Chibok Girls: US Search Party Frustrated By Poorly Equipped, Trained Nigerian Soldiers- American Officials

May 17, 2014

Top military Officers from the United States taking part in the current search for the abducted female students of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno state have expressed frustration with the Nigeria’s inability to act on the latest security information and other fresh intelligence about the Boko Haram.

“Images from US surveillance drones and satellites over the last week has shown suspected bands of Boko Haram militants setting up temporary camps and moving through isolated villages and along dirt tracks in northeastern Nigeria,” the report quoted US officials said.

It said the Obama administration has shared the images with President Goodluck Jonathan’s government in Abuja but that “Nigeria’s security forces are hampered by poor equipment and training and have failed to respond quickly.”

US Defence officials, according to the report, believe the insurgents split the girls into several groups after the April 14 abduction from their school even as the US officials made it clear that the girls’ locations are still unknown.

Meanwhile, mounting US frustration with the case spilled into the open on Thursday at a US Senate hearing where US officials complained of lack of decisive actions on what had been harvested so far.

“It is impossible to fathom that we might have actionable intelligence and we would not have the wherewithal — whether by the Nigerians themselves or by other entities helping the Nigerians — to be able to conduct a rescue mission,” said Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“In general, Nigeria has failed to mount an effective campaign against Boko Haram,” Alice Friend, the Pentagon’s principal director for Africa, told committee members. “In the face of a new and more sophisticated threat than it has faced before, its security forces have been slow to adapt with new strategies, new doctrines and new tactics.”

The United States, however, said it will continue to deepen its efforts, Defence Secretary, Chuck Hagel, said while traveling to Saudi Arabia.

“However, I have seen no intelligence come back that I am aware of that shows that we’ve located those girls,” he said.

For now, the United States is not sharing raw intelligence from its surveillance aircraft with Nigeria’s armed forces because the countries have still not established the intelligence-sharing protocols and safeguards needed for an intelligence-sharing agreement, Pentagon spokesman, Colonel Steve Warren, said.

That said, the intelligence gathered through the surveillance flights is being fed to an interdisciplinary team on the ground, and that team is analysing it and providing advice to the Nigerian government, he said.

Warren added that the manned and unmanned aircraft being used are unarmed.

US Secretary of State, John Kerry, called the kidnapping of hundreds of girls an “unconscionable crime,” vowing to 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,” he said in a statement. “They just tell people, ‘You have to behave the way we tell you to,’ and they will punish you if you don’t.”

Parents of the abducted girls have complained that they reported the location of the militants and the girls days after the kidnapping but that security forces did not respond. Jonathan cancelled his plan to fly to Chibok on Friday which would have been his first since the girls were seized.

In addition to the US drones and satellite coverage, a manned US surveillance plane has been flying sorties over Nigeria this week. The British government has pledged to send a surveillance aircraft, and France, Israel and China have offered to share intelligence and satellite imagery, officials said.

The US team of about 30 advisers includes military experts in logistics, communications and information sharing. The White House has said it has no plan to send troops to take an active part in search-and-rescue operations.

“Nigeria’s hunt for more than 200 abducted schoolgirls is not all that it seems. In public, an international operation is gathering pace while behind the scenes, officials say it is unlikely to deliver the success that global opinion demands,” a report by Reuters said on Friday.

The report admitted that “But officials have little idea where the girls are, and acknowledge that if they are found, any rescue attempt would be fraught with problems. On top of that, morale is shaky among some of the Nigerian troops involved in the hunt who already have experience of Boko Haram as a formidable foe.

“We commend the effort by the #BringBackOurGirls protesters but it doesn’t fit with the reality of the security situation we are facing,” Reuters quoted a senior Nigerian military source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Foreign experts are also pessimistic that the girls can be easily extricated from the rebels’ clutches and returned to their homes in Nigeria’s remote northeast where Boko Haram operates.

“I think a rescue is currently unlikely and unfeasible,” said Jacob Zenn, a Boko Haram expert at US counter-terrorism institution, CTC Sentinel.

Until Monday, nothing had been seen of the girls since they were snatched from the village of Chibok near Nigeria’s borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

Then Boko Haram released a video showing more than 100 girls together in a rural location. In it, rebel leader Abubakar Shekau offered to exchange them for captured militants.

The video raised hopes that their location could be found using ground forces, state-of-the-art intelligence and surveillance planes.

Then an operation could be staged, perhaps with forces swooping from the sky like a British raid in Sierra Leone in 2000 to free soldiers held by militiamen, or Israeli commandoes’ rescue of passengers from a jet hijacked to Entebbe, Uganda, in 1976.

