Extracts from Ambassador Ade Adefuye's presentation (10th November, 2014) on America's refusal to cooperate with Nigeria on Boko Haram. (See full statement on Nigeria's official website here: http://www.nigeriaembassyusa.org/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=357&cntnt01origid=15&cntnt01detailtemplate=nigeriadet&cntnt01returnid=108
11. Ladies and Gentlemen of the
Council on Foreign Relations, I am sad to inform you that the Nigerian
leadership: Military and Political, and even the general populace, are
not satisfied with the scope, nature and content of the United States’
support for us in our struggle against terrorists. We find it difficult
to understand how and why in spite of the U.S. presence in Nigeria with
their sophisticated military technology. Boko Haram should be expanding
and becoming more deadly. At first, we had problems with the manner in
which intelligence was being shared. The U.S. Government claims that the
problem has been addressed, but it is still there. The U.S. Government
has up till today refused to grant Nigeria’s request to purchase lethal
equipment that would have brought down the terrorists within a short
time on the basis of the allegations that Nigeria’s defence forces have
been violating human rights of Boko Haram suspects when captured or
arrested. This is based largely on reports submitted by human rights
groups and sections of the Nigerian media that have sympathy for the
opposition parties and are prepared to use whatever means possible to
embarrass the government of President Goodluck Jonathan. The Americans
claim that Leahy law forbids the sale of lethal equipment to governments
that violate human rights.
13. I say with all sense of
responsibility that allegations of human right violation are based on
rumours, hear-says and exaggerated accounts of clashes between the
Nigerian forces and Boko Haram fighters. There was a case of an incident
in Baga in 2013 when human rights groups and the opposition press said
that, based on pictures taken from satellite, over one thousand six
hundred houses were destroyed in a village that has less than 600
houses.
14. There have been video reports of
human rights violations involving attacks on women and children
purported to have been carried out by Nigerian soldiers in Boko Haram
affected areas. We pointed out to our American friends that those
activities were carried out by Boko Haram members wearing stolen
Nigerian army uniforms. Disguise and subterfuge are standard practices
of insurgent groups. The Chibok abduction of our school girls by Boko
Haram succeeded because the girls thought that they were being carried
to safety by soldiers of the Nigerian army.
Read the entire statement here:
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