, balancing a strong military-oriented strategy—supported by the European Union (EU)—with apparent secret negotiations. The briefing suggests these negotiations may be a political strategy to support President Goodluck Jonathan's 2015 re-election bid rather than a state-led process, especially as no ceasefire had been agreed upon while violence continued in northern Nigeria.
• Boko Haram's demands include the release of detained members and compensation for mosques and houses demolished by the government. The briefing recommends that the Nigerian government move beyond military responses toward a bottom-up dialogue strategy to address grievances shared by other groups, such as marginalization in the political system, high unemployment, and deficient infrastructure and education.

APA

Zounmenou, D., Atta-Asamoah, A., Motsamai, D., Dzinesa, G. A., Kok, N., Warries, T., & Segui, N. R. (2012). CPRA Daily Briefings Week 48. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/13Dec2012.pdf

Chicago

Zounmenou, David, Andrew Atta-Asamoah, Dimpho Motsamai, Gwinyayi A. Dzinesa, Naomi Kok, Tarryn Warries, and Neus Ramis Segui. CPRA Daily Briefings Week 48. Institute for Security Studies, 2012. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/13Dec2012.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Zounmenou |first1=David |last2=Atta-Asamoah |first2=Andrew |last3=Motsamai |first3=Dimpho |last4=Dzinesa |first4=Gwinyayi A. |last5=Kok |first5=Naomi |last6=Warries |first6=Tarryn |last7=Segui |first7=Neus Ramis |title=CPRA Daily Briefings Week 48 |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=13 December 2012 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/13Dec2012.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{zounmenou2012cpra, author = {Zounmenou, David and Atta-Asamoah, Andrew and Motsamai, Dimpho and Dzinesa, Gwinyayi A. and Kok, Naomi and Warries, Tarryn and Segui, Neus Ramis}, title = {{CPRA Daily Briefings Week 48}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2012}, month = dec, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/13Dec2012.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }