UK commits to ending B’Haram insurgency by Dec

In from Timothy Enietan-Matthews (Nation’s capital) … .

The United Kingdom has re-affirmded its commitment to helping Nigeria overcome the Boko Haram insurgency by December.

This commitment was restated by the British Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Nicholas Houghton, while speaking with newsmen after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday.

According to Houghton, he was sent by the British government because the United Kingdom shares an interesting security situation with Nigeria.

Houghton disclosed that he came to the country so as to see how the UK could give the necessary support to the government and the President to ensure that whatever support is given is optimised.

He said: “My concern is in the security situation, in particular the war being waged by Boko Haram.

“I think that Nigerian armed forces have made some remarkable progress in the last few months in pushing Boko Haram back.

“But as it comes to the end of the rainy season, I know the President has got a very strong ambition to what he can achieve by Christmas, it shows because the UK has a strong support for your troops training just to make sure we optimise our support and that is the best way we can.”

Read also: Buhari orders probe of EFCC

Asked the renewed support is coming at this point, British CDS said there is a growing awareness that the security threats that are posed are not just local ones but they are regional and global.

“I think most of the conversations on security in the recent UN General Assembly was about the threat posed by extremism and terrorism.

“We share within the UK and Europe concerns about the destabilising effect of ISIL in Iraq, Syria in North Africa and also the threat the Boko Haram poses here.

“Therefore, in many respects, the security in places such as Nigeria, the security concerns are shared by many in the global community, which is why we do need to intensify the nature and type of support we offer.”

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