Nigeria, neighbours need cooperation to defeat terrorism -- Jonathan
(Nigeria )
President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday in N'Djamena, the Chadian Capital,
reiterated the need for Nigeria
and its neighbours to intensify joint actions and cooperation to defeat
terrorism and insurgency.
This is contained in a statement issued by the Special
Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati from
N'Djamena.
The statement said that Jonathan made the call while
speaking to reporters at the
Presidential Palace in N'Djamena after a closed-door meeting with his Chadian
counterpart, President Idris Deby.
Jonathan was quoted as saying that their talks focused
mainly on security and economic cooperation.
According to the statement, the president told reporters
that Boko Haram had a lot of external influence from outside Africa .
He said that this had made it even more imperative for all
countries in the region to work together to overcome terrorism and other
criminal activities across their borders.
“If you look at the economies of Nigeria
and Chad ,
both are linked. The Boko Haram people don't take permission to move from Chad , Niger ,
Cameroon and Nigeria . If the
countries do not cooperate, we will not find it easy to win the war, because
when the heat is strong in one country, the criminals and terrorists will go to
another one and hide.
``So, we must work together and we are discussing along that
line,'' the statement quoted him as telling reporters.
Monday's visit by Jonathan to Chad was his second in the last two
months, the first being on September 8.
According to the president, this underscored the importance
of building a “robust relationship” between both countries to improve trade,
economic and security ties.
He said that discussions between both countries on
cooperation in the ICT sector were ongoing.
He expressed optimism that more proficient use of modern
technology would greatly help to address economic and security challenges in
the region.
Accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Aminu
Wali, and the Director-General the National Intelligence Agency, Mr Ayodele
Oke, Jonathan has returned to Abuja, the statement added.
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