•  says fight against corruption, trafficking will weaken terror groups
  • Boko haram degraded – Buhari

From JULIANA TAIWO-OBALONYE, Abuja

French President Francois Hollande, has noted that despite the successes recorded by the Nigerian government against terrorist sect, Boko Haram, it remains a threat.

Hollande stated this at the presidential villa, Abuja at the end of bilateral talks yesterday hosted by President Muhammadu Buhari, before the commencement of the Second Regional Summit in Abuja.

The French President who commended the Nigerian military for impressively degrading the terrorist group, urged Buhari’s government not to relent over the fight against Boko Haram insurgency.

While admitting ‎that terrorism ‎was feeding on the weaknesses of the global financial system, Hollande said fighting corruption as well as all the systems that enable all forms of trafficking ‎will‎ further weaken terrorists groups.

Hollande was in the country to join other Regional and Western leaders in order to forge closer military corporation and assistance in tackling the threat of terrorism and it’s dire humanitarian consequences.

Speaking at joint Press Conference after hold a closed door bilateral discussion, President Hollande said “the results of the counter-insurgency are impressive” and the rebels had been “diminished and forced to retreat”.

According to him, although the group have been weakened and have shifted ground from areas they were earlier occupying, they remain a major threat.

He also noted that though results had been achieved through better regional coordination said “this terrorist group nevertheless remains a threat,”.

Speaking on the cooperations that had yielded positive results, Hollande said his government had also provided training and equipment as part of the international support to the fight against insurgency in Nigeria which includes British military trainers and US surveillance drones.

‎”This terror group Boko Haram‎ which massacres, attacks and abducts especially the abduction of the Chibok girls in particular, they have been weakened, forced to move back, forced to loose ground, they have been chased about and they had to give up the territories they were controlling and they had targeted so that they can still be fought.

“But this has been so thanks to the determination of President Buhari himself, thanks as well to the coordination of the countries in the region. And this afternoon we will be talking further ‎about the means allocated. It was also thanks to the French taking responsibility because France had been supporting this actions through intelligence, information sharing, training by providing equipment to support the missions of the Multinational Joint Task Force and it’s been this coalition, solidary, strategy which has enabled the success we are witnessing”.

President Buhari while celebrating that the degrading of the sect has led to the liberations of all 14 local government areas initially under their control, said the main concern now was to rebuilding the destroyed infrastructure as well as returning the over two million internally displaced persons to their homes.

The President who described the issue of security as harrowing, decried that terrorism with the help of technology and million of volunteers respect no borders‎.

According to him, “It is a lot of concern for people of conscience to learn that in Nigeria we have more than two million IDPs most of them women and children.

 

Details in Sunday Sun