The Islamist sect, Boko Haram, has been de­scribed as the deadli­est terrorist group in the world followed by the Af­ghanistan Taliban militant group.
Ambassador Daniel Ben­jamin, a United States of America security expert, made the statement yesterday while delivering a lecture at the second International Confer­ence on Democracy and Good Governance, with the theme, ‘Nigeria’s Democracy: Issues and Challenges’, held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Benjamin, a former head of Counter Terrorism Bureau of the State Department, said Boko Haram became the dead­liest, overtaking the Taliban group in Afghanistan, by re­cording at least seven casual­ties in each attack.
Delivering his lecture en­titled: ‘The Nigeria Security Challenges and its Implication for Internal, Africa, and Trans-Atlantic Relations’, Ambas­sador Benjamin said notwith­standing the activities of Boko Haram, Nigeria could not be ranked among war-torn coun­tries such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“By 2012, Boko Haram was the second most deadly terror­ist group in the world after Af­ghanistan’s Taliban, as Taliban killed more people than Boko Haram then.
“Presently, Boko Haram is the deadliest terrorist group, killing at least seven persons per attack. Boko Haram has already become a major men­ace to countries like Camer­oun, Niger, as well as Chad. They are well funded and well armed.”
In his lecture entitled: ‘Af­rica, Nigeria, the Issues of the Future’, former French min­ister of Foreign and European Affairs, Mr. Bernard Kouch­ner, pointed out that Africa had become more sensible to the world as it concerned humani­tarian interest.
Also speaking at the event, the state Governor Chibuike Amaechi, called on Nigerians to vote out the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015.