Niamey Agreement: Jonathan Sees Boko Haram Coming To An End

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan said Monday in Abuja that he was

confident that with the intensification of joint patrols, military

operations and intelligence sharing by Nigeria and neighbouring countries

as agreed by their leaders in Niamey last week, the activities of

insurgents and other cross-border criminals will soon be drastically

curtailed.
Welcoming the Ministers of Defence and Foreign Affairs of Chad, Niger,

Cameroon and Benin Republic who are in Abuja to work with their Nigerian

counterparts on a legal framework for the cross-border military operations

approved by him and neighbouring heads of state in Niamey, President

Jonathan reiterated his belief that such collaboration was essential for

success in the war against terrorism.
“I am quite pleased with the decisions we took in Niamey to enhance and

boost joint actions against Boko Haram and other cross-border criminals

because we have to work together to defeat Boko Haram and other extremist

groups in our sub-region.
“I believe that if we cooperate more and monitor our borders closely, the

movement of criminals and terrorists as well as small arms and ammunition

across our shared borders will also be drastically reduced,” President

Jonathan told the visiting Ministers who were accompanied to the

Presidential Villa by Nigeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador

Aminu Wali and the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh.

The President said that with their collective experience and

professionalism, he expected the visiting ministers and their Nigerian

counterparts to come up with an effective action plan for the successful

implementation of the decisions reached by the leaders of Nigeria, Chad,

Niger, Cameroon and Benin Republic at their meeting in Niamey on October

7, 2014.
At that meeting, the leaders announced plans to step up the fight against

Boko Haram. A communiqué issued after the meeting said that a command

centre for a multinational force headed by a chief of staff will be in

place by November 20.
The leaders also agreed to finalise the deployment of troops promised by

member states to form the multinational force within their national

borders by November 1.
The visiting ministers at the audience with President Jonathan were

Niger's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Mohammed Bazoun, Cameroon's

Minister of External Relations, Mr. Pierre Moukoko Mbonjo, Chad's Minister

of Defence, Mr. Benaindo Tatola, Chad's Minister of Foreign Affairs,

Muossa Faki Mahamat, Niger's Minister of Defence, Mr. K. Mahamadou,

Benin's Minister of Defence, Mr. Robert Yarou, Benin's Minister of Foreign

Affairs. Mr. Nassirou Bako Arifari and Cameroon's Minister of Defence, Mr.

Edgar Alain Debe Ngo'o.
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