In a statement issued today, President Jonathan, visiting the Presidential palace in Chad, encouraged cooperation between both Chad and Nigeria in order to best fight the Boko Haram menace.
After speaking privately with Chadian President Idris Deby Itno, President Jonathan told the press that this partnership was particularly important because militants have been receiving support and influence from outside the African continent. Strategic partnerships, he told reporters, are necessary to overcome terrorism.
“If you look at the economies of Nigeria and Chad both are linked. The Boko Haram people don’t take permission to move from Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Nigeria.
“If the countries do not cooperate, we will not find it easy to win the war, because when the heat is strong in one country, the criminals and terrorists will go to another one and hide.
“So we must work together and we are discussing along that line,” Jonathan said.
No acknowledgment was made of Boko Haram’s today attacks, or the arrest of Deby’s political associate, Mahamat Bichara Gnoti, accused yesterday of trying to smuggle in weapons for Boko Haram militants at the Chadian-Sudan border with 19 SAM2 missiles he purchased from the Sudanese army meant for the Boko Haram terrorist network in northeastern Nigeria.
Gnoti, who claimed that President Idriss Déby gave him the funds to purchase the weapons, had waved a presidential pass issued to him by Mr. Deby’s office in order to get past border guards but was stopped and searched.
President Jonathan was accompanied on the one-day visit by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali, and the Director-General the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ayodele Oke.
Read the full statement below.
NIGERIA, NEIGHBOURS MUST COOPERATE MORE TO WIN WAR AGAINST TERRORISM — PRESIDENT JONATHAN
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Monday in N’Djamena reiterated the need for Nigeria and her neighbours to intensify joint actions and cooperation to win the war against terrorism and insurgency.
Speaking to reporters at the Presidential Palace in N’Djamena after a closed-door meeting with his Chadian counterpart, President Idris Deby Itno, President Jonathan said that their talks focused mainly on security and economic cooperation.
The President told reporters that Boko Haram had a lot of external influence from outside Africa and it had become even more imperative for all countries in the region to work together to overcome terrorism and other criminal activities across their borders.
“If you look at the economies of Nigeria and Chad both are linked. The Boko haram people don’t take permission to move from Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Nigeria.
“If the countries do not cooperate, we will not find it easy to win the war, because when the heat is strong in one country, the criminals and terrorists will go to another one and hide.
“So we must work together and we are discussing along that line,” President Jonathan told reporters.
President Jonathan recalled that his visit to Chad was the second in the last one month, noting that it underscored the importance of building a “robust relationship” between both countries to improve trade, economic and security ties.
He said that discussions between both countries on cooperation in the ICT sector were ongoing and expressed optimism that more proficient use of modern technology will help greatly to address economic and security challenges in the region.
President Jonathan who was accompanied on the one-day official visit by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali and the Director-General the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ayodele Oke has returned to Abuja.
Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
November 24, 2014
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