However, such a scenario is unlikely this time. One source with knowledge of the search said the footage was probably taken at least 10 days ago, if Boko Harma’s past videos are any guide. By now, the girls could be somewhere else as a group, or dispersed to many places.

Virtually undetectable
The Sambisa forest, Boko Haram’s stronghold, is a first target but it is not conducive to aerial search because it covers 60,000 square kilometres (23,000 square miles), more than twice the size of Rwanda. The rebels know this area intimately and could spread the girls among local families, making them virtually undetectable by conventional security forces.

Two US national security sources said initially, the girls were separated into around three large groups but were subsequently scattered in smaller groups. Other experts said they could be in mountains near Gwoza on the Cameroon border.

If this is the case, some girls might be found before others, posing a dilemma for would-be rescuers.

“In the past, Boko Haram has threatened, and maybe actually gone ahead with, killing hostages upon sensing the hint of possible rescue operations,” said a security source. Rescuing some girls could add to danger faced by others still captive.

Another problem is time. Britain’s minister responsible for African affairs, Mark Simmonds, said on Wednesday that it was “early days” in the rescue operation, yet the abduction happened on April 14 so rebels have had ample time to prepare for an international response.

A senior US Defence Department official criticised Nigeria on Thursday for being too slow to adapt to the threat of Boko Haram.

Even coordinating an international effort faces difficulties in Nigeria, which recently overtook South Africa as the continent’s biggest economy. Nigeria has close ties with Western powers but has historically resisted foreign military involvement on its soil.

One possible sign of differing approaches is that Simmonds, rather than the president himself, announced that Jonathan had ruled out any prisoner exchange for the girls’ release. Nigerian officials have since declined to comment.

Ultimately, the girls’ best hope may lie in dialogue but the road to talks remains uncertain because the rebels do not form a unified group.

Boko Haram is faceless and even Shekau heads just one of several loosely coordinated groups with differing objectives, said a senior official with knowledge of the northeast.

A Nigerian presidential committee set up last year for talks with the rebels dealt last year with Boko Haram proxies. But they were later denounced by other Boko Haram militants as impostors, according to Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki, who leads the committee.

One security source in Abuja cautioned against raising false hopes. “It is time we removed the thought of a very happy ending to this situation,” the source said.

Pressure to find the girls
Wednesday marked one month since the 276 girls were abducted from Chibok by Boko Haram. A worldwide campaign to “bring back our girls” has spread awareness of the incident, and as the days go by, the pressure to find them increases.

US Senator, John McCain, is among those who support American military intervention to find the girls, if needed.

“You know, it’s interesting to me that when a ship is hijacked and taken into custody by these pirates, we have … no reservations about going in and trying to take that ship back and the crew that’s being held,” he said. “We have no compunctions about that.”

When it comes to the hundreds of girls who were kidnapped, the response has dragged, he said.

A US military operation “could be done in a way that is very efficient, but for us not to do that, in my opinion, would be an abrogation of our responsibilities,” McCain said.

Two senior administration officials told CNN that it is premature to talk about a special operations incursion into Nigeria because the girls have not been found yet.

The US military is there to advise and assist, but not to actively participate, the sources said.

If the girls are found, it would be up to the Nigerians to devise a plan and execute it with US assistance, the sources said.

And that raises other complications.

The Nigerian military is capable of carrying out a rescue operation, but there are concerns because it has been heavy-handed in the past and killed many civilians, the sources said.

As it currently stands, US law prohibits the US military from working with Nigerian military units that have been accused of abuses, a senior State Department official said.

“We’ve been very clear about our concerns about the Nigerian reports of and evidence of abuses by the Nigerian military,” the official said.

Even with all of these complications, the United States is committed to doing everything it can to find the girls, the official said.

Boko Haram’s brutal insurgency has created widespread fear in northeast Nigeria,

Boko Haram, meanwhile, has built up an arsenal of weapons and a fleet of trucks stolen from police stations and military barracks.

Robert Jackson, a US State Department specialist on Africa, said at the Senate hearing on Thursday that militants had killed more than 1,000 people this year in attacks on churches, mosques, schools and security outposts. The group drew little international attention until it vowed to sell the abducted girls as slaves.

Boko Haram initially styled itself after the Taliban in Afghanistan, claiming it wanted to create a strict Islamic state in Nigeria.

Boko Haram was added to the US list of foreign terrorist organisations last year.

US officials say some of its fighters received training and weapons from the Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, a North African offshoot of Al Qaeda. French troops destroyed training camps in Mali early last year, however, Defence officials said. Since then, outside financial and training support for Boko Haram has waned.

