Nigeria Urges U.S. To Move Africa Command Headquarters To Continent

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said the United States should consider moving its military headquarters overseeing Africa to the continent, from Germany, to better tackle growing armed violence in the region.

A statement issued by the presidency quoted Buhari saying this is considering the growing security challenges in West and Central Africa, Gulf of Guinea, Lake Chad region and the Sahel, weighing heavily on Africa.

Nigerian security forces have been facing multiple security challenges including school kidnappings by armed gangs in its northwest and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea as well as the decade-long insurgency by Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

West Africa’s Sahel region is in the grip of a security crisis as groups with ties to Al Qaeda and Islamic State attack military forces and civilians, despite help from French and United Nations forces.