Niger Republic has hit back at Niger in its war against Boko Haram/Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists in the Lake Chad Basin as it has withdrawn from the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) which it played a bulwark role for insurgent fighters coming into and leaving the country.
The MNJTF, comprising of troops from the Lake Chad Basin countries of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republic plus Benin, was established in 2014, remodelled and re-operationalised in 2015 with an increased capacity of about 10,000 troops.
The Force, headquartered in N’Djamena, Chad, was authorized by the African Union on March 2015 and was tasked to deal with security threats posed by terrorists in the Lake Chad Basin.
Niger Republic reportedly pulled out of the security arrangement in retaliation of Nigeria’s leading position in the imposition of several sanctions by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), including suspension from the regional bloc following the JUly 26, 2023 coup.
Sources said that the vacuum created by the absence of Niger had resulted in the escalation of attacks on the fringes of the Lake Chad and the flow of a huge cache of arms and fighters from the North Africa-based ISIS into the region.
Nigeria’s Northern neighbour is bounded on the Northwest by Algeria, on the Northeast by Libya, on the East by Chad, on the South by Nigeria and Benin, and on the West by Burkina Faso and Mali.
Before the pull out from MNJTF, it played a major role in policing Niger Republic–Nigeria 1,608 kilometres (999 miles) border length which runs from the tripoint with Benin Republic in the West to the tripoint with Chad in the East and spans seven States. The States include Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Jigawa, Yobe and Borno.
Already, some locations across the region, especially within the axis of Gaidam in Yobe State, Mallam Fatori and Damasak in the fringe of Lake Chad, are witnessing a sustained and steady infiltration of foreign fighters.
According to our sources in the Gaidam community, Niger removed troops they had stationed at the Gaidam-Niger border leading to the increase in the terrorist attacks.
‘’Indeed, we heard that Niger’s troops are not on the Niger-Nigeria’s border which is a setback in the fight against Boko Haram.
‘’The soldiers stationed in the Diffah-Maini strip have been removed and relocated to other areas in their country, so from what we heard is that these guys (terrorists) are using the space (border) to attack the defenceless citizens’’ one of the sources said.
He observed that the troops were not doing enough to end the insurgency. ‘’What we observed is that the commitment of the military personnel is very poor; they are there doing nothing to curtail the attacks.”
‘’They need to re-strategize their work. You cannot be in the town collecting N50 or N100 from traders who are coming to Gaidam for the weekly market while people are being killed daily’’ he added.
Another source said, Boko Haram attacks and activities in Gaidam LGA of Yobe state had increased recently when compared to the last two years or more.
Within the last two weeks, 42 persons have been killed, including Usman Gombe, a Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) officer, who was shot dead.
Residents of the LGA said the activities of Boko Haram insurgents on the outskirts of Gaidam had increased in recent days, with the terrorists’ collecting taxes from farmers and herdsmen.
The sources told Daily Trust on Sunday that the lack of patrol by the security personnel had given a chance to the terrorists to attack the armless communities.
Our reporter learnt that the security personnel are only safeguarding the Gaidam metropolis from internal and external terrorist attacks to avoid casualties.
‘’It is obvious that lack of patrol by the military personnel to the eastern part of Gaidam is one of the reasons why Boko Haram increased their attacks.
‘’If the security agencies would increase their patrol along the Yobe-Borno states’ border, the terrorists would be afraid to enforce tax on the ordinary villagers or even launch any attacks.
‘’Just in the last two weeks, the military killed 3 Boko Haram terrorists who they (soldiers) met during their patrol. Therefore, if the soldiers would keep doing things like this, the terrorists would be afraid to come out, let alone attacking people’’ he said.
When contacted to explain why Niger withdrew its soldiers from the borders, the MNJTF Commander’s Spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonle Abubakar Abdullahi, simply told one of our correspondents: “I don’t know. You can ask the Nigerien Defence Headquarters.”
He, however, added: “Niger is still part of MNJTF.”
Originally published in Daily Trust Sunday
