The Nigerian government says it is ready to consider a recent ceasefire proposal by the Boko Haram sect, an extremist group which has waged a campaign of terror in northern Nigeria for almost four years.

"We welcome the ceasefire offer announced recently by the Boko Haram group, and we will do everything as a government to see that we achieve a lasting peace in Nigeria," AFP quoted Vice President Namadi Sambo as saying on Saturday.

Sambo made the remarks during a visit to the northeastern city of Maiduguri, which is Boko Haram's stronghold. It was the first official visit to the city by a vice president since 2009.


On January 28, a man claiming to be a spokesperson for Boko Haram said that the group would agree to lay down its weapons if all its members currently in prison are released.

However, Nigeria's chief of Defense Staff, Admiral Ola Sa'ad Ibrahim, advised the federal government to treat the ceasefire signal with caution.

“We must treat that with a lot of caution, you understand. There are certain objective tests that will make sense. Let’s assume we can have a long period of about one month where no bomb explodes, where nobody is shot, where nobody is beheaded, where no church is bombed, where no mosque is threatened. If they can guarantee just one month, then we can begin to talk,” he said.

Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly gun and bomb attacks in various parts of Nigeria since 2009.

Human rights groups report that violent actions by the group since mid-2009 have claimed more than 1,000 lives, including over 300 in 2012.