The Nigerian Government says the absence of Chad’s influence on the border may worsen Nigeria and other neighbouring countries’ security situation.
The development is sequel to the death of veteran Chadian President, Idriss Deby.
Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (rtd), made government’s position known on Thursday, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, during a briefing session organised by the Presidential Communication Team.
He said: “When we heard of this unfortunate killing of the Chadian President, we knew that problem is bound to be replicated among neighbouring countries and Nigeria will be most hit by his absence.
“The problem is now going to be aggravated. Because we are not sure the direction in which that country is going to face. But I assure you that we are mindful of our borders, we are mindful of the development, and politically, the government is putting its head together to see how best they can restore the peace in that country.
Securing Borders
Magashi said Nigeria would beef up security around its borders, particularly with the Republic of Chad, following the ongoing unrest in that country.
“Security wise, we’re beefing up all borders to ensure that refugees did not flow into a country. Even Nigerians there I’m sure some of them would like to come back. We have to be ready. Let’s prepare for them and not allow them to come in and use others to come because of the problems that they will create.
Refugees
To prevent a situation where bandits will infiltrate the borders, the Minister said influx of refugees into the country would be controlled.
According to him, “If there’s no security in Chad there will be a lot of trouble for all neighboring countries. But thankfully we have a lot of ongoing military cooperation, through the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF), which we expect to continue. We remain mindful of our borders and developments in Chad.”