A summit on 17 May marked one of the first occasions that the Nigerian government explicitly associated Boko Haram with the transnationalist terrorist al-Qaeda network. But by designating Boko Haram as being nothing more than an al-Qaeda proxy, Jonathan has pretty much absolved his beleaguered government of its role in the spiralling conflict.
"Boko Haram is no longer a local terrorist group, it is operating clearly as an Al-Qaeda operation, it is an al-Qaeda of West Africa." These were the words uttered by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan during a news conference held in the French capital, Paris, on 17 May. The media briefing followed an earlier African security summit, coordinated and hosted by France, where the governments of Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, Benin and Chad pledged better regional cooperation in the fight against Boko Haram. In turn, the French government and its UK, US and EU counterparts, committed to provide logistical and technical support to regional initiatives aimed at uprooting the Islamist sect.
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