Nigerian General Iliya Abbah to head multi-national joint task force against Boko Haram

A new head of the multinational force on Boko Haram has been appointed. The appointment was necessary because the former head, Brig-Gen. T. Y. Buratai, was appointed as the Chief of Army Staff by President Muhammadu Buhari. The new commander, Major General Iliya Abbah, previously headed military operations in the Niger Delta, according to a military spokesman, Major General Chris Olukolade.

The Multi-National Joint Task Force, made up of 8,700 troops from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin, is expected to be more effective than a current alliance in the battle to end Boko Haram’s six-year insurgency, which has claimed some 15,000 lives. Until his appointment, Abbah, a Muslim from northern Nigeria, served as the military secretary in the army, Olukolade added. In that post, he was responsible for promotions, postings and retirements. 

The officer, who was seen Thursday at a military ceremony in the capital Abuja, had also been part of Nigeria’s contingent to peacekeeping operations in Sudan’s troubled western Darfur region, one of his close friends told AFP. The military spokesman had said Tuesday that the new regional force was expected to go into action “any moment from now”, but did not specify when. Boko Haram has stepped up its attacks since President Muhammadu Buhari took office in May, unleashing a wave of violence that has claimed 800 lives in just two months.The regional task force will be headquartered in Chad’s capital N’Djamena, but few other specific details have emerged, raising concerns that its deployment may face delays.