ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamist group won’t accept an amnesty offer being considered by the government, according to an audio recording released by its leader.

The government requires an amnesty more than Boko Haram, its leader, Abubakar Shekau, said in an audio recording sent to reporters Wednesday in the northeastern city of Maiduguri. The group is waging a violent campaign to impose Islamic rule in Africa’s most populous country of more than 160 million people.

“If there’s room for forgiveness, we’re not going to do it until God gives us permission,” he said. “Have you forgotten your sins?”

President Goodluck Jonathan set up a committee to consider granting amnesty to the group and report back to him in two weeks, Abuja-based Daily Trust reported on April 5.

The Islamist militants have carried out gun and bomb attacks across Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north and the capital, Abuja, in which hundreds of people have died since 2009.

Africa’s top oil producer is almost evenly split between a north largely populated by Muslims and a predominantly Christian south.