Nigeria, Cameroon meet on counter-terrorism today

The Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, is to play host to a military delegation to Cameroon led by the country’s Defence Chief as part of sustained efforts against insurgency in the country.

Cameroon is one neighbouring country whose cooperation with Nigeria in the ongoing counter-insurgency operation is suspect.

The Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, said in an electronic mail on Tuesday that the three-day meeting would commence in Abuja on Wednesday (today).

He said that the meeting was a follow-up to previous regional meetings to foster collective international action against terrorism in the sub-region.

The meeting between the two countries is taking place shortly after a similar meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin Republic on Monday, which dwelt on the need to have the relevant legal framework for cross border military action against the insurgents.

“The three-day meeting, which is being hosted by Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, will have in attendance his Cameroonian counterpart and his country’s military delegation.

“The forum, which is a follow-up to previous international and regional meetings to foster a common ground in the fight against insurgency and terrorism, is to fashion out ways of strengthening the existing working relationship and cooperation between the two Armed Forces in the war against terror in the West African sub-region.”