Buhari tells Hollande 'Boko Haram has expanded'

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari arrived in Paris this evening on a 3-day visit at the instance of France's President Francoise Hollande.

Buhari met with Hollande at Elysee Palace and warned that Boko Haram had expanded "after declaring its loyalty to IS." He said the jihadists' alliance, announced in March, had given Boko Haram "a source of material resources."

Hollande described the battle against Boko Haram as being the same battle against the Islamic State jihadists.

"We know Boko Haram is linked to Daesh and so receives help, support from this group," Hollande said, using the Arabic acronym for the IS group.

"To fight Boko Haram is to fight Daesh, and we can no longer single out terrorism according to regions. It is the same terrorism, inspired by the same ideology of death," he said.

France's military base in Chad's capital, N'Djamena has become the hub of its operations against jihadists in the Sahel region, and last month Hollande proposed to host an international meeting on tackling Boko Haram.

During the visit, the President and his team will meet with the French Minister of Defence - Mr Jean-Yves Le Drian; the French Minister of Finance and Public Accounts - Mr Michel Sapin; the French Minister of Economy and Industry - Mr Emmanuel Macron; and the French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development - Mr Laurent Fabius.

Buhari will also visit the headquarters of Mouvement des entreprises de France (MEDEF) - (Movement of the Enterprises of France), France’s largest federation of investors and employers, where he would participate in a France/Nigeria Investment Forum with leading Nigerian and French entrepreneurs.

He will also meet the heads of French oil giant Total and concrete manufacturer Lafarge, both of which have operations in Nigeria.

He is also scheduled to meet with African Ambassadors to France and hold an interactive session with members of the Nigerian community.