Boko Haram tops agenda at UN Security Council.

Africa's informal war against terrorism was the highlight at the United Nations (UN), as top diplomats around the world warned about the dangers to international peace posed by groups such as Boko Haram.

This is even as the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, told the security council that the international community must do more to help affected member states like Nigeria overcome, Empowered Newswire reported.

Speaking also at the special Security Council session on Monday, in New York, were the president of Togo, Faure Gnassingbe, who presided over the council meeting and other top diplomats from around the world, many of whom mentioned both Nigeria and Boko Haram, raising different perspectives and ideas on how to best deal with the security menace.

Gnassingbe observed that the UN and the global community must strengthen the capacity of affected African countries in the fight against terrorism.

According to him, “If we don’t give African governments the means to carry out an effective and sustainable counter-terrorism strategy, there is every reason to fear the creation of a ‘terrorist arc’ from Mauritania to Nigeria.”

Speaking on the same subject at the meeting, US Ambassador to the UN, Ms Susan Rice, restated the American government’s oft-stated position that terrorist groups like Boko Haram in Nigeria, “were taking advantage of poor economic conditions to challenge state authority.”

Ban noted that “terrorism is a threat to Africa’s peace, security and development.”