BICOM

Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan this morning welcomed Israel’s offer to send anti-terror experts to his country, in order to help locate more than 200 young women kidnapped by the Islamist terror group Boko Haram four weeks ago.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telephoned Jonathan yesterday, as he arrived for an official visit in Japan. Netanyahu said, “Israel expresses its deep shock at the crime committed against the girls,” and added, “We are willing to help assist in locating the girls and fighting the terror that is afflicting you.”

The kidnapping of the young women, although not the first carried out by Boko Haram, has brought sweeping condemnation from the international community. The schoolgirls were abducted from a boarding school in the north-eastern town of Chibok. The leader of Boko Haram, which opposes the education of women, later stated his intention to sell the girls into slavery. It was not until last week though, that with little progress having been made to find the missing girls, President Jonathan accepted offers of help from the United Kingdom, United States and France.

This morning, Jonathan also welcomed Netanyahu’s offer, his spokesman announcing that, “Nigeria would be pleased to have Israel’s globally acknowledged anti-terrorism expertise deployed to support its ongoing operations.”

Nigeria and Israel traditionally enjoy friendly and cooperative relations. Israel provided medical supplies to Nigeria when Boko Haram attacked three churches on Christmas Day in 2011, which killed dozens of people. Meanwhile, Israel sent anti-terror advisors to Kenya last year to help resolve a stand-off with Islamist gunmen who had attacked a popular shopping centre in the capital Nairobi.