Sunday Okobi
Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Brig Gen Mansur
Dan-Ali, on Thursday expressed the commitment of Nigeria to join efforts with
other countries to defeat terrorism globally.
Ali stated this at the international meeting held
recently in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which signaled the launch of the Islamic
Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCT), a coalition of 41 countries,
united in the global fight against terrorism and violent extremism.
While speaking on the importance of the coalition
held under the theme: ‘Allied Against Terrorism’ Ali said some of the terror
attacks across the world prompted the meeting and that Nigeria is ready to
collaborate with nations with similar experiences to defeat the menace.
Minister of Defence, who said Nigeria has made
remarkable progress in the area of counter-terrorism since the administration
of President Muhammadu Buhari, also added that the efforts of neighbouring
countries with similar issues like Chad, Niger and Cameroun, are yielding
positive results.
While soliciting for the support of the IMCTC for
assistance over the more than three million internally displaced persons, IDPs,
in Nigeria, Ali said the event “obliged my country a great opportunity
considering the enormous challenges the world is facing as regards terrorism.
Nigeria will join forces with this coalition to defeat terrorism”.
The meeting was hosted by the Crown Prince and
Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al
Salman.
Salman said the issue of terrorism would come to an
end as more than 40 Islamic countries are sending a very strong signal that
they would work together to support each others’ efforts, whether in military,
financial, intelligence and political aspects.
According to him, “Today, we began tracking down
terrorism and we see its defeat in many countries of the world, especially in
Islamic countries. And today, we will confirm that we will pursue it until it
disappears completely from the surface of the earth.”
In his contribution, Secretary General, IMCTC,
Lt.-Gen. Abdulelah Al-Saleh, spoke on how Nigeria has fared so far in its
efforts in fight against terrorism.
According to him, the coalition, which operates in
four domains – capacity building, intelligence sharing, financing and training-
will use collaborative efforts and the available expertise to fight crime not
only in Nigeria but other countries.
Al-Saleh also said the ministers resolved that the
joint exercise against terrorism will be based on real time scenario. He said
the exercise will also promote the concept of shared responsibilities and an
environment to combat the menace.
“The body has an extensive cooperation with the
Nigerian Ministry of Defense and the coalition will give support to areas that
need it,” he added.
The IMCTC’s four domains include Ideology,
Communications, Counter Terrorist Financing, and Military. In addition, the
IMCTC’s Acting Secretary General, Lieutenant General Abdulelah AlSaleh,
outlined the Coalition’s strategy, governance, activities and future plans.
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