Nigeria, US, Others Reaffirm Commitment To Defeat ISIS, ISWAP and Boko Haram

Nigeria Government, the United States of America and the 82-member global coalition against terrorism have reaffirmed their commitment to defeating “ISIS and other terror groups including ISWAP and Boko Haram in Nigeria”.

According to the Office of the Nigeria National Security Adviser (ONSA), this was part of the outcome of a virtual meeting of the 82-member global coalition drawn from Africa, America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East on Tuesday.

In a statement on Saturday, the ONSA said the virtual meeting which was co-chaired by the coordinators of the National Counter Terrorism of Nigeria and U.S. also had the Africa Union, European Union, ECOWAS and G5 Sahel represented among other international and regional organisations.

The Nigeria delegation led by Babagana Monguno, a retired Major General and the country’s National Security Adviser, who was represented by Yaminu Musa, a Rear Admiral and the Coordinator of the Nigeria Counter-Terrorism Centre.

The session, according to ONSA, was moderated by Ambassador J. Peter Pham, the U.S. Special Envoy for the Sahel. It had panellists from Global Coalition members Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Niger, and co-host Nigeria providing key perspectives on the evolution of ISIS affiliates and their troubling activities in West Africa.

“The panellists also provided useful ways the Global Coalition could enhance efforts to curb the expanding influence of ISIS in West Africa and the Sahel,” it said.

“Discussions also centered on lessons learnt from the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria and reviewing of potential lines of efforts, including the use of battlefield evidence and border security measures and how these lessons and lines of efforts could be applied in West Africa and the Sahel.”

ONSA said that Nigeria’s roles in the fight against terrorism in the sub-region were also acknowledged and applauded during the meeting.

It also stated that the leading role of Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari towards defeating terrorism in West Africa was commended.

According to the statement, the meeting noted that ISIS was challenging state authorities and peoples’ means of livelihood across the globe, particularly in Africa where more affiliates were springing up.

“It was stressed that terrorists across the globe exploit some drivers, including economic imbalance and marginalisation among other local grievances to penetrate the local population.

“The meeting called for more measures to counter radicalisation, recruitment of gullible individuals and concerted global efforts to defeat ISIS.”

“Nigeria also expressed her readiness to seek for more support and partnership within the activities and mandates of the Global Coalition against ISIS to enhance its ongoing operations against terrorism in the North East and efforts in preventing and countering violent extremism in the country,” added the statement.

For over ten years, Nigeria has been at the forefront of the war against terrorism in West Africa which experts say not much headway has been achieved by the authorities.

The country is facing different sorts of terrorism in the more troubled northern Nigeria where Islamists, bandits and kidnappers continue to kill, maim and abduct citizens.

Thousands of people have killed, millions displaced, and hundreds of thousands had fled their homes as the insurgency infiltrated and ravaged many towns and villages in many parts of Nigeria’s Northeast.