No hiding place for Boko Haram – Buhari, Deby

President Muhammadu Buhari and his Chadian counterpart, President Idriss Deby, have declared that there would be no hiding place for the Boko Haram sect in any part of the two countries.
They stated this in N’Djamena, the Chadian capital yesterday where the two leaders worked out fresh strategies of the onslaught of the insurgency.
In a communiqué issued at the end of Buhari’s one-day working visit to Chad, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Mallam Garba Shehu, said both leaders agreed on the need to quickly make the Multi-National Joint Task Force fully operational to combat terrorism in North-East zone and “everywhere” that Boko Haram operates.
Buhari and Deby urged the international community to provide the Lake Chad Basin Commission and neigbouring countries with the needed support to check insurgency.
“Both Heads of State agreed that the war on Boko Haram should be supported by emergency development initiatives in areas affected by this insurgency group. This will help to overcome the harmful effects faced by local populations,” the communiqué said.
Buhari has called on member-countries of the Lake Chad Commission to redouble their efforts to intensify the operations of the Multi-National Joint Task Force, MNJTF, established to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency.
He noted that the security of Nigeria and her neighbours were intrinsically linked, adding that this makes it very essential that they cooperate on security issues in a robust and sustained manner.
The President said that he was quite certain that when it becomes fully deployed and functional, the MNJTF, which comprises Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroun would be able to secure and stabilise all the areas affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.
President Buhari also reaffirmed his conviction that with greater cooperation among Nigeria and neighbouring countries, the Boko Haram insurgency would be brought to an end very soon.
His remarks came on the heels of Wednesday’s appointment of Major-General Tukur Buratai of Nigeria as the Force Commander of the reorganised MNJTF, which also has Benin Republic as honorary member.
The President thanked Chad for its support in the fight against insurgency and terrorism.
“Your troops have stood shoulder to shoulder and fought gallantly with ours in the fight against the forces of evil.
“This is a remarkable show of good neighbourliness, which we must reinforce in the years ahead,’’ he told President Deby.
President Buhari expressed concern that the insurgency had taken a huge toll on citizens of both countries, many of whom had been forced to flee their homes.
The President said that the harrowing images of displaced citizens of both countries, in search of safety and succour, must spur their governments and others in the sub-region to do more “to restore their dignity and give them the relief they need.”
In his remarks, President Deby commended Buhari for his “wise decision’’ to relocate the Nigerian Military Command from Abuja to Maiduguri.
He said that the decision, which was announced in President Buhari’s inaugural address, was a right step towards restoring peace and security to states affected by terrorism, and the sub-region.