Boko Haram: Nigeria 'does not need UN help' to counter militant group's threat

Nigeria does not need help from United Nations or African Union troops to combat the extremist militant group Boko Haram, according to the country's national security advisor.

Sambo Dasuki told the BBC that the west African country, along with neighbouring Chad and Cameroon, was well placed to address the threat posed by Boko Haram, which took up arms in 2009.

The Nigerian government declared a state of emergency in 2013 after the group unleashed a wave of violence in the north east of the country. Thousands of civilians have since been killed, while a group of 200 schoolgirls, abducted last year, remain missing.

Dasuki told the BBC that the militants were a "real security threat" and said almost half of the national army had been deployed in the north east of the country.

Boko Haram, which translates as 'Western education is forbidden' in the Hausa language, has escalated its attempts to establish a state in the north east of the country.

The group seized the joint internationally-run military base in Baga, close to the border with Chad, while it has also launched attacks in Cameroon.

Some reports said that up to 2,000 people were killed in the attack on the Baga base and the nearby town, although the government said 150 people were killed in the raid.