Nigeria News: Leaders in Cameroon, Africa Being Trained on Computers, the Internet to Help Fight Boko Haram

The central African country of Cameroon is counting on technology to help combat Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram.

Voice of America reports Muslim clerics, traditional rulers and other dignitaries from areas in the country's north are being trained to to use computers and the Internet to share information with the military.

To better survey its border, Cameroon's Ministry of Territorial Administration wants local leaders to collect and forward pictures of all newcomers to communities to the military, senior official Mongui Soso said.

"I have told them that we do not have weapons, but we have a duty to inform the military and Cameroon officials of any suspected visitors in our localities," Soso said.

The trainees, among them more than 100 Muslim clerics and traditional rulers, assembled at the Yaounde African Institute of Computer Studies are facing unique obstacles. One of them, Laminou Nana, an Imam, told Voice of America that his studies were complicated by his analphabetism.

"I think they should have invited our children, Nana said, "because this thing is difficult for us."

Trainer Chieck Oumarou Mallam, however, insisted that learning how to use technology will not only allow Muslim leaders to better serve their communities, but also make a difference in attempts to counter attacks and kidnappings perpetrated by Boko Haram, as sharing information is a critical step in helping authorities identify and locate terrorist suspects.

"This training is going to enable Imams and Muslim dignitaries to be able to work, to communicate with others," Oumarou said. "They are going to be not only in communication with those who are around them, but they are going to communicate and to cooperate with the world to spread peace and harmony between mankind."

Boko Haram, which roughly translates to "Western education is forbidden," is a militant Islamist movement based in northeast Nigeria, which also operates in Cameroon, Chad and Niger. The group is believed to have killed more than 5,000 civilians between July 2009 and June 2014 and made international headlines when it abducted 276 schoolgirls in April 2014.