- Title: NIGERIA-BENIN/BUHARI Nigerian President arrives in neighbouring Benin
- Date: 1st August 2015
- Summary: VARIOUS OF BUHARI AND BONI STANDING AT WELCOMING CEREMONY, LISTENING TO NATIONAL ANTHEM
- Embargoed: 16th August 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Benin
- Country: Benin
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA5W7036U8APKZ1QDRBYYCC3S03
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The leaders of Nigeria and Benin met in Cotonou on Saturday (August 1) to consolidate their continued cooperation along their shared border in tackling Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari reaffirmed the determination of his country to strengthen its cooperation with Benin, and other neighbouring countries who make up the intergovernmental Lake Chad Basin Commission, in the fight against Boko Haram.
"I thank Mr. President (Yayi Boni) for identify with us very closely as neighbours, and voluntarily agreeing to participate in Lake Chad Basin Commission's deployment of troops to make sure that the terrorists Boko Haram do not extend this way," said Buhari.
Benin has pledged troops towards a 8,700-strong multinational force to combat Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region.
Yayi Boni, Benin's President, welcomed Buhari to celebrate Benin's Independence day with a military parade.
The two leaders are using the meeting to discuss the joint response to Boko Haram, an Islamist group who have sworn allegiance to Islamic State.
Boko Haram have launched a wave of attacks over the past two months in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger that have killed hundreds of people. The onslaught followed a military campaign by the regional powers that swept Boko Haram out of the towns of northeast Nigeria earlier this year.
On Friday (July 31), a suicide bomber struck a crowded market in the north-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri killing six people, the national Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said, in an attack that bore the hallmarks of Islamist militant group Boko Haram.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, has been often been targeted by Boko Haram in its campaign to carve out an Islamic "caliphate" in Nigeria's northeast.
The task force of troops from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin were due to start operations against Boko Haram on Friday but has been dogged by a lack of funding and political resolve.
In a move toward activating the force, Nigeria announced on Thursday (July 30) the appointment of Major General Iliya Abbah as its commander, but significant military operations appear unlikely before the end of the rainy season in September. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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