Now is time to end Boko Haram, Buhari tells leaders 

Muhammadu Buhari </p> <p>

President Muhammadu Buhari has said the time had come to end Boko Haram insurgency.He made the declaration, yesterday, in Abuja at the Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC).

The meeting was in continuation of joint efforts to address prevailing security challenges in the sub-region after their meeting on November 29, 2018 in N’Djamena.

Buhari told the leaders that their participation at the summit, despite tight schedules, was a clear demonstration of commitment to fight against their common enemy, Boko Haram, and restoration of lasting peace and security to the sub-region.He recalled that during the Summit in N’Djamena, the need to overhaul current strategy and concept of operations in the fight against Boko Haram terrorists took centre stage.

He said this was necessitated by resurgence of attacks, particularly on the military, and abduction of civilians for ransom across the borders by Boko Haram, with support of international terrorists, who have infiltrated the sub-region. He stated that the meeting would consider report of the Committee set up during the last Summit on the way forward.

Noting that Lake Chad region had suffered decades of neglect and poor infrastructural development, President Buhari said Boko Haram crisis in the last eight years had worsened the situation. He told the lake Chad region leaders to take cognisance of the fact that sustainable growth and development of the sub-region is dependent on the quick attainment of peace and stability in the area.

In a communique after the meeting, the leaders restated their commitment to bringing Boko Haram insurgency to an end, as well as implementing the regional stabilisation strategy in the areas of Lake Chad affected by Boko Haram, which was recently endorsed by the African Union Peace and Security Council.