New Nigerian general to head multinational Boko Haram fight

Major-General Iliya Abbah, who previously commanded military operations in the oil-rich Niger Delta, will head the five-nation force, military spokesman Major General Chris Olukolade said.

According to the communiqué also, President Buhari and his host endorsed the commitments made at the Extraordinary Summit of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and Benin Republic held on June 11, 2015 in Abuja.

A source close to President Muhammadu Buhari has revealed that the United States of America gave the Nigerian leader names of oil thieves during his recent official visit. But he noted before leaving Cameroon that “none of us can succeed alone”. In order to win this war we need the collective efforts of each one of us, standing together as a formidable force for good, to defeat and end these acts of terror against our people, ” he said.

“We also have about 1.5 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), in Nigeria and we have a programme of rehabilitation and reintegration, which involves providing shelter and schools for them”.

Maj-Gen Olukolade said on Tuesday that the new regional force was expected to go into action “any moment from now”, but he did not specify when. In that post, he was responsible for promotions, postings and retirements.

The task force will be headquartered in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, but few other details have emerged, raising concerns that its deployment could face delays.

The extremist movement launched an armed insurgency in 2009, claiming that it wants to found a strict Islamic caliphate in and around north-eastern Nigeria.

On the fight against Boko Haram, the President assured Nigerians that the current security challenges are not insurmountable. In June, the US announced it would send military trainers to help the Nigerian army improve its intelligence.

He told representatives of the more than four million Nigerians living in Cameroon to continue to live in peace and harmony with their hosts.

Boko Haram has abducted thousands of civilians, including children, in raids on villages and towns inside Nigeria and overseas.

“In view of the foregoing, the Federal Government is of the informed view that with less than two days to the period when the revision will be statute barred (9th October, 2012), it would be impossible for Nigeria to satisfy the requirements of Articles 61(1) -(5) of the ICJ Statute”, Mr. Adoke said in the statement.

President Buhari and President Biya further agreed to strengthen security collaboration along their common border under the auspices of the Nigeria-Cameroon Trans-Border Security Committee and within the framework of the implementation of the concept of strategic operations approved at the Abuja Summit.