Federal Govt Seeks UN Support To Recover Lake Chad Basin

The federal government has called on the United Nations and development partners to strengthen support towards implementation of regional strategy for stabilisation, recovery and resilience of areas affected by terrorism in the Lake Chad.

The national coordinator, National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Rear Adm. Yaminu Musa (rtd) made the call at the ongoing third UN Counter-Terrorism Week in New York.

In a statement by the director of strategic communication in NCTC, Mr Ozoya Imohimi in Abuja yesterday, the national coordinator said the reintegration of the vast number of repentant and low-risk individuals associated with Boko Haram and ISWAP poses a significant new challenge for the government of Nigeria.

The CT week is a biennial gathering of member states and international counter-terrorism partners with the theme, ‘‘Addressing Terrorism through Reinvigorated Multilateral and Institutional Cooperation.’’

He said there was the need for more international support to address the menace.

Musa said the Nigerian government had in the last six years since the adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2349 undertaken several responses to address the impact of Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin.

He said the efforts had guided the 2022 Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, the 2019 National Security Strategy, the 2017 National Action Plan for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism, as well as the 2016 National Counter Terrorism Strategy.

He expressed gratitude for the tremendous support from the UN and its entities for the rehabilitation efforts in Nigeria and emphasised the need for more global awareness and support to address the inherent challenges and risks in reintegrating all categories of returning terrorists, especially those moving around sub-Saharan Africa.

“In the Lake Chad Basin region, the UN and development partners must continue to strengthen support towards the implementations of the regional strategy for stabilisation, recovery and resilience of Boko Haram affected areas,” he said.