Boko Haram: Nigeria, neighbours meet on cross-border strategy

Foreign ministers of Nigeria, Chad, Cameroun, Benin Republic and Niger will meet in Abuja on Monday to agree on appropriate legal framework for cross border military operations against Boko Haram insurgency in the region.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday said the one-day meeting would be attended by the Defence ministers of the five neighbouring countries.

It said the meeting would agree on the adoption of a draft resolution by the AU and the UN Security Council for the establishment of appropriate legal framework for military operations to fight Boko Haram.

The meeting, which is being held under the auspices of Lake Chad Basin Commission and Benin Republic, is a follow-up to the extra-ordinary summit held on 7 October, in Niamey, Niger.

The summit, which was attended by President Goodluck Jonathan and three heads of state, had announced plans to deploy coordinated military forces to fight Boko Haram terrorists.

The leaders agreed to deploy an additional battalion and a command centre to tackle the terrorists.

They agreed that the command centre for an already agreed-upon multinational force, led by a Chief of staff, would be in place by 20 November.

It would be recalled that a similar meeting took place on 3 September, in Abuja where the foreign ministers promised to improve cooperation in the fight against Boko Haram.

Last month, Jonathan told the annual general debate of the UN General assembly that violent attacks by Boko Haram terrorists had killed no fewer than 13,000 people since 2009.

The terrorist group had claimed responsibility for the kidnap of no fewer than 200 school girls in Chibok, Borno since April.