President John Mahama says there is no longer room for negotiation with the Nigerian Islamist terror group, Boko Haram.

He told the Deutsche Welle (DW) news network Tuesday "I don't think negotiations have gone anywhere".

Mahama points out that all previous attempts at talks have failed.

"We cannot say we are waiting for negotiations and dialogue while the group continues to abduct and kill people," he says.

Mahama, who currently chairs the West African regional bloc ECOWAS, is placing his hopes on a regional intervention force, with assistance in "logistics and equipment and finance" from Germany and other European nations.

"I don't envisage seeing European boots on the ground in northeastern Nigeria," he adds.       

After talks with Mahama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Berlin she welcomed the idea of a regional force and held out the prospect of financial support. 

Mahama told DW that he is confident other countries would follow Germany in offering help.

"We have seen that kind of assistance before coming from Europe in the case of Mali," he says, referring to the French military intervention in the African nation and the subsequent UN mission MINUSMA, in which armed forces from Germany and other European nations are involved.

"We have a record of that kind of cooperation and I am sure that we can do the same again," Mahama says.

President Mahama's approach contrasts that of former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, who also recently spoke on ways to solve Nigeria's conflict with the Islamist terror group. 

Mr Annan told the BBC last week politicians should "reach out" to try to find a solution, suggesting the militants should be involved in finding a solution to deadly attacks that have plagued the biggest oil producer in Africa.

He said although the international community can help, they cannot solve Nigeria's problems.

The former UN secretary-general said he hoped whoever wins the Nigerian election will focus on ending the insurgency before it spreads further.