As part of its efforts to combat the Boko Haram insurgency along their national borders, troops from Nigeria, Cameroun, Chad, Niger and Republic of Benin, are set to begin counter-terrorism operations on November 1, 2014.
The five countries also agreed to establish the Multinational Joint Task Force headquarters, in Baga, by November 20, 2014.
These were part of the highpoints of the ministerial meeting of member-states of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and Benin Republic on Security, which held on Monday in Abuja and attended by the Foreign and Defence Ministers of the member countries.
Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Aminu Wali, who read the draft resolution after the meeting, noted with deep regrets the continuous atrocities being committed by the Boko Haram sect in the sub-region.
“The ministers agreed on the need to put in place an appropriate legal framework for military operations against insurgents in the sub-region, in view of Resolution 1556 (2004) of the United Nations Security Council which considered terrorism as the greatest threat to international peace and security.
“The meeting expressed the determination to coordinate the Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad Basin and commended the pledges by the LCBC member-states and Benin Republic to deploy contingents along their common borders.
“The ministers committed to the implementation of the decisions of the heads of state and government on the establishment of the MNJTF Headquarters by November 20, 2014. The ministers committed to the deployment of the pledged contingents by the LCBC member-states and Benin Republic within their national borders by November 1,2014.
“The meeting requested Niger Republic to introduce the draft resolution to the Peace and Security Council of the AU, while the Republic of Chad, and Nigeria would introduce the resolution to the UNSC.
“The ministers further directed their Permanent Representatives in New York and their Ambassadors in Addis Ababa to hold consultations with a view to ensuring the adoption of the resolution by the UNSC and AU, respectively,” he said.
