Nigeria is studying the military tactics used by Sri lanka to crush the rebel Tamil Tigers for its own battle against Islamist group Boko Haram, the Defense Ministry said, after holding talks with officials from the island nation.
Abuja has been criticised for its failure to contain the militant group, which has killed thousands since 2009 and has stepped up its devastating attacks after abducting more than 200 girls from a school in northeast Nigeria.
Boko Haram, which wants to carve out an Islamist state in northern Nigeria, has exposed severe weaknesses in Abuja’s security forces and heaped political pressure on President Goodluck Jonathan, who has declared a “full-scale operation” against the group.
High-ranking members of Nigeria’s military met with a Sri lankan delegation to discuss counter-insurgency tactics, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement late on Thursday.
The chief of Nigeria’s defense staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, said it was “seriously considering” methods employed by Sri lanka including “total security”, or focusing all of the country’s resources on the military.