Partly as a result, Boko Haram intensified a kidnapping campaign that has generated large ransoms, said a US counter-terrorism official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.

US officials say intelligence on Boko Haram is sketchy. They estimate that 300 trained fighters have joined the group. The total swells to about 3,000 if financial and other supporters are included.

Danger: Europe Is Running Out Of Coal, Oil-Experts

Greenbarge Reporters

May 16, 2014

“Coal, oil and gas resources in Europe are running down and we need alternatives.”

This is an announcement from experts in the United Kingdom, one of who is Professor Anderson.

Professor Anderson was particularly referring to the UK which he said is set to run out of its oil, coal and gas supplies in a little over five years.

Research from the Global Sustainability Institute also named other European countries as having been facing similar shortages and that many nations will become entirely dependent on energy imports in the next few years.

The UK has 5.2 years of oil remaining, 4.5 years of coal and three years of gas before completely running out of fossil fuels, says the institute, which is based at Anglia Ruskin University.

France is reportedly even worse off, with less than a year’s worth of fossil fuels in reserve, while Italy has less than a year of gas and coal and a single year of oil.

“The EU is becoming ever more reliant on our resource-rich neighbours such as Russia and Norway, and this trend will only continue unless decisive action is taken,” said Dr. Aled Jones, the director of the institute.

“It is vital that those shaping Europe’s future political agenda understand our existing economic fragility.”

Despite the shortages faced by UK, France and Italy, other EU countries have more reliable supplies. Germany has more than 250 years of coal left (but only a year’s supply of oil and gas) while Bulgaria has 73 years of coal and Poland has 24 years.

Russia is one of the best appointed countries in Europe with its massive land mass offering up more than 500 years of coal, 100 years of gas and 50 years of oil.

Professor Victor Anderson, also from the institute, has urged a “Europe-wide drive to expand renewable energy sources such as wave, wind, tidal, and solar power.”

The Government has recently announced cuts in its subsidies for large-scale solar farms from next April, two years before they were projected to end, and the Conservatives have said they will not subsidise new onshore wind farms if they win the 2015 general election.

Ministers are instead hoping that a combination of shale gas – extracted by fracking – and new oil finds in the North Sea will be able to plug the coming deficit

Nigeria Votes $12 Million For World Cup, Draws Up Code Of Conduct For Eagles Players

Greenbarge Reporters

May 16, 2014

Nigeria has budgeted about $12 million for the World Cup, with each player guaranteed at least $100,000 if they win the competition even as it draws up what it called code of conduct on the players in a bid to halt the tantrums that saw them crash out of the last two finals in the first round.

According to sources in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the code of conduct will stem Wrangling over win bonuses and team selection which tainted recent campaigns..

The NFF drew up the code of conduct to forestall any major row such as last year, when a pay dispute almost saw Nigeria miss the Confederations Cup.

The authorities have also given assurance that they are fully behind coach Stephen Keshi, despite the frequency with which the coach who guided Nigeria through World Cup qualifying is sacked.

The Brazil tournament in Brazil will be the second time the Super Eagles go into the World Cup as African champions.

The last time was in 1994, when they reached the knock-out round and won admirers for their attacking football.

The only other time they went past the first round was in France in 1998. In 2002 in Japan and South Korea, and in South Africa four years ago, they were eliminated in the group phase.

In Brazil, Keshi’s side have been drawn against Argentina, Iran and Bosnia in Group F.

Nigeria had lost all three of their previous clashes with Argentina but have yet to meet Iran or Bosnia at full international level.

Goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who plays for French side Lille, warned that there are “no easy games” at the World Cup finals, adding: “All these teams are serious about getting results.

“But we will see how it goes with the Super Eagles. We will do our best to progress from the group.”

Keshi, who steered the side to their African Cup of Nations triumph in South Africa last year, is keeping secret his own World Cup target.

“My employers, the NFF didn’t set any targets for me to reach at Brazil 2014 but I have set a target for myself which is not meant for public consumption,” he said.

Keshi, who has faced repeated rumours that he will be replaced, is in charge of a much more settled and confident Nigeria team than the one he took over in November 2011.

They will hope to use the experience of playing in Brazil at last year’s Confederations Cup, where they lost to world and European champions Spain, as well as Uruguay.

Joseph Yobo was recalled, as his experience will be vital in a defence that is widely regarded as the team’s weakest link.

The 33-year-old central defender has not played since the African Nations triumph. But he has been a key player for English Premier League side Norwich City and he looks on track to secure a record century of international caps in Brazil.

