french citizens in Boko haram Squad

• Arrest proves sect has European members
• Bama, Baga about to be liberated as more
insurgents are slayed in Sambisa, Gwoza
• Chad inflicts more casualties on terror group
Senator Iroegbu in Abuja with agency report
Following the capture of eight French nationals
who are members of the terror group Boko
Haram, a diplomatic spat has ensued between
France and Cameroun, which has insisted on
trying the terror suspects.
A top Nigerian intelligence source opened up to
THISDAY on the brewing diplomatic tensions
between France and one of her Francophone
allies in the sub-region following the shocking
discovery that some French citizens are staunch
members of the sect, a throwback to their
membership of the terror group, Islamic State in
Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
According to findings, France was reported to
have chided her former colony for insisting on
trying the terrorists in Cameroun instead of
handing them over to the French authorities.
Enraged by the audacity of Cameroun to hold its
citizens, the French Foreign Minister, Mr. Lauren
Fabuci, was alleged to have ordered that the
suspects be handed over to the European country
with immediate effect.
However, Camerounian authorities were said to
have felt slighted and have protested the manner
in which France had demanded the release of its
nationals.
A Camerounian minister was quoted to have said:
“Mr. Lauren Fabuci, the French Foreign Minister,
has ordered Cameroun to release immediately
eight Europeans captured by our security men, for
being part of Boko Haram terrorists.
“Mr. Fabuci demanded their immediate handover
to France so that they can prosecute the
terrorists on French soil, ignoring our sovereignty
and independence.
“The French are acting as if Cameroun is their
errand boy that they can order around and ignore
the fact that we have our own laws with which
we can try the terrorists.”
The latest revelation has lent credence to strong
suspicions in the Nigerian intelligence community
that Boko Haram has strong foreign backing
.
When contacted on the discovery of French
nationals who had joined the terror sect, the
Director of Defence Information, Major-General
Chris Olukolade, said it was a matter for the
parties involved to sort themselves out.
“All I can tell you is that the matter is for
Camerounian and French authorities to settle,”
Olukolade stated.
However, a top military officer said the Nigerian
intelligence community had previously warned of
a growing foreign collaboration with Boko Haram.
He said other than Chadians, Boko Haram has a
large presence of Arabs, Malians and other
Islamists who have joined the sect.
“Now we have seen evidence of French and
European participation. This is one major
indication that Boko Haram has very active and
sophisticated foreign backing. I advise that the
African Union should take this up.
“France is trying to silence the Camerounians but
Africa must rise to the occasion and take this
findings seriously. They must not keep quiet,” the
military source said.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian military has continued its
onslaught to rid the North-east of Boko Haram
terrorists, as a concerted air campaign by the
Nigerian Air Force has resulted in the death of a
large number of Boko Haram terrorists in Borno
State.
This is coming just as military sources informed
THISDAY that the boundary town of Baga and to
some extent Bama, might have been liberated,
save for few pockets of resistance by Boko
Haram elements and mop-up operations in both
towns.
According to a statement yesterday by the
spokesman of the Defence Headquarters, Major-
General Olukolade, “A concerted air campaign by
the Nigerian Air Force is ongoing in furtherance of
the mission to clear terrorists from all their
enclaves.
“The air strikes which today (yesterday) targeted
the training camps and logistics dumps of the
terrorists in Sambisa forest and parts of Gwoza
have been highly successful as it achieved the
aim with required precision.
“The death of a large number of terrorists has
be