The presidency has reacted to the insinuations that Nigeria may hire mercenaries to engage in the fight against boko haram.
President Buhari and Femi Adesina
Ahead of the December presidential deadline for the nation’s armed forces to end the activities of the Boko Haram sect, the Presidency has said Nigeria will not seek the help of foreign mercenaries.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, disclosed this in an interview The Punch on Saturday.
Adesina was responding to a question on whether or not President Muhammadu Buhari would ask the military to seek external help in view of recent attacks by the sect.
He said it was uncharacteristic of the President to direct the military to seek external help in form of mercenaries.
According to him, he said Buhari’s position had always been that the nation’s military has the capacity to end insurgency in the country, having performed creditably well in peace-keeping missions in many countries.
Adesina insisted that while the President would appreciate foreign support in terms of equipment, trainings and intelligence, he would not be favourably disposed to mercenaries.
The presidential spokesman said, “The position of the President has always been that he believes the military has the capacity to fight terrorism.
“President Buhari has always made it clear that Nigeria will appreciate support in terms of equipment, training and intelligence. The support the President is seeking is definitely not in terms of manpower or what you will call mercenaries.”