BOKO HARAM: Cameroon And Chad Troops Storms Nigerian Territory

The Chadian and Cameroonian government has ordered its troops into Nigerian soil to recapture Baga from Boko Haram terrorists without the consent of the Nigerian government.

The Nigerian military today confirmed that they are in the dark and don’t know of an order by President Idriss Deby of Chad, deploying that country’s armed forces in pursuit of Boko Haram in Nigerian territory.

The defence spokesman, Chris Olukolade however revealed that it wasn’t against the law because Chad,Nigeria, Cameroun and Niger, all belong to a Multinational force set up to tackle the insurgent group.

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Boko Haram insurgents had taken the town on January 3 after attacking the Multinational Joint Task Force, MNJTF attached in the town.

Amnesty International claimed that the attack saw the death of over 2000 people but the military said that the casualty figures was less than 150.

Nigerien and Chadian troops part of the MNJTF were said to hae been pulled out days before the attack.

The Chadian president had on Thursday said that his army’s mission was to recapture Baga from the terrorists.

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President Deby said: “We answered the call of (Cameroon’s) President Paul Biya. We cannot remain indifferent to what happens to our neighbours. Cameroon must not be left alone to face this threat that has so hurt innocent people in Cameroon and in Nigeria” .

The Nigerian military’s defence spokesman, Chris Olukolade revealed that government was unaware of the deployments but said that he would need to “verify”.

He told Premium Rimes: “I’ll need to verify what you are saying but it is not as if everything is out of order, there is Multinational Joint Task Force which allows us to interact with forces of neighbouring countries among which they are”.

“But even with that being the case, there cannot be solo operations in that area that will ignore the existing Nigeria’s arrangement for that area,” he added.

Security experts have said that the Nigerian Army’s reaction to the development was troublesome.

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Peregrino Brimah, of the civil society group, Every Nigerian Do Something (ENDS). said: “The Nigerian government saying through the army spokesperson, General Olukolade that they are ‘lukewarm’ to Chad’s mission to Nigeria is very troubling to say the least. If Chad’s intentions and mission is good intended then why should the Nigerian government be kept out of the loop and be unenthusiastic? This questions the trust we as a people have in both governments. Would the Nigerian government not wish Chad assist them in rescuing occupied territories? Is there intelligence with the Nigerian administration that makes them suspicious of Chad; or are they uninterested in Nigeria’s liberation?” Peregrino Brimah, of the civil society group, Every Nigerian Do Something (ENDS).

Brimah said that Deby’s announcement is similar to Mexico crossing the border to rescue Texas.

“Chad setting out to assist Cameroon at their request is appropriate, however for the Chadian president, Idriss Deby to announce formally to his people and to the international press that his troops will be invading Nigeria to “re-capture” Baga, without express permission and willful authorization by the Goodluck Jonathan administration is absurd. It is like Mexico deciding it will invade the United States to rescue a “plagued Texas” without the explicit approval of the United States government.”

Boko Haram insurgents have been said to be crossing the border to Chad and Cameroun whenever Nigerian army applies some pressure to the terrorists, this was the reason the Multinational force was formed by Nigeria, Cameroun and Chad.

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Chad Suspected Of Funding Boko Haram

Nigeria’s neighbour, Chad, may be the major backer of Boko Haram with eyes on the oil deposits in the Chad Basin, Borno state. The Cable reports.

There are indications that there are hydrocarbon deposits  in the Chad Basin covering 3,350 square metres, with federal government pumping close to N30bn in the last two years into feasibility studies of the oil potential there.
Countries such as Chad, Niger and Sudan with similar structural settings are already exploring or producing oil on their own soil.

Chad came into focus when the phantom ceasefire deal brokered in October by its President, Idriss Déby, alerted the security agencies to a possible involvement of the West African country in the insurgency.
“Chad might be eyeing control of the Chad Basin in Borno state, which is believed to be very rich in hydrocarbon reserves,” a senior military officer told TheCable.

“We now have enough grounds to suspect that the staying power of Boko Haram is Chad. While the terrorists have been striking against Cameroon, they have never carried out any attack in Chad. Their arms may be passing through the Chadian territory.”

There are unconfirmed reports in the past that has linked the Chadian government as a major  supplier of arms to Boko Haram. Nigerian authorities have been investigating the insurgents source of arms in the last five years.
Although the militants are reputed to loot Nigerian armouries when they invade barracks, some of the weapons recovered from them have turned out to be different from what they stole.

Security sources told The Cable said they have established that Chadian citizens are serving as foot soldiers for Boko Haram, which most recently made its biggest gain on the Nigerian territory since the insurgency began in 2009.

A retired diplomat told The Cable, if Chadian links are verified, “then we have a potentially dangerous development in our hands. It could be a copycat scenario, considering how Muammar Ghaddafi destabilised West Africa as Libyan leader. Déby was very close to Ghaddafi and he may be copying his style.”

Another senior intelligence officer told The Cable that the federal government is “seriously studying” possible links between Chad and Boko Haram.
It would be recalled that the Federal Government and Boko Haram were believed to have reached a ceasefire agreement on October 17 in Chad. However the attacks continued and soon the sect leader Abubakar Shekau released two videos debunking the fact of deal existence.


Also, yesterday, a close political associate of Chadian President Idriss Déby Itno, Mahamat Bichara Gnoti was arrested as he tried to transfer missiles he purchased from the Sudanese army meant for Boko Haram.

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