Security. PM Philemon Yang attended an extraordinary summit of the Lake Chad Basin
Member States of the Lake Chad Basin Commission met in Ndjamena on November 29, 2018 to discuss the fight against the insurgency attacks by the terrorist sect Boko Haram.
Emmanuel NGOTA
The Prime Minister and Head of Government, Philemon Yang represented the Head of State President Paul Biya during the extraordinary summit of the Lake Chad. This extraordinary summit comes on the heels following attacks in the recent weeks wherein the Boko Haram sect have multiplied series of attacks around the lake Chad basin mainly in Niger, Chad and Nigeria. The members were to brainstorm on how to counter attack the terrorist modus operandi that has drifted from asymmetric threats to suicide bombing like the recent case that occurred in the Far North Region. Coupled with this, the sect is moving to higher heights by abducting children and women.
It was therefore a question for the member countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission to reflect on the measures to be taken to deal with the threats of the terrorist sect. It was also noted that these attacks, which have become recurrent lately, are due to the “slight” lull observed. So the sect took the opportunity to rebuild its arsenal.
It is in this backdrop that the Head of State, President Paul Biya signed a decree creating the National Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Commission for ex-fighters of Boko Haram and armed separatists to voluntarily drop their arms. To this effect, the authorities of the Far North Region have already secured a thirteen hectares piece of land at Meme stretching towards Mora in the Mayo Sava Division to serve this purpose. The area is meant to host some one hundred Cameroon ex-fighters of the Boko Haram terrorist group. Before now, the ex-fighters who were under custody for over one year were at the barracks of the first sector of the Multi National Joint task Force of the Lake Chad Basin in Mora.
The Governor of the Far North Region, Midjiyawa Bakary, has called on all the fighters of the sect to voluntarily lay down their arms so that they could be taken care of by the state and reinserted in the normal social strata of life. He reiterated that the exercise is not an illusion but a reality that is aimed at giving them another opportunity to carry on with a peaceful life. He guaranteed the reconverts that they will be protected in all domains and the administration will create an enabling environment to help them learn a trade or get involved in farming for a livelihood.
