President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday in New York called on the international community to urgently address sources of arming and funding terrorists.

He made the call while addressing the UN Security Council High-Level Meeting on Foreign Terrorist Fighters.

Jonathan told the world leaders that evidence had shown that Boko Haram was funded largely from outside Nigeria.

He said “we must capitalise on the commitment and evident determination of the Security Council to seek more innovative responses to the threat of terrorism in particular to the growing menace of foreign fighters.

Jonathan and Ban Ki -Moon

“The council should be concerned about the existence of sources of arming and funding terrorists.

“Evidence has shown that Boko Haram, for instance, is resourced largely from outside our country.

“We must also commit to ensuring that countries which are in the frontline of this challenge receive adequate support from the international community.’’

Jonathan expressed concern that foreign fighters and terrorists such as the Islamic State (IS) militants, Al-Qaeda and Boko Haram were trying to invade parts of sovereign nations.

“Only by united action and firm resolve can we check this raging threat to humanity, and also build enduring structures that will resist their re-emergence,” the President said.

Jonathan told the world leaders that the Federal Government had evolved initiatives to alleviate the plight of people and communities affected by terrorism.

“Over the past five years, we have been, and are still confronting threats posed by Boko Haram to peace and stability, predominantly in the North-Eastern part of our country.

“The costs are high: over 13,000 people have been killed, whole communities razed, and hundreds of persons kidnapped, the most prominent being our innocent daughters from Chibok Secondary School in North East Nigeria.

“As daunting as the challenge may be, we have faced it with unrelenting determination, mobilising all the resources at our disposal to ensure that the scourge of terrorism is rooted out of our nation.’’

The president told the council that his administration had continued to confront the menace of terrorism with unrelenting determination.

“These include a holistic effort through the Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE) aimed at providing immediate relief and fast-tracking the infrastructural re-development of the region.

“It also has as a core goal, an integrated effort at achieving the de-radicalisation of potential terrorist recruits.

“We have also launched a Victims Support Fund which has already raised about 500 million dollars of the expected minimum of one billion dollars in direct support of the victims of acts of terrorism.

“This is in addition to the Safe Schools Initiative championed by Mr Gordon Brown, former British Prime Minister and currently the UN Special Envoy for Global Education, which is being rigorously supported by Nigeria’s Federal Government,” he said.

The high-level Security Council meeting was chaired by U.S. President, Barack Obama.

The 15-member council unanimously adopted Resolution 2178 to crack down on foreign terrorist fighters.

The resolution condemned violent extremism and demanded all foreign terrorist fighters to withdraw immediately from all zones of armed conflicts and cease all terrorist acts.