Nigeria to recall troops on peacekeeping mission: official

The Nigerian government is considering recalling its soldiers on peacekeeping in foreign countries to boost troops operations in northeastern part of the country, a top official said Thursday.

This was one of the positions of the country at a meeting held between it and some African countries on Tuesday in Niamey, Niger Republic, Mike Omeri, the Coordinator, National Information Center told a news conference in Abuja.

He did not mention the countries involved but said the meeting was necessitated by the collapse of Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) set up to fight the Boko Haram sect.

Omeri said the sole aim of that meeting was to seek the authorization from the UN Security Council through the AU to establish a more effective multinational force to confront the insurgents.

He said the country's other positions at that meeting was that Nigeria and her neighbors needed to improve on the effective management of their borders.

Omeri said Nigeria also stressed that Boko Haram was not only a challenge to the country but a threat to regional and international peace and security which required collective efforts.

He commended the UN Security Council for strongly condemning the atrocities of Boko Haram in northeast and demanded that it should unequivocally cease all hostilities and abuse of human rights. Endi