West African heads of state have resolved to fully implement the ECOWAS anti-terrorism strategy plan to fight terrorism in the sub-region.
This was disclosed by President John Mahama at the end of the one-day ECOWAS summit which came off in Accra on Friday.
The ECOWAS anti-terrorism plan defines what terrorism is in common language and what strategies must be adopted to combat it.
In a media briefing after the summit, President Mahama explained that ECOWAS is determined to stop terrorist activities in the sub-region.
He described the summit as “fruitful” as heads of state were given a “detailed briefing of the crisis in Mail…and afterwards we got a detailed briefing on the issue of Boko Haram Nigeria.”
The detailed briefing was subsequently followed by an in-depth discussion “on the various aspects of the challenges we face in respect of terrorism.”
According to the ECOWAS chairman, there is a common desire among the West African heads of state “to see a speedy implementation of the ECOWAS common strategy against terrorism.”
Nigeria has been under attack from Islamist Militant group, Boko Haram which has launched several attacks on Nigeria citizens resulting in the death of hundreds with several others injured.
The height of their operations was when they kidnapped about 200 school girls in northern Nigeria about two months ago.
They have threatened to sell the girls into slavery if the government does not initiate steps to exchange the girls for their comrades who had been arrested.
Western countries like the United States, Britain and France have joined in the rescue mission to secure the girls from Boko Haram.
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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