Banditry, terrorism: FG seeks Sahel-Saharan region’s actions

The Federal Government has asked the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD) to give priority to strengthening security and peace building by coming up with strategies to combat banditry and terrorism.

It made the call Tuesday evening in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, at the commencement of the 21st Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of CEN-SAD.

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Nura Bello Dankadai, Minister Plenipotentiary (Economic), Nigerian Embassy in Rabat, who presented the country’s position, noted that whatever affects Nigeria will have a direct impact on its neighbours.

He stressed the need to stop the illegal circulation of small arms and light weapons which, according to him, is fueling insecurity in Nigeria and the entire CEN-SAD region.

He recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had, last year, approved the establishment of a National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons.

Dankadai said Nigeria also wanted the region to come up with strategies to fight corruption as well as drug and human trafficking.

He assured the session that Nigeria would later submit its final position to the CEN-SAD Secretariat on all the issues discussed.

Earlier, CEN-SAD Executive Secretary, Brigi Rafini, had asked the region to devise means of addressing terrorism and other challenges.

He called for mobilization of youths and women’s structures to engage in systemic actions with a view to restoring and maintaining peace in the region.

Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, said the security challenges in the CEN-SAD region had become a fundamental concern as “the Sahel remains the world’s second most affected region by terrorism.”

He stated: “The security issue is raised every time we talk about the Sahel. In the space of a decade, our region has become not only a place of return and redeployment of foreign fighters, but also a space producing terrorist groups.”

He charged the region to accelerate the operationalization of its Peace and Security Council, transform its Security Services Forum into an Intelligence Committee in the service of peace and security and set up a Sahel-Saharan countries’ General Staff to fight terrorism and drug trafficking more effectively.

“Our greatest challenge is to offer our populations better living conditions in a space of security and prosperity. Let us unite for the good of our peoples and our continent, Africa,” Bourita advocated.

CEN-SAD, established in 1998, aims to achieve economic unity through the implementation of the free movement of people and goods to make the area occupied by member states a free trade zone.

Member states include Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, the Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo and Tunisia.