Defence Advisers from 17 countries accredited to Nigeria have commended troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) on the successes recorded against insurgents in various operations in the Lake Chad region.
The Chief of Military Public Information for MNJTF, Lt.-Col. Kamarudeen Adegoke, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Njamena Chad.
The defence advisers were on a working visit to the MNJTF Headquarters in Njamena Chad, on Thursday.
The advisers are from Uganda, Zambia, Gambia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Cote D’Ivoire, France, India, Morocco, Poland, Sierra Leone, South Korea, Ukraine, Denmark, and Algeria
Speaking on behalf of the team, the Director Foreign Liaison, Defence Intelligence Agency, Maj.-Gen. E.S. Buba, said the visit was for on the spot assessment of the operational activities of the MNJTF in the Lake Chad region.
Buba said the tasks carried out by the MNJTF were huge, exemplary and in line with global best practices.
Responding, the Force Commander, MNJTF, Maj.-Gen. Abdul-Khalifah Ibrahim, said the visit was a recognition of the work being done by the military task force.
He added that the successes in the fight against insurgency were recorded through robust coordination and collaboration among the Troop Contributing Countries.
The force commander said the conduct of Operation Lake Sanity was being carried out in close coordination with Operation Desert Sanity in Nigeria.
According to him, the MNJTF has mounted enormous pressure on Boko Haram and ISWAP criminals operating in the Lake Chad Islands and settlements, known as Tunbuns.
He commended the troop contributing countries of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroun and Chad and also appreciated the EU, UK, China among others for their support to the MNJTF.
Ibrahim called for greater collaboration and synergy in the Lake Chad basin and the Sahel region to tackle the problem of religious fundamentalism.