The African Union Peace and Security Council (AU_PSC) has extended the mandate of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in the fight against Boko Haram/ Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) by one year.
The mandate was extended to February 2024 on Monday after a vote at the headquarters of the MNJTF in N’Djamena, Chad.
In their separate remarks, Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Commission, Ambassador Mamman Nuhu, Executive Secretary of Lake Chad Basin Commission and Head of Mission of the MNJTF, and the Force Commander, MNJTF, Major General Abul Khalifa Ibrahim, commended the MNJTF for the tremendous successes working with national operations including neutralisation of key terrorists leaders and decimating their logistics support bases.
They, however, urged the MNJTF to conduct more operations, which will force the terrorists to surrender unconditionally or face elimination.
The Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) was originally an effort by the Lake Chad Basin States – Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, joined by their neighbours Benin Republic, to pool resources against jihadists that threaten their countries.
The Lake Chad countries, plus Benin, was created in its current form in late 2014 and early 2015 with over 8,000 troops.
The AU authorised the force on 3 March 2015 and envisaged that a sub-regional body, the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), would assume civilian oversight.