The U.S. Government has reiterated its commitment to help Nigeria rescue the abducted Chibok girls and defeat the dreaded Boko Haram sect.
This was made known by the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and the Commander U.S. Africa Command (USAAFRICOM), Gen. David Rodriguez, during a joint telephone press conference.
Thomas-Greenfield said President Muhammadu Buhari would be in Washington later this month for meetings with President Barack Obama.
“We will have discussions with him on what we can do to continue to assist Nigeria and their effort to fight against Boko Haram. Part of that discussion will be how we can provide the equipment and support that Nigeria require”, the secretary said.
“Part of what we will do is to engage with the new government, we will have discussions on what we can do to continue to assist Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram. Human rights are an important value for the United States and in any place that we are providing lethal weapons.”
“We want to know that the militaries that we are providing those weapons to do not use that in a way that violates the human rights of ordinary civilians, so we will have that discussion moving forward”, she said.
Thomas-Greenfield added that the U.S. government would discuss these issues with the Nigerian government, adding that they will also discuss how to better prepare Nigerian military to support communities.”
“This means building confidence in communities and not victimize them (communities) by the efforts of the military in the fight against Boko Haram. This has been an extremely high priority for the U.S. government to assist in bringing these girls home and also hundreds of other girls and young boys who were forcefully abducted by Boko Haram.”
“We will not let up on our efforts; we will continue to work with the government.’’
Thomas-Greenfield commended Buhari and his wife for visiting the families of the abducted girls and letting them know they have not been forgotten.
Rodriguez said the U.S. had continued to share intelligence with the Nigerian leadership about the Chibok girls as well as other people who have been abducted by Boko Haram.
“We will continue to do that and pursue the effort of rescuing the girls,’’ he said.
The U.S. would continue to promote peace and security in Africa as a priority, saying that was why the (USAAFRICOM) was established, Rodriguez affirmed.
“The United States government is commitment to assisting African countries as they build their capacity to counter terrorism, which AFRICOM is key to providing such assistance. In Nigeria, we continue to share intelligence with the Nigerian military in the fight against insurgency,’’ he added.
The commander said part of the objectives of the command was to support peacekeeping efforts and strengthen the capacity of Africa military through partnership.
They concluded expressing concerns that the growing extremist violence undermined the peace and stability that Africa needed to strive and to prosper.
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