Nigeria has pleaded with the United Nations (UN) to investigate the funding and training of the Boko Haram/Islamic State West Africa Province (BH/ISWAP) terrorists.
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, who made the call in an interview with Al-Jazeera, said there was international flow of funding for the terrorists, stressing the need for the UN to come in to trace and track it.
General Musa, who questioned how the insurgents had sustained operationally themselves for 15 years, also fingered international conspiracy in providing the terrorists with funds, training and equipment.
The Defence Chief’s call came amid the increasing sophistication of the BH/ISWAP terrorists including the deployment of drones for surveillance before launching attacks on Defence and security forces.
Responding to a question on why Boko Haram has kept regrouping despite the claims by the federal government that the sect has been degraded, the CDS said: “The problem is that I think we have talked to the international community. Let’s find out the funding. As we speak, over 120,000 Boko Haram members have surrendered, and most of them came with hard currency. How did they get it? How are they funded? How did they get the training? How did they get the equipment?
“The UN needs to come in because we need to trace the funding. It is international flow, and we don’t have control over that.”
Asked what his suspicion was, General Musa said: “Well, maybe an international conspiracy… How are they being able to sustain themselves for 15 years? That is one question I think everybody should ask themselves.”
The Defence chief however said he did not know whose interest it is to see Nigeria destabilized while noting that Nigeria is not the only country dealing with the asymmetric warfare.
“West Africa, the Sahelian area, and in fact, if actions are not taken, it is going to engulf the entire world.
“We are just good guys just trying to make sure that our country is secured, and then, some individuals seem not to be happy about it, and doing everything possible to throw us under the bus for whatever reasons…I have been in service for almost 33 years.
“Anytime we seem to be succeeding, somebody throws something at us, and the question is: why? Is it because we are succeeding or you don’t want the country to move forward? What is the aim? What’s the intent? That is the question we are asking.”
He also stated that the difficulty in getting equipment was one of the reasons the insurgency had not been wiped out.
“We have a procurement procedure which is being followed. And to also state that even with our monies at times, we find it difficult getting equipment. And the question is: why? One of the reasons why this insurgency has been for this long is because we have been denied access to equipment. Even when we have our monies to get it, it is difficult,” he said.
On why the military had been denied access to equipment, he said: “Well, I really don’t understand. It is a question that we keep on asking, why are we being denied?
“Our government is doing the best it can. But as an international system, like I said, we don’t produce (equipment), we need to buy. So, going to buy is sometimes a bit difficult, getting these items.”
Asked whether Nigeria has any foreign bases on its soil, the CDS exclaimed: “Not at all! We do not encourage any foreign bases. We have the capacity to secure our country, to secure the sub-region and to assist Africa. We have that capacity.
“All we need is to continue to do joint training, which we do, get equipment that we need to help us project these wars.”
