UN pledges support to Nigeria to defeat Boko Haram

Lagos, Feb 11: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday pledged support for the war Nigeria is waging to defeat the Boko Haram insurgents.

The UN secretary general said this in a message delivered through his Special Representative for West Africa, Mohammed Ibn-Chambas, when he visited President Goodluck Jonahan in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, Xinhua reported.

He said the UN stands firmly behind Nigeria in its legitimate fight against Boko Haram terrorism.

"Mr president has the assurance of secretary general for the recent initiative whereby the Lake Chad Basin Commission will be the platform to anchor the multinational task force which is being put in place," Ban said.

"There will be the support from the UN through the Department of Peace Keeping to ensure that the concept of operation and planning and other activities to ensure a truly joint operational force with a clear command and control and unity of purpose among the contributing countries, contributing troops, from the different countries that they all work as one and geared their efforts towards degrading and eliminating Boko Haram," he added.

The secretary general also said the UN would work with the Nigerian authorities to offer humanitarian support to the internally displaced persons in the affected states.

IANS