Algeria intelligence has said that there are ties between Boko Haram and the Algerian-based north African branch of al-Qaeda, the Reuters Report.
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Speaking to reporters yesterday in Algiers, capital of Algeria, the Algerian deputy foreign minister, Abdelkader Messahel, said, “We have no doubts that coordination exists between Boko Haram and al Qaeda. The way both groups operate and intelligence reports show that there is cooperation.”
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Algeria’s assessment of ties between AQIM and Boko Haram carries authority because Algeria has the biggest intelligence-gathering operation on al Qaeda of any country in the region.
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It tallies with the view of some in the Nigerian military, who say Boko Haram is increasingly linking up with global jihadist movements.
The Algerian deputy foreign minister said that in the light of the ties between Boko Haram and AQIM, Nigerian officials were scheduled to attend a regional summit in Mauritania in December to coordinate the fight against al Qaeda.
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Meanwhile, AQIM grew out of a conflict in Algeria between the government and Islamist militants. In the past few years, it has expanded its activities to include Mali, Niger and Mauritania but was not thought to have reached as far south as Nigeria.
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Meanwhile top spies from five Western African countries bordering Nigeria rose from a meeting in Abuja at the weekend with a pledge to fight terrorism and strengthen the measures by the country to tackle the violent attacks? by the Boko Haram sect.
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Accordingly, the federal government has ordered that 22 border security posts across its four contiguous neighbours to be re-activated with immediate effect.
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According to an impeccable source within the country’s security circle, Chad, Niger, Benin and Cameroun with Mali which is also being watched closely are on the list of the identified contiguous borders.
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The security operatives? in the aforementioned countries met with their Nigerian counterparts and pledged full co-operation in the fight against trans-border crimes and proliferation of light weapons.
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While President Goodluck Jonathan is said to have given his nod to this fresh security offensive, the plan, LEADERSHIP gathered, followed frantic moves to tackle recent threats to national peace and security by the Boko Haram.