President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday suggested that Idriss Deby, the late Chad President, was killed.
He used the word “murder” in the fifth paragraph of his opinion article on the post-COVID 19 opportunities in Nigeria-France relations.
On April 20, the Chadian military announced Deby died of injuries while fighting rebels in the north of the country.
Army spokesman General Azem Bermandoa Agouna said Deby “has just breathed his last defending the sovereign nation on the battlefield.”
Deby, 68, won a sixth term in provisional election results released on April 19. The late President postponed his victory speech to visit Chadian soldiers on the frontlines.
In his essay, Buhari said Nigeria and France must deepen anti-terror cooperations to overcome terrorism, “particularly in the aftermath of the murder of the late President of Chad”.
“We must be agile and flexible, cooperating across our borders to cut the head off their groups”, he noted.
The President observed that across the world, conflict and coronavirus have not been far apart.
He said as governments have struggled to contain COVID, jihadists have taken advantage in the Sahel, with incidents in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Citing the Lake Chad Basin, Buhari lamented Boko Haram took advantage of the pandemic and pushed back into Nigeria, while continuing raids and attacks in Chad, Cameroon, and Niger.
Admitting that France has done much to combat terrorism of the region, Buhari charged the leaders of Sahel countries to lobby the Britain, the United States and the European Union for further military and humanitarian assistance.
“Without security, economic opportunity remains fragile. Without economic opportunity, the propensity for conflict grows. The solution must therefore be two pronged.”
“Now, as the world emerges from the pandemic, we have the chance to build back better”, the President added.
Last week, Buhari assured Chad that Nigeria will help the nation to return to constitutional order.
Buhari, at the State House, hosted Lt. Gen. Mahamat Idris Deby, the President, Transitional Military Council.
The council will run the country until a return to democratic governance in 18 months. Mahamat is a son of the late President.