MAJOR-General Iliya Abbah has been named to lead the new multinational task force to fight Boko Haram insurgents, the military said on Thursday.
General Abbah, who previously commanded military operations in the oil-rich Niger Delta, will head the new force, Nigerian military spokesman Major-General Chris Olukolade said.
The 8,700-strong Multi-National Joint Task Force, drawing in Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin, is expected to be more effective than the current alliance in the battle to end Boko Haram’s six-year insurgency that has claimed some 15,000 lives.
Abbah was until his new appointment the military secretary in the army, Olukolade added.
The spokesman had said on Tuesday that the new regional force is expected to go into action very soon, but did not specify when for tactical reasons.
Boko Haram has stepped up its attacks since President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in May, unleashing a wave of violence that has claimed 800 lives in just two months.
The new regional force will be headquartered in Chadian capital N’Djamena, but few other details have emerged on its specific nature, raising concerns its deployment may face delays.
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