At a conference, the Nigerian president expressed concern that, as in the Libyan war, weapons from the war in Ukraine are beginning to trickle into the Sahel region, threatening its collective peace and security.

At a summit of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari held a speech about the illegal arms trading triggered by the war in Ukraine, which, he said, is threatening the collective peace in the region.

„Regrettably, the situation in the Sahel and the raging war in Ukraine serve as major sources of weapons and fighters that bolster the ranks of the terrorists in the Lake Chad Region. A substantial proportion of the arms and ammunition procured to execute the war in Libya continues to find its way to the Lake Chad Region and other parts of the Sahel. Weapons being used for the war in Ukraine and Russia are equally beginning to filter into the region,” Nigeria’s president claimed.

Nigeria says weapons destined for Ukraine are being diverted to terrorists in Africa

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said on Tuesday (29) that part of the arms of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia are being diverted to the Lake Chad basin region.

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„This illegal movement of arms into the region has heightened the proliferation of small arms and light weapons which continues to threaten our collective peace and security in the region,” Mr Buhari emphasized.

Russia -Ukraine war: Buhari raises alarm on influx of weapons into Lake Chad region https://t.co/FCU5gPuea4

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The president praised the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) for conducting successful operations against terrorist camps but told LCBC that tighter border controls around the Lake Chad region were the only way to prevent the gangs from obtaining arms and reinforcements.

„Although terrorist threats have been significantly decimated in the region, it is worthy of note that military actions alone cannot effectively win the war against terrorism. There is the overriding need to complement military operations with the provision of sustainable development projects that will ameliorate the living conditions of the affected people in the region,” the president added and hailed Libya’s membership and participation in LCBC as a positive step.

However, he pointed out that Libya was a major source of political instability and weapons, noting that weapons from Libya continue to find their way to Lake Chad militants, joined by fresh streams of equipment from Ukraine and the Sahel.

Buhari did not elaborate on how weapons from the Ukrainian battlefield were being diverted to Africa, or what agency was responsible for transporting them to the region.

Buhari’s claim, however, is not implausible, said Jaye Gaskia, chair of the Partnership Against Violent Extremism.

„The longer this war goes on, the more it opens up for all manners of groups to be entangled with it, if not directly through financing and funding, through building solidarity and the rest, the more that becomes a possibility, the more insurgent groups in the Sahel begin to find the theatre of war in Ukraine as a veritable source,” Mr Gaskia said.