Nigeria Rejects Saudi Offer To Join Coalition Against ISIS

            

The Nigerian Government has formally made its position known by telling the the Saudis that it  will not join the coalition fight against ISIS.
President Buhari conveys his position to Saudi King Salman Bin Abdul-Aziz during bilateral meeting between the two leaders held in Riyadh. 

This was made public by Mallam Shehu Garba who said both leader agreed  that terrorism posed a common threat to their states and would require close cooperation to prevail over the threats.
Garba quotes Buhari saying  “Even if we are not a part of it, we support you.

“I must thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the recent creation of a coalition to address the menace of international terrorism. Nigeria will support your efforts in keeping peace and stopping the spread of terror in your region.

“This is in consonance with our own commitment and ongoing efforts in seeking to stamp out Boko Haram terrorists from the West African sub-region and Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC).” On global terror generally, Buhari said: “International terrorism made a statement by attacking one of the advanced countries by carrying out an attack on Paris, in which 130 were killed.

“Now we have to come together to find a common solution to the problem of terrorism.” He thanked the Saudi government for continuing support to Nigeria in the fight against terrorism.

It can be recalled  On December 15, 2015, Saudi’s Defence Minister and Deputy Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman had announced Saudi has formed a coalition of 34 countries to coordinate a fight against terrorist organizations across the globe.

The statement said: “Arab countries such as Qatar and the UAE will join the coalition, as well as Middle Eastern, Asian and African states including Pakistan, Malaysia, and Nigeria.”