President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria has lamented the impact that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is having on the Sahel region of West Africa. He said that the conflict is making things worse, especially in the Lake Chad Basin area.
At the 16th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), which was held in the Conference Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Buhari lamented the situation in his opening address.
The President, who is also chairman of the summit, claims that fighters and illegal weapons are already entering the region from Russia and Ukraine. This trend has been observed to have resulted in the proliferation of light and small arms.
He sounded the alarm, stating that the situation necessitates a revigoration of border security in the affected nations of the region.
The President also said that despite the fact that a lot had been done to weaken the Boko Haram terror group and other violent extremist groups in the area, terrorist threats still exist.
“Let me gladly inform my dear brothers that the MNJTF has successfully carried out three major operations since that decision was made:Ops’YANCIN TAFKI (I&II) and Ops Lake Sanity I are planned, as is the fourth, Ops Lake Sanity II.He stated, “The next phase of the operation will effectively consolidate the gains achieved by previous Operations and take into consideration lessons learned from previous exercises.”