Nigeria Has Lost Its Fight Against Terrorism – USA
The United States government said that the Federal Government of Nigeria has failed in its fight against terrorism.
Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan (left) and American President, Barrack Obama (right)
In the US International Religious Report for 2013, released on 28 July, secretary of state John F. Kerry strongly criticized the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration for being too slow to prevent and react to the communal or religious-based violence. Also one of the reasons for such connivance in the country was named poorly equipped and trained security forces responsible for suppression of extremist groups in the north.
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Here's only a small part of claims made to the Federal Government:
1) The government also failed to protect victims of violent attacks targeted because of their religious beliefs or for other reasons.
2) Legal proceedings against five police officers charged in 2011 with the extrajudicial killing of Boko Haram leader Mohammed Yusuf did not resume during the year.
3) There were no indictments or prosecutions following three fatal attacks on high-profile Muslim leaders in late 2012.
4) Local and state authorities did not deliver adequate protection or post-attack relief to rural communities in the northeast, where Boko Haram killed villagers and burned churches throughout the year.
5) There is discrimination and a systematic lack of protection by state governments, especially in central Nigeria.
6) Federal, state, and local authorities did not effectively address underlying political, ethnic, and religious grievances leading to this violence.
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It would be recalled that earlier the US government was one of the first who expressed its readiness to assist Nigeria in fight against Boko Haram. It also designated Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) on November 14, 2013.
"The kidnapping of hundreds of children by Boko Haram is an unconscionable crime, and we will do everything possible to support the Nigerian Government to return these young women to their homes and to hold the perpetrators to justice. I will tell you, my friends, I have seen this scourge of terror across the planet, and so have you. They don't offer anything except violence. They don't offer a health care plan, they don't offer schools. They don't tell you how to build a nation; they don't talk about how they will provide jobs. They just tell people, "You have to behave the way we tell you to," and they will punish you if you don't, " Secretary of State John F. Kerry said.
Source: Legit.ng
