In a bid to check the terrorist activities of Boko Haram and other similar Islamist groups, Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Cameroun and Benin plan to beef up their existing Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) regional pact. It had already existed with a base in the border town of Baga but this was over-run by Boko Haram earlier on in the year.
Since then, the authorities have regained the initiative, pushing the terrorists out of Baga and most of the territory they occupied in northeastern Nigeria, thanks to the resuscitation of the MNJTF. There are now plans to make it a standing force that can deal with any eventuality on a daily basis but analysts have warned that this will cost money.
Yesterday, defence ministers and military chiefs from Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Cameroun and Benin met in Abuja to thrash out plans to take on the militants. President Muhammadu Buhari has made stopping Boko Haram’s six-year insurgency a top priority and today will meet with his regional counterparts in a high-level summit on the issue in Abuja.
Sanusi Imran Abdullahi, the head of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, said: “The total amount required to set up and sustain the MNJTF headquarters for the next 12 months is about $30m. Troop-contributing countries are responsible for equipping and the sustenance of their battalions.”
Once up and running, the task force, which will have its headquarters in Chad’s capital N’Djamena will be commanded by a senior Nigerian officer. It was originally due to have been operational in November but it is not clear if this deadline will be met now.
Mr Abdullahi said it was crucial to quickly deploy the force to sustain the offensive against Boko Haram, who should not be given the time and space to regroup, as this may constitute a much more potent threat. He appealed to other regional groupings to contribute resources to help fight the insurgency, which has left at least15,000 people dead.
Ahead of today’s meeting, President Buhari met with service and security chiefs behind closed doors at the Defence House, Abuja yesterday. It was his second meeting with the service chiefs in less than two weeks.
Today's meeting will be attended by heads of state of Benin, Cameroun, Chad and Niger , with the Beninoise president, Thomas Boni Yayi, stressing that the countries will take significant steps towards establishing the joint task force. Benin has not deployed any troops against Boko Haram yet but has agreed in principle to join the force.
President Yayi said this could begin once the UN Security Council passed a resolution, which has been in discussion for several months, endorsing the mission. He added that there are international rules and once it is passed, there will not be any more obstacles.
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