Africa Focus: Nigerian president seeks quick end to Boko Haram atrocities

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is seeking tactical support from the global communities in bringing a quick end to the atrocities of Boko Haram.

The Nigerian leader returned to Abuja, the nation's capital city following trips to Chad and Niger. The president made the trip to the neighboring countries to discuss the joint war on Boko Haram.

Boko Haram, a militant group seeking to enshrine the Islamic sharia law into the Constitution in Nigeria, has been bombing some parts of the West African country everyday since May 29 when Buhari took over the presidency.

More than 100 people have been killed in Maiduguri, the northeast Borno State capital in less than a week.

Boko Haram had on May 29, staged a major attack on Maiduguri by firing dozens of RPGs into the town which caused the death of at least 30 people, mostly women and children, and destroyed a number of homes.

Buhari has in the first minutes of his assumption of office issued a marching order to the country's military command to relocate its office to Maiduguri, the epicenter of the Boko Haram and remain there until the last of the terrorists were wiped out and the missing Chibok school girls rescued.

The former military head of state had vowed that his administration will bring new impetus and a renewed commitment to the efforts to wipe out the menace of the Boko Haram insurgents.

Boko Haram has been terrorizing the Nigerian population and claimed responsibility for thousands of deaths since 2009.

Before he departed the Abuja on Tuesday, Buhari met with the nation's defense chiefs and was briefed on the security situation to review ongoing operations against Boko Haram.

The closed door meeting was the first with the president since his inauguration.

Nigeria's Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jubrin, said the military would like to maintain the level of successes recorded against Boko Haram terrorists and sustain it until they are defeated.

He said the military would go back and work on the command center following the president's directive that it had to relocate to Maiduguri.

On Wednesday, the Nigerian leader arrived in Niamey, Niger Republic, where he met with President Issoufou Mahamadou.

Buhari said his visit to Niger was to seek more supports from the country in bringing a quick end to the atrocities of Boko Haram.

The president said Nigeria would continue to seek the support of neighboring countries in its bid to overcome Boko Haram.

He said that Nigeria would also require the assistance of other nations and multilateral institutions to rebuild areas adversely affected by the Boko Haram insurgency and rehabilitate displaced persons.

The president said that he would hold similar meetings on security and the war against terrorism with the Chadian authorities after leaving Niamey on Thursday.

While in N'Djamena, the Chadian capital, Buhari and his Chadian counterpart, President Idriss Deby, reaffirmed the commitment of their countries to greater cooperation in the fight against Boko Haram.

In a communique issued at the end of Buhari's one-day official visit to Chad, both leaders agreed on the need to quickly make the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) fully operational, to effectively combat terrorism.

Buhari and Deby called on the international community to provide the Lake Chad Basin Commission and neighboring countries with all necessary support to combat terrorism and insurgency.

Boko Haram has stepped up its attacks since Buhari took office. The Nigerian leader had been elected on a pledge to crack down on extremism, vowing to rid the country of the terror of Islamist fighters.

Boko Haram's insurgency has killed at least 15,000 people in total since 2009 and has since spilled over to Nigeria's neighboring countries. Endi