President Goodluck Jonathan says fighters from
insurgent group Boko Haram have traveled to the
Middle East for training with Islamic State militants.
Jonathan declined to name the countries where the
fighters were allegedly trained. But in an interview with
VOA on Wednesday, he said he’s long suspected Boko
Haram of having alliances with international extremist
groups.
“So, we know the links are there. But even now, we
may not know the degree of linkages as to how much
funds are coming in from them, the kind of volume of
weapons coming in from them, the nationalities
coming from them,” Jonathan said.
“But the training, because some of the Boko Haram
members go to have their training in the ISIS camp
and come back,” he added
In the interview, Jonathan credited both the
intervention of Nigeria’s neighbours as well as the
acquisition of new weapons for turning the tide
against the militants.
He hit back at criticisms that foreign troops aren’t
being allowed to push into Boko Haram strongholds
deep in Nigerian territory. He said Cameroon previously
denied Nigeria permission to pursue Boko Haram into
its territory, and added that restrictions on foreign
troops were matters of coordination.
“I think the idea is that look, for any major aggression,
we should know. Where possible, let some Nigerian
soldiers also be with you,” the President said.
He also said that foreign technicians are present in the
northeast to teach Nigerian troops on how to use their
new weapons, since there wasn’t time to train the
troops before they were deployed.
“So we now have this technical people who are trainers
and technicians, who are to train our people on how to
use them, and technicians that help the maintenance,
at the same time training our people how to maintain
this equipment,” Jonathan said.
He said two unnamed companies were involved in the
training but declined to offer nationalities or numbers
of the trainers.
Jonathan dismissed the suggestion that Boko Haram’s
insurgency had come to define his time in office.
“Yes, it’s a major security issue, it’s the number one
security issue we have as a nation. But definitely, you
cannot define us by Boko Haram,” he said.
As the multinational offensive continues, Jonathan
predicted that the northeastern states of Yobe and
Adamawa would be cleared of Boko Haram territory
before the middle of next week. He said he hopes
neighbouring Borno State, where the group started,
will be cleared in the next three weeks.
But Jonathan said he expects Boko Haram to continue
bombing markets and bus stops. He says the
government’s strategy is to improve intelligence
gathering as well as job and educational prospects in
the northeast as a long-term strategy to destroy the
group.
Source: http://www.punchng.com/news/isis-trains-boko-haram-fighters-says-jonathan/
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