Summit Held On Boko Haram

A summit involving talks on how to handle jihadi terrorist group, Boko Haram, was held in Abudja on Saturday.

Along with Nigerian leaders and military officials, leaders from Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin also joined in the talks, as well as European leaders, including French president, Francois Hollande.

Diplomats from other European countries, the UK and the United States also attended that talks.

The summit was held after the UN warned Nigeria and their subsequent allies of Boko Haram’s ties to ISIS in Syria and Iraq, which could have devastating implications for African security.

Nigeria is asking for closer and more intense military co-operation between its military and that of its allies.

According to the UN Security Council, the idea of the summit was to develop a strategy that can help Nigeria’s terror crisis which has left more than 20 000 people dead and millions displaced because of Boko Haram’s attacks:

“…[the idea is to develop] a comprehensive strategy to address the governance, security, development, socio-economic and humanitarian dimensions of the crisis,” the UN council said.

This week’s summit is the second gathering of it’s kind;  the first summit on the same topic was held two years ago in Paris.

France and Nigeria have also recently signed agreements on increased military cooperation and information sharing.

The US has also been flying surveillance drones over northeast Nigeria.

President Buhari vowed to defeat Boko Haram within his first year in office. However, his one year anniversary is coming up soon, and while Boko Haram may not be completely defeated as of year, there have been significant improvements with the help of Nigeria’s allies.