Abuja – The U.S. Government has restated its commitment to assist Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram and to rescue the abducted Chibok girls.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ms Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and the Commander U.S. Africa Command (USAAFRICOM), Gen. David Rodriguez, made this known at 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 Nigerian require.
“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 said 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 victimise them (communities) by the efforts of the military in the fight against Boko Haram.’’
Thomas-Greenfield also said that the rescue of the abducted Chibok girls was high on the priority for the U.S. government.
“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.’’
She commended Buhari and his wife for visiting the families of the abducted girls and letting them know they have not been forgotten.
On his part, 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 commander said the U.S. would continue to promote peace and security in Africa as a priority, saying that was why the (USAAFRICOM) was established.
He said part of the objectives of the command was to support peace keeping efforts and strengthen the capacity of Africa military through partnership.
“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 said.
The officials further expressed concerns that growing extremist violence undermined the peace and stability that Africa needed to strive and to prosper.
