ADF STAFF
The African Union donated a wide variety of equipment to the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to support its mission to restore security to the Lake Chad Basin.
The equipment included armored personnel carriers, buses, generators, water trucks, counter-improvised explosive device tools and office equipment.
The donation came after a 2021 visit by MNJTF Commander Maj. Gen. Abdul Ibrahim to the AU Logistic Base in Douala, Cameroon, where he identified equipment that would be useful in counterinsurgency operations. The materiel was handed over to Sector 3 of the force in a ceremony on July 12, 2022, at Maimalari Military Cantonment in northeast Nigeria.
Ibrahim said he expects the equipment to improve combat efficiency and enable MNJTF forces to take the fight to the enemy. Force leaders said they are ready for the challenge.
“We understand that to whom much is given, much is expected,” said Maj. Gen. Godwin Mutkut, commander of MNJTF Sector 3. “With this array of equipment given to Sector 3, we are not going to let you down.”
Maj. Gen. Christopher Musa, theater commander of Nigeria’s Operation Hadin Kai, said the gift is evidence of the pan-African will to defeat extremism. “We’re getting support from all over Africa,” Musa said. “This is just to tell you the synergy and the understanding and cooperation that we have on the ground here … we want to assure you that we remain committed, we remain focused and this equipment will be put to good use.”
Operation Hadin Kai is the Nigerian military mission to restore peace to the region and encourage Boko Haram members to lay down arms. In Musa’s first year commanding the operation, 47,975 people affiliated with extremist groups surrendered to troops, Africa Report said.
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