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President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Elmau, Germany, sought more intelligence on Boko Haram’s links with ISIS, just as he insisted that there was absolutely no link between religion and the atrocities of the sect.
Speaking at a meeting with President Francois Hollande of France after participating in the G-7 Outreach Programme, Buhari reaffirmed his administration’s total commitment to ending Boko Haram’s insurgency in the shortest possible time. A statement by his senior special assistant on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, also noted that the president also sought greater support and cooperation from France and other friendly nations on its ongoing efforts to overcome Boko Haram and restore full normalcy to areas affected by the group’s atrocities.
Apart from the support he got from President Hollande, Shehu noted that Buhari received similar pledges of enhanced support from Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada and Chancellor Angela Merkel who he ((Buhari) also conferred with before departing from the venue of the G-7 Summit.
In seeking intelligence on Boko Haram, Buhari told the gathering that Nigeria would appreciate more intelligence on the terrorist group’s links with ISIS.
He listed areas of such needed support to include movements, training and sources of its arms and ammunition, and said getting help in these areas would help in facilitating the perfection of fresh tactics and strategies being evolved to overcome terrorism and insurgency in the country and the sub-region. He informed Hollande that his administration was already taking concrete actions to build a more efficient and effective coalition against Boko Haram between Nigeria and neighbouring countries.
On religion and the sect, Buhari said, “There’s clearly no religious basis for the actions of the group. Their atrocities show that members of the group either don’t know God at all or they don’t believe in Him.”
In his remarks at the meeting, Shehu said President Hollande commended Buhari’s “concerted efforts to galvanise Nigeria’s armed forces, security agencies and neighouring countries for more decisive action to eradicate Boko Haram. “The French leader assured President Buhari that France will give Nigeria and its coalition partners greater support against terrorism and insecurity, including military and intelligence cooperation, to help them overcome the security challenges posed by Boko Haram and its global terrorist allies as quickly as possible.”
He further noted that Hollande also called for greater bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and France in other areas, including trade, economic and cultural relations. Buhari was scheduled to return in Abuja this morning.
A week after taking formal orders from President Muhammadu Buhari, the Nigerian Army headquarters yesterday commenced the process of moving its base to Maiduguri, Borno State capital, for a more effective fight against Boko Haram terrorists.
An advance team led by a major general arrived in Maiduguri during the weekend. The team is to commence the establishment of a Military Command and Control Centre (MCCC) tagged “Operation Zaman Lafiya.”
This was revealed to journalists in a statement issued by the acting director of army public relations, Col Sani Kukasheka Usman, who was part of the advance team. – AP
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