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Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram Recruiting Nigerians – President Akufo-Addo

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Al-Qaeda and Boko Haram are taking advantage of the poverty in North-Eastern Nigeria to conduct fresh recruitment, Ghana President, Nana Akufo-Addo has revealed.

He made this known on Monday during a visit to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission in Abuja.

Akufo-Addo has said the insurgents were also making inroads in the Lake Chad Basin, Mali and the Greater Sahel.

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“This is most worrying, because surrogates of Al-Qaeda in the Sahel and Boko Haram militants operating around the Lake Chad Basin, the two most active terrorist groups in West Africa, are exploiting the unacceptable levels of poverty in these areas, in the recruitment and indoctrination of youth,” he said.

The Ghanaian president called for a strong regional approach to contain the growing threats of terrorist and extremist activities.

“‘You will recall that, on 12th September 2019, ECOWAS organised, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, an Extraordinary Summit on Eradication of Terrorism in ECOWAS. Following the summit, a 2020 to 2024 Plan of Action was adopted by the 56th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government in December 2019, in Abuja. To this end, one billion dollars (US$1 billion) was programmed for the financing of activities in the Action Plan. We have to intensify our efforts to ensure that the Plan of Action is well-financed, with a view to ridding our community of terrorism,” he added.

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