But a major concern is that key stars like Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi and Victor Moses, who is on loan to Liverpool, have struggled at club level.

“It’s unfortunate that Mikel, (Monaco defender) Elderson and Moses are not playing regularly for their clubs. But they are not kids who I need to teach how to play football,” said Keshi.

“I would have loved them to be playing regularly for their clubs but I can’t control that. I watched Mikel against Arsenal when he came in, he was sharp and played well.

“It’s difficult but they play good for the team when they are here which is more important for our team. We need them in the team and we all know their ability.”

Nigeria plan a warm-up against Scotland in London on May 28 as well as matches against Greece and the United States.

They will set up a training camp in Houston, Texas, at the end of May, and go to Brazil by the second week of June.

Pastor Allegedly Raped Teenage Girl, Mother Tells Court

Greenbarge Reporters

May 16, 2014

The Pastor of the General Overseer of The Choice Bible Church, Mpape, Abuja, and proprietor of the primary school, Emmanuel Matthew, has appeared at an Abuja High Court, accused by the mother of a teenage girl of raping the girl in his Church.

The mother of the girl, Mrs. Jacintha jiofor told the court today that Pastor Matthew, 52, used a white bedspread and red curtain to rape her daughter. Mathew was arraigned on a six-count charge.

At the continuation of trial, Mrs. Ejiofor told the court that her daughter was molested by the pastor in his bedroom on March 12, 2012.

While being cross-examined by Mr. Ejike Orji, a lawyer from the Attorney- General’s office, the mother said her child, one of the pupils in the accused’s school, was lured into his bedroom for unknown reasons.

“My daughter told me that the pastor laid a white bedspread and a red curtain after which the accused inserted his finger into her private part, then used his manhood afterwards.”

Ejiofor said one of the alleged victims’ mother, had earlier confronted the accused with her pastor on the same allegation but the accused asked them to come back the next day for discussion and settlement.

She said the other woman and her pastor went back as arranged but were arrested by the police, following a complaint made by the accused at Mpape Police Station.

Ejiofor further told the court that on her way to see the accused person concerning what her daughter told her she discovered that he was not in the school premises with his wife.

She said that few moments later, she and her daughter were arrested by two policemen from Mpape Police Station accompanied by the accused wife.

She said that on getting to the police station, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) interrogated her daughter.

“My daughter narrated all she had told me to the police, then the police asked the three girls to describe the accused bedroom and they mentioned seven items.

“When the police got to the accused house he confirmed five items but the white bedspread and the red curtain mentioned by the girls were missing,” she said.

She added that the DPO asked that they all go to the Asokoro General Hospital for medical examination of the victims and the accused.

According to her, the hospital confirmed that the girls were no longer virgins.

The police prosecutor, DSP Stanley Nwodo, had earlier told the court that the accused raped two seven-year-olds and a nine-year-old pupil on different occasions in his (pastor’s) school.

The offence, Nwodo said contravened the provisions of Section 283 of the Penal Code.

According to the law, a convict is liable to 14 years imprisonment or with an option of fine, or both.

However, Mathew pleaded not guilty to the five-count charge.

He was granted bail in the sum of N500,000 and a surety in like sum.

Africa Is The U.S. Military’s Next Frontier’ By Joeva Rock

Greenbarge Reporters

May 16, 2014

As the world remains transfixed by the kidnapping of almost 300 Nigerian girls, there have been increasing calls for international intervention in the effort to rescue them. But what many people don’t know is that the U.S. military has been active in the region for years.

With the Iraq War over and the war in Afghanistan slowly ending, it is becoming increasingly apparent – from interviews with generals, recommendations from influential think tanks, and private conversations with military personnel – that Africa is the U.S. military’s next frontier.

Rather than the “shock and awe” of Iraq, the military has attempted to put a friendly face on its expedition to Africa.

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), the newest of the U.S. military’s six regional commands, has rapidly expanded its presence on the African continent since its establishment at the end of the Bush administration.

Emphasising a “3D” approach of “defence, diplomacy, and development,” the White House describes AFRICOM’s charge as coordinating “low-cost, small-footprint operations” throughout the African continent.

Yet despite efforts to market AFRICOM as a small operation, recent reports have revealed that the command is “averaging more than a mission a day” on the continent, and has anywhere from “5,000 to 8,000 U.S. military personnel on the ground” at any given point.

Rather than the “shock and awe” of Iraq, the military has attempted to put a friendly face on its expedition to Africa. This past March, writing in the New York Times, Eric Schmitt marveled at AFRICOM’s Operation Flintlock, a multinational and multiagency training operation in Niger.

