ISIS trains Boko Haram fighters, says Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan says
fighters from insurgent group Boko
Haram have traveled to the Middle
East for training with Islamic State
militants.
Jonathan declined to name the
countries where the fighters were
allegedly trained. But in an
interview with VOA on Wednesday,
he said he’s long suspected Boko
Haram of having alliances with
international extremist groups.
“So, we know the links are there.
But even now, we may not know
the degree of linkages as to how
much funds are coming in from
them, the kind of volume of
weapons coming in from them, the
nationalities coming from them,”
Jonathan said.
“But the training, because some of
the Boko Haram members go to
have their training in the ISIS camp
and come back,” he added
In the interview, Jonathan credited
both the intervention of Nigeria’s
neighbours as well as the
acquisition of new weapons for
turning the tide against the
militants.
He hit back at criticisms that foreign
troops aren’t being allowed to
push into Boko Haram strongholds
deep in Nigerian territory. He said
Cameroon previously denied
Nigeria permission to pursue Boko
Haram into its territory, and added
that restrictions on foreign troops
were matters of coordination.
“I think the idea is that look, for any
major aggression, we should know.
Where possible, let some Nigerian
soldiers also be with you,” the
President said.
He also said that foreign
technicians are present in the
northeast to teach Nigerian troops
on how to use their new weapons,
since there wasn’t time to train the
troops before they were deployed.
“So we now have this technical
people who are trainers and
technicians, who are to train our
people on how to use them, and
technicians that help the
maintenance, at the same time
training our people how to
maintain this equipment,” Jonathan
said.
He said two unnamed companies
were involved in the training but
declined to offer nationalities or
numbers of the trainers.
Jonathan dismissed the suggestion
that Boko Haram’s insurgency had
come to define his time in office.
“Yes, it’s a major security issue, it’s
the number one security issue we
have as a nation. But definitely, you
cannot define us by Boko Haram,”
he said.
As the multinational offensive
continues, Jonathan predicted that
the northeastern states of Yobe and
Adamawa would be cleared of Boko
Haram territory before the middle
of next week. He said he hopes
neighbouring Borno State, where
the group started, will be cleared in
the next three weeks.
But Jonathan said he expects Boko
Haram to continue bombing
markets and bus stops. He says the
government’s strategy is to
improve intelligence gathering as
well as job and educational
prospects in the northeast as a
long-term strategy to destroy the
group.