Niger Republic’s Security Minister, Hassoumi Massaoudou, said on Thursday that his country has charged 643 people since February for their alleged links with the Boko Haram sect.

Massaoudou said those arrested and detained were being charged with acts of terrorism and criminal conspiracy.

He made this disclosure while addressing Nigerien lawmakers in Niamey.

He noted that several Boko Haram networks and sleeper cells had been destroyed in the country’s Diffa region which shares the same border with Nigeria.

Niger had declared a state of emergency in Diffa in February and subsequently deployed troops to the troubled area.

Massaoudou also told the parliament that the country had deployed 3,000 soldiers to the joint regional force formed in collaboration with Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria aimed at routing the terrorists.

The minister told the parliament that stiff measures had to be undertaken by the nation’s military to curtail the excesses of the insurgents.

The lawmakers subsequently voted to extend the state of emergency in Diffa by three months after listening to the minister’s presentation.

It would be recalled that Diffa and adjoining communities had come under intense attacks in recent months after insurgents invaded the region in an attempt to establish an Islamic caliphate there.

Their serial attempts led to the deaths of many civilians and military personnel including scores of the insurgents.