I warned Jonathan against Boko Haram ceasefire, Chad’s President opens up

President Idris Deby of Chad has spoken publicly about the 2014 botched ceasefire between the Nigerian government and the jihadist group, Boko Haram, which he was said to have facilitated.

Mr. Deby said he warned President Goodluck Jonathan against holding talks with the militant group, saying the whole episode was orchestrated by Boko Haram to buy time and regroup.

He said President Jonathan dismissed the advice and held talks with the group, a decision Mr. Deby said was for political reasons. He accused Mr. Jonathan of downplaying the Boko Haram threat.

“I told President Goodluck not to open negotiations with terrorists … but it was a political choice,” Mr. Deby told French magazine, Le Point, in an interview republished by AFP news agency.

“It has become something too serious for Nigerians to ignore. The blood of the dead that we have been counting every day for the past few years demands attention.”

The October ceasefire humiliated the Nigerian government after it claimed to have reached a deal with the insurgents, who are responsible for more than 15,000 deaths.

At the time, the Nigerian military said the talks were credible and directed its field commanders to immediately suspend hostilities against Boko Haram.

The talks were reportedly facilitated by Mr. Deby, accused earlier of providing safe haven for Boko Haram militants.

Shortly after the announcement, Boko Haram continued its attacks, sacking villages and killing innocent people.

The Nigerian government initially claimed splinter groups of the sect were responsible for the continued fighting, but later blamed the failure on sabotage.

Mr. Deby said President Jonathan and his military had underestimated Boko Haram for too long.

“The whole world is asking why the Nigerian army, which is a big army… is not in a position to stand up to untrained kids armed with Kalashnikovs,” he said.

Speaking about the ongoing war that involves Chad, Niger and Cameroun, Mr. Deby said the Nigerian military has not cooperated with his country in fighting the jihadists.

He said the two sides have not had any direct contact since Chad became involved in the conflict.

“Two months after the start of this war, we have not had any direct contact with the Nigerian army units on the ground,” he said.

“We would have hoped to have at least one Nigerian unit with us. It was even a direct request to the Nigerian government, but for reasons that escape us, up to now we have been unable to work together.”

He said his country has had to capture territories twice in Nigeria, as the Nigerian military would not take over towns, allowing Boko Haram to return.

“The Chadian army is fighting alone in its part of the Nigerian interior and that is a problem. We have had to retake certain towns twice,” Mr. Deby said. “We are forced to abandon them and Boko Haram returns, and we have to go back. That has a human and material cost.”

Mr. Deby said Boko Haram has long been trained by ISIS in Libya, and that the group’s recent public declaration of allegiance was a mere formality that did not surprise him.

“(IS) has always trained young people from Boko Haram in the use of explosives, the use of heavy weapons and armoured vehicles. They are trained by (IS) in Libya… and are then sent to Nigeria,” he told Le Point.

“I’m not surprised that (Boko Haram leader) Abubakar Shekau, who has difficulties at the moment… is trying to make people believe that he only just made contact with them.”

I warned Jonathan against Boko Haram ceasefire, Chad’s President opens up

Jonathan meets Chadian President over Boko Haram again

President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday in N’Djamena, the Chadian capital reiterated the need for Nigeria and her neighbours to intensify joint actions and cooperation to win the war against terrorism and insurgency.

President Jonathan, Ali Modu Sheriff & President Deby of Chad on Monday in Ndjamena

A statement by the his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, quoted the President as speaking to reporters at the Presidential Palace in N’Djamena after a closed-door meeting with his Chadian counterpart, President Idris Deby.

Abati further quoted the President as saying that their talks focused mainly on security and economic cooperation.

He reportedly told the journalists that the Boko Haram sect had a lot of external influence from outside Africa and it had become more imperative for all countries in the region to work together to overcome terrorism and other criminal activities across their borders.

“If you look at the economies of Nigeria and Chad both are linked. The Boko Haram people don’t take permission to move from Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Nigeria.

“If the countries do not cooperate, we will not find it easy to win the war, because when the heat is strong in one country, the criminals and terrorists will go to another one and hide.

“So, we must work together and we are discussing along that line,” Jonathan reportedly told reporters.

He also recalled that his visit to Chad was the second in the last one month, noted that it underscored the importance of building a “robust relationship” between both countries to improve trade, economic and security ties.

He said that discussions between both countries on cooperation in the ICT sector were ongoing and expressed optimism that more proficient use of modern technology would help greatly to address economic and security challenges in the region.

Jonathan, who was accompanied on the one-day official visit by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali, and the Director-General the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ayodele Oke had returned to Abuja.

It will be recalled that Jonathan had, on September 8, held a closed-door security meeting with Deby to discuss ways of ending the Boko Haram menace.

The meeting between both leaders was a follow-up to their discussions in Nairobi, Kenya, about a week earlier on the sidelines of the African Union Peace and Security Council summit

It has earlier be reported that Chad President played a big role in the ceasefire between the Nigeria Federal Government and the terrorist group, Boko Haram which suddenly halted for an unknown reason.

Information gathered has revealed that Chadian President is working with Ali Modu Sheriff to sponsor the Boko Haram sect. Other informant said that President Derby is fueling Boko Haram because of his interest in Borno oil.

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Jonathan meets Chadian President over Boko Haram again

EXCLUSIVE: Chad ‘fuelling’ Boko Haram Insurgency With Eyes On Borno Oil Deposits

What started as mere suspicion in Nigeria’s security circles is now being treated with utmost seriousness: Chad may be the major backer and staying power of Boko Haram ─ with eyes on the oil deposits in the Chad Basin, Borno state.

President Jonathan, Ali Modu Sheriff & President Deby of Chad on Monday in Ndjamena

Preliminary surveys have indicated that there is hydrocarbon deposit in an area covering 3,350 square metres in the Chad Basin, with federal government pumping close to N30bn in the last two years into feasibility studies of the oil potential there.

Countries such as Chad, Niger and Sudan with similar structural settings are already exploring or producing oil on their own soil, leading to conclusions that it is a matter of time for Nigeria’s turn.

The lukewarm attitude of Nigeria’s neighbours, particularly Chad and Cameroon, to the Boko Haram threat has long been attributed to regional rivalry rather than economic interest.

The Chad Basin spanning across six countries

However, circumstances surrounding the phantom ceasefire deal brokered in October by Idriss Déby, the president of Chad, have alerted the security agencies to a possible involvement of the west African country in the insurgency.

“Chad might be eyeing control of the Chad Basin in Borno state, which is believed to be very rich in hydrocarbon reserves,” a senior military officer told TheCable.

“We now have enough grounds to suspect that the staying power of Boko Haram is Chad. While the terrorists have been striking against Cameroon, they have never carried out any attack in Chad. Their arms may be passing through the Chadian territory.”

Unconfirmed reports have linked the Chadian government to arms supply to Boko Haram as Nigerian authorities try to understand what has kept the insurgents fully armed in the last five years.

Although the militants have looted Nigerian armouries on several occasions, some of the weapons recovered from them have turned out to be different from what they stole.

If indeed Chad is fuelling the insurgency, Boko Haram may gain access to more sophisticated weapons, such as surface-to-air missiles, which are legally sold only to sovereign entities.

The transportation of armoured tanks and other heavy hardware into Nigeria may also be facilitated by Chad, but the insurgents are unlikely to acquire aircraft as no terrorist group has yet used the aerial route in launching attacks.

Abubakar Shekau, the group’s leader, once claimed to have shot down an aircraft belonging to the Nigerian military, but this was denied by defence headquarters.

boko haram suspects

Security sources said they have established that Chadian citizens are serving as foot soldiers for Boko Haram, which most recently made its biggest gain on the Nigerian territory since the insurgency began in 2009.

A retired diplomat said if Chadian links are verified, “then we have a potentially dangerous development in our hands. It could be a copycat scenario, considering how Muammar Ghaddafi destabilised West Africa as Libyan leader. Déby was very close to Ghaddafi and he may be copying his style.”

Another senior intelligence officer told TheCable that the federal government is “seriously studying” possible links between Chad and Boko Haram.

TheCable recently reported that Nigerian government officials are furious about the phantom ceasefire deal which misled the Nigerian military into dropping its guard, a situation that saw the terror group reinforce and take over more Nigerian towns and villages.

Déby, who was involved in putting the deal together claiming he had been contacted by Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram’s leader, has stopped communicating with Nigeria after the failed ceasefire deal.

On the three occasions that the Nigerian delegation went to N’Djamena, the Chadian capital, he did not attend to them, saying he was ill, a source had told TheCable.

President Goodluck Jonathan had met with Déby in September after being informed that the Chadian leader was in touch the leaders of Boko Haram who had indicated interest in negotiating a dialogue.

Ali Modu Sheriff, former governor of Borno state whose mother is from Chad, was instrumental to putting the meeting together, but he too has been accused of funding the terror group ─ a claim he has vehemently denied.

Sheriff, who recently defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is one of the biggest investors in the Chadian economy and is a close associate of the Déby.

EXCLUSIVE: Chad ‘fuelling’ Boko Haram Insurgency With Eyes On Borno Oil Deposits