His impassioned calls for peace are still relevant in the age of ISIS and Boko Haram.
He is the most senior security official to be killed by Boko Haram so far.
Boko Haram has previously carried out attacks, including at churches, according to government officials.
It does not offer much hope for dealing comprehensively with the underlying causes of the Boko Haram phenomenon.
It is no wonder Boko Haram has treated the offer of amnesty by the Jonathan-led government with disdain.
Among those targeted by the military was the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.
But attacks and killings continue as Boko Haram pursues its aim of enforcing Sharia law more ruthlessly across the North.
Boko Haram is an Islamist militant group that has carried out scores of attacks across the north over the years.
No-one has admitted the abductions but the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, has staged a series of attacks in northern Nigeria.
BBC: Nigeria foreign workers abducted in Bauchi state - police
In January 2013, Ansaru declared itself a splinter group independent from Boko Haram, the north's main Islamic terrorist group, analysts say.
On Thursday, France confirmed it had "received information that the group Boko Haram is claiming to be holding the French family".
The town had already been under a curfew because of an insurgency in the north by Boko Haram, an Islamist group.
The Islamist militants, Boko Haram, have previously targeted mobile phone companies, claiming they help the security forces track down their members.
BBC: Nigerian suicide bombers target Kano mobile phone firms
President Jonathan made the announcement after reportedly holding talks with religious and political leaders from the country's north, considered Boko Haram's stronghold.
Apparently in exasperation, President Jonathan said last year that Boko Haram members or sympathisers had penetrated into all arms of the government.
The gunmen are suspected to be Islamist militants from Boko Haram, which recently carried out multiple bomb attacks in Kano, killing 185 people.
Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege, " has launched a guerrilla campaign of bombings and shootings across Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north.
Boko Haram gunmen have killed Muslim clerics before, including those who have spoken out against the group's campaign of violence, says our correspondent.
Boko Haram and other Muslim groups say the north has been starved of resources and marginalized by the government of Jonathan, a Christian.
CNN: Obasanjo: Nigerian leaders should reach out to Boko Haram
Security has been increased at all churches in the country ahead of Christmas, when Boko Haram has previously targeted Christian places of worship.
BBC: Nigerian suicide bombers target Kano mobile phone firms
"I see the hand of Boko Haram in that part of Cameroon, and that is worrying enough for us to mobilise, " Mr Hollande said.
The ambush came after 55 people were reportedly killed in the north-east of Nigeria in co-ordinated attacks by the Boko Haram Islamist militant group.
But Brig Gen Edokpaye disputed this, saying Boko Haram's weapons had exploded, causing "fire to about 30 thatched houses in the predominantly fishing community".
In January 2012, Boko Haram launched a coordinated attack in Kano, northern Nigeria's largest city, that killed at least 185 people as well.
No group has said it launched the attack, but the violent Islamist Boko Haram group is active in Kano and has recently attacked churches.
The board is tasked with considering the feasibility of granting an amnesty to Boko Haram members, and recommending modalities for implementing such a step.
Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege, " has been attacking government buildings and security forces over the last year and a half.
Since late 2011, Potiskum, about 500 kilometers (300 miles) northeast of Nigeria's central capital, Abuja, has been targeted by Boko Haram fighters in attacks.
Western diplomats tell CNN that Nigeria, for example, is more concerned about the threat from Boko Haram within than jihadist safe havens in Mali.
CNN: Algeria attack changes terror landscape in North Africa
"Boko Haram undermines security, and anything that undermines security undermines development, undermines education, undermines health, undermines agriculture and food and nutrition security, " he said.
CNN: Obasanjo: Nigerian leaders should reach out to Boko Haram
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