Boko Haram: Nigeria, US, others begin move to halt recruitment by terrorists

The United States and Nigeria, as well as some other countries across seven continents of the world, have commenced moves to counter recruitment of young individuals into terrorism, particularly ISIS which now has global branches and affiliates.

At a virtual meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS hosted by Nigeria and the US on Tuesday, the group referenced lessons on how ISIS was dealt with in Iraq and Syria, adding that such lessons and lines of efforts could be applied in West Africa and the Sahel.

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The Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA), in a statement on Friday, noted Nigeria is committed to the defeating of the Boko Haram terrorists, Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) and other affiliates in the Northeast and other places.

According to ONSA, the coordinators of the National Counter-terrorism of the two countries co-chaired the virtual meeting, which was attended by delegates from the 82-member global coalition drawn from Africa, America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, as well as the representatives of AU, EU, ECOWAS, G5 Sahel among other international and regional organisations.

While the Nigerian delegation was led by the National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno (Rtd.), the US coordinator for counter-terrorism, Ambassador Nathan Sales, led the American delegation.

At the opening session, Monguno, who was represented by the Coordinator of the Counter-terrorism Centre, Rear Admiral Yaminu Musa, said the challenges of global terrorism had negatively impacted virtually every facet of human endeavour, including the economy, the polity, and the lives and livelihoods of people as apparent in the Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin and parts of the Northeast.

Also, the US coordinator, Sales, who was also designated as the Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, highlighted the coalition’s increasing focus on defeating ISIS’s global branches and affiliates.

“The meeting noted that ISIS was undermining state authorities and peoples’ means of livelihood across the globe, particularly in Africa where more affiliates were springing up. The meeting called for more measures to counter radicalization, recruitment of gullible individuals and concerted global efforts to defeat ISIS,” the statement partly read.