Chadian President welcomes Nigeria’s new security apparatus, vows to end Boko Haram insurgency

The Chadian President, Idriss Deby Itno, on Saturday, expressed the hope that the task of defeating the Boko Haram insurgency would now be less cumbersome as Nigeria introduces new security apparatus and changes in the leadership of the army.

President Muhammadu Buhari had in January appointed new service chiefs to spearhead the country’s fight against the insurgents and other criminal elements in the country.

Deby, who spoke to State House correspondents at the end of his one-day official visit to Nigeria, also welcomed the changes at the Multinational Joint Task Force as well as the fresh strategies put in place to curb insurgency.

The Chadian President said he discussed the issue of the MNJTF with Buhari.

He said: “We agreed that a situation where it is only able to carry out one operation a year makes things very difficult and the task of defeating Boko Haram more difficult.

“But we expect a lot with the new security apparatus that has been put in place and with the new security chiefs not only in Nigeria but even on the Multinational Joint Task Force itself, which also has new leadership.

“We are hopeful now that with new strategies and new dynamism, that we will be able to address definitively, the issue of Boko Haram.”

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He added that the two leaders discussed the issue of the Islamic State and the challenges that they posed to the two countries as well as the Lake Chad environment.

He regretted that the resilience of Boko Haram and the Islamic State in the Lake Chad Basin had been unprecedented

Deby noted that the insurgents were being trained and supplied with weapons through Libya.

The Chadian leader added: “Unfortunately, the resilience of Boko Haram and the Islamic State in the Lake Chad Basin has been unprecedented. They are being supplied and being trained and being formed through Libya.

“The MNJTF has done a lot of work as you have seen recently; we have had exchanges on this with my brother on the way ahead.

“With the new team of the Chief of Defence Staff and the new Commander that has been appointed at the Multinational Joint Task Force, I am convinced that we can eradicate Boko Haram.”

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