- Following a fact finding mission on Boko Haram, the United Nations (UN) Security Council has made a decision
- The council passed a resolution to solve the terrorism crisis
- It then adopted its first resolution addressing Boko Haram’s presence in the Lake Chad Basin
The UN Security Council resolution might be the needed force to quell the Boko Haram crisis
The Boko Haram insurgency might abate soon as the UN Security Council has unanimously adopted its first resolution addressing Boko Haram’s presence in the Lake Chad Basin.
The Council strongly condemned all terrorist attacks, violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses by Boko Haram and Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the region.
The Council also encouraged affected governments to ensure regional military cooperation, and to cut off the source of funding to individuals, groups, undertakings and entities on the ISIL and Al-Qaida Sanctions List, which includes Boko Haram.
READ ALSO: Top Boko Haram member surrenders as 2 others are arrested
The council declared: "Those responsible must be held to account and brought to justice."
Also, Lake Chad Basin governments were urged to implement consistent policies to promote defections from Boko Haram and ISIL, and all parties to the conflict were reminded to ensure respect for and protection of humanitarian personnel, and to facilitate safe, timely and unhindered access for humanitarian organisations to deliver aid.
Also, the Council encouraged the Secretary-General to carry out a joint visit to the Lake Chad Basin region with the Chairperson of the AU Commission, the President of the World Bank Group and the President of the African Development Bank.
Tommo Monthe, Cameroon’s ambassador to the UN, described the resolution as a “step change in mobilising international support for countries to combat Boko Haram”.
According to The Punch, Anthony Bosah, Nigeria's representative on the council welcomed the resolution’s call for enhanced regional military cooperation and coordination, and reiterated that Nigeria was resolute in its efforts to defeat terrorism.
READ ALSO: Boko Haram releases new video taunt special forces
He also said that the people of Lake Chad needed support, as shrinking of Lake Chad had caused their hardship, with cross-border knock-on effects making it difficult for governments to meet the people’s needs.
Mathew Rycroft, the permanent representative of the United Kingdom and UN Security Council’s President for the month of March, said the fact-finding mission to the region was an eye-opener.
Rycroft concluded: "We will fail the people of the region if we do not respond to what we saw."
Meanwhile, according to reports, the dreaded insurgency group Boko Haram have made another video, in which they taunt the Cameroonian President Paul Biya and the Special Forces.
The resolution, will especially be good news for Boko Haram victims, whom NAIJ.com spoke with in the video below:
