President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said mercenaries recruited and armed by former Libyan leader, Muammar Gadaffi, who escaped with their arms when the Libyan strongman was killed, are the ones terrorising the Sahel region.
“They didn’t learn any other skill, than to shoot and kill. So, they are a problem all over the Sahel countries today,” the president said at the State House, Abuja,while receiving in farewell audience the outgoing Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Mohammed Ibn Chambas.
Buhari added illegal arms and ammunition will continue to flow in the Sahel region of the African continent if Libya remains unstable, a statement by presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, said.
“We closed our land borders here for more than a year, but arms and ammunition continued to flow illegally. As far as Libya remains unstable, so will the problem remain.
“We have to cope with the problems of development, as we can’t play hop, step and jump. But we will eventually overcome those problems.”
President Buhari described Chambas, who spent many years in Nigeria in different capacities, from ECOWAS to UN, as “more of a Nigerian than anything else.”
Chambas thanked the president “for personal support I received from you, and from Nigeria as a country,” adding that the country would continue to play a leadership role on the continent.
