Nigeria stalls
onslaught against
B/Haram – Chad
Category: Lead stories Published on Wednesday,
04 March 2015 Written by Ronald Mutum,
Nigeria had refused to let Chadian troops
continue with their campaign to recapture
territories controlled by Boko Haram,
Reuters reported yesterday.
In a span of six weeks the Chadian troops had
been able to recapture Malam Fatori and Damasak
on the border with Niger Republic and Gamboru
and Ngala on the Cameroonian border.
They also sacked the insurgents from the ancient
town of Dikwa, bringing them within 45 kilometres
of Bama, Borno state’s second largest town.
But diplomats told Reuters it would be an
embarrassment to President Goodluck Jonathan
who is seeking re-election, for a smaller nation to
tackle Nigeria’s security problems.
Reuters said in their forward base in the town of
Gamboru on the Nigeria-Cameroon border, Chadian
soldiers displayed dozens of guns seized from
Boko Haram and a burnt-out armoured vehicle
painted with black and white Arabic script.
“We turned back because Nigeria did not authorise
us to go any further,” army spokesman Colonel
Azem Bermandoa said.
However, Defence Spokesman Major General Chris
Olukolade did not respond to Daily Trust inquiries
on the issue at the time of filing this report.
Nigeria’s spokesman for operations in the
northeast, Mike Omeri, said cooperation between
Chadian and Nigerian forces had brought some
major military adding that successes and any
issues would be resolved via existing command
structures.
But the Chadians say there have been no joint
operations between the two forces. Chad’s offer to
join a Nigerian offensive to capture Baga, site of
one of Boko Haram’s worst atrocities in January,
was rebuffed, Bermandoa said.
Officials from Chad, Niger and Cameroon say lack
of cooperation from Nigeria has for months
hampered efforts to put together a regional
taskforce against Boko Haram.
Chad was compelled to take unilateral action in
January, under a deal that allows it to pursue
terrorists into Nigeria, after Boko Haram violence
started to choke off imports to its economy.
With Niger and Cameroon deploying thousands of
troops on their borders, blocking escape routes for
Boko Haram, the tide may be turning.
Francois Conradie, analyst with South African-
based NKC Research, told Reuters that if the
current offensive could be sustained, Boko Haram
could quickly be driven out of the remaining towns
it holds.
He warned that the sect would, however, remain a
deadly rural guerrilla force.
OPPOSITION CRITICISES RELIANCE ON CHAD
Reuters says many in Nigeria ask why it took so
long to act against Boko Haram which had killed
thousands last year and kidnapped many more in
its six-year campaign.
Niger, Cameroon and Chad say Nigeria neglected
the uprising in northeast, an opposition
stronghold.
According to Reuters, in recent months,
Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler who is
running as the presidential candidate for the
opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), has
gained popularity with voters desperate for tough
policies both on corruption and Boko Haram.
Ernst Hogendoorn, Crisis Group’s Africa deputy
programme director said the government appeared
to have engineered the delay in the election in the
hope the APC would slip up or the military could
boost Jonathan electoral chances by defeating
Boko Haram.
“Boko Haram has certainly suffered a strategic
setback ... Clearly this improves Goodluck
Jonathan’s chances somewhat,” said Hogendoorn.
“The question is do any of these forces have the
ability to maintain this tempo, particularly the
Chadians and to a lesser degree the Nigerians?”
With Chad already squeezed by a slump in the
price of oil, its main export, the government says it
can only sustain the offensive in Nigeria for a
short time, diplomats say.
Buhari, however, has already criticised Jonathan
for relying on Chad to push back Boko Haram,
saying his government would tackle the problem
alone. Many in the military and the government are
keen to limit foreign involvement on Nigerian soil,
diplomats say.
When Chadian forces last month entered the town
of Dikwa, they were told to leave by Nigeria’s
military, which said it was planning air strikes,
Bermondoa said.
After Nigeria’s army retook Baga last month, Army
Chief Lt General Kenneth Minimah said soldiers
would recapture a handful of remaining towns
before the elections, listing Dikwa as one of them.
“The war is almost ended,” he said.
TENSIONS HAMPER REGIONAL FORCE
Boko Haram was long regarded by neighbouring
countries as an internal Nigerian problem, but
attacks in Cameroon and Niger last year prompted
the regional response. Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Benin
and Cameroon agreed in May to join forces against
the militants.
Since then, however, distrust and
misunderstandings have stymied preparations for
the force, due to take effect by the end of this
month. Nigeria initially sent low-level
representatives to planning meetings, angering its
allies.
Cooperation between Cameroon and Nigeria has
been dogged by long-running border tensions,
while Niger accused Nigerian troops of cowardice.
“Nigeria must get involved and honour its promise
of providing between 2,500 and 3,000 to the
multinational force,” said Cameroon’s defence
spokesman Colonel Didier Badjeck.
Cameroon has stepped up its activities since July,
when Boko Haram attacked Kolotafa, the hometown
of its deputy prime minister, killing dozens and
kidnapping his wife.
The government has boosted its security forces in
northern Cameroon from 700 to around 7,000.
“We have to do whatever it takes to make sure the
sect does not occupy any town in Cameroon,” said
Colonel Joseph Nouma, in charge of Operation
Alpha, the mission against Boko Haram.
However, Nouma said he had orders not to enter
Nigeria, and Cameroon had denied Nigerian troops
the right to pursue insurgents into Cameroon.
Along its 400 km (250 miles) border with Nigeria,
Cameroon has created 14 new bases, with heavy
artillery batteries. It has also deployed surveillance
drones, a senior intelligence officer said.
Another senior Cameroon military figure said they
were attempting to choke off Boko Haram’s
revenues, including the trade in fuel with
Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
“All of this looks to be paying off,” the officer said,
with no incursions since mid-February.
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