H.E. Dr. Bolere Elizabeth Ketebu:

As I said earlier, Nigeria is still open to a negotiated settlement should Boko Haram express willingness in this regard. I also said that in the past two weeks there has been full-blown regional co-operation where Nigeria chases Boko Haram into Niger or Chad, and vice versa. In the past two weeks, more than 50% of the territories under Boko Haram have been recovered from it. That is a clear demonstration of the amount of military success that can be attained where there is regional collaboration. Before now, all the troops were made to remain in their various countries without crossing borders. Thus, Boko Haram would attack Nigeria and take flight to Niger, where Nigerian troops could not pursue them. Now that the countries are working in tandem as a true multinational task force against Boko Haram, we have been able to record the successes of the past two weeks.