Chadian parliament extends offensive against Boko Haram

By -
Chad's parliament on Wednesday voted to stay engaged in a regional offensive that it joined earlier this year against Boko Haram Islamists.
The parliament had in January authorised its government to send troops into neighbouring Nigeria and Cameroon, part of an offensive aimed at expelling the rebel group from northeastern Nigeria, according to AFP.
"The National Assembly authorises the extension of Chad's military intervention in Nigeria and Cameroon," read Wednesday's resolution voted by 123 out of 140 MPs in the central African nation.
Chad's constitution says the government must seek parliamentary approval four months into any military intervention.
"It is important that the work we started succeeds," said Benaindo Tatola, a junior minister in charge of defence, without specifying a timeline for the offensive.
Chadian military sources say 5,000 of the country's troops are engaged in the fight against the Islamist radicals in Nigeria and northern Cameroon, which has come under repeated Boko Haram attack for two years.
In April, Chad condemned the deaths of 71 of its troops less than three months into the campaign against the militants, whose six-year insurgency has claimed about 13,000 lives and displaced about 1.5 million people.
During a visit to Nigeria last week, Chad's President Idriss Deby Itno called for better coordination with Abuja.
Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan is keen to announce that the militants have been cleared from the northeast before he leaves office at the end of the month.
But experts have warned against any premature declaration of victory, with the root causes of the conflict, particularly chronic social and economic deprivation in the region, yet to be addressed.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

UBTH @50: Obaseki hails institution’s role in strengthening Edo healthcare

By -
Image
(Nigeria) Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, has commended the staff and management of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH, for their unwavering commitment, dedication, and hard work in providing high-quality healthcare services to the people of Edo State and Nigeria in the past fifty years. Obaseki, at a dinner organized in honour of the Committee of Chief Medical Directors of Nigeria, at the Government House, Benin City, reassured the government’s continuous partnership and collaboration with the federal government-owned health institution to strengthen the health system and ensure quality health delivery to Edo people. The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Philip Shaibu, reeled out the gains of the government’s reforms in the health sector, commending the medical centre for bolstering the government’s efforts at transforming Edo State into a health hub. He said, "We came into a wilderness where you have to cut a part for yourself and fix it. We held...
Read more

Osun: S'Court ruling affirmed power resides with the people - Diri

By -
Image
*Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri (Nigeria) Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has said the ruling of the country’s apex court on the Osun State governorship election was an affirmation that power in a democracy resided with the people. Governor Diri, while congratulating Senator Ademola Adeleke in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, on Wednesday, expressed joy that the Supreme Court sealed the mandate freely given to the governor by the Osun people. The Bayelsa governor also said the verdict reflected the current mood of the country where those whose stock-in-trade is to promote electoral violence and subvert the will of the people have no place in our electoral system. He expressed the hope that introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, will instil more confidence in the electoral process, urging the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to deepen Nigeria’s democracy by also introducing electronic votin...
Read more

NBC has no powers to impose fine on broadcast stations --Court

By -
Image
(Nigeria) The National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, has been restrained by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, from imposing fines on broadcast stations in the country. Trial judge in the matter, Justice James Omotosho also set aside the N500,000 fines imposed on March 1, 2019, on each of 45 broadcast stations. The court made the orders in its judgment a suit by the Incorporated Trustees of Media Rights Agenda, MRA, which had sued the NBC. Justice Omotosho held that the NBC, not being a court of law, had no power to impose sanctions as punishment on broadcast stations. The court further held that the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, which gives the commission the power to impose sanction, is in conflict with Section 6 of the Constitution that vested judicial power in the court of law. He said the court would not sit idle and watch a body imposing fine arbitrarily without recourse to the law. He said that the commission did not comply with the law when it sat as a complainant and at...
Read more