Analysts have seen alleged military abuses such as arbitrary detention of Boko Haram suspects in both Nigeria and Cameroon as having hit their ability to gather on-the-ground intelligence from civilians.
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Among the military equipment being supplied by the United States are armored vehicles with a capacity to detect land mines. “So there’s a basis on which to conduct more advanced training”. The pilotless aircraft will now also be monitoring Boko Haram.
“I testified at the first US Congressional hearing on Boko Haram back in 2011, and at that time, there was very little attention paid [to it]”, Pham claimed. General David Rodriguez, commander of the U.S. Africa Command, AFRICOM, said about 90 of the 300 promised US troops were already on their way to Cameroon.
He added that they’ll be handed over to the proper authorities. “Building relationships quietly, like this, is still where America shines today”.
On Thursday and Friday, suicide bombers from the terror sect slew dozens of people in attacks on Maiduguri, Borno State.
Chadian troops in March regained Baga, a town on Lake Chad about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) northeast of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital in the center of the country.
The group’s leaders have allied themselves with the Islamic State group, but experts doubt the scale and scope of collaboration.
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Falana also presented several statements from officers and soldiers who repeatedly stated that the army was ill-equipped to fight Boko Haram, an assertion that was later affirmed by a former Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, shortly after he was sacked from that position earlier this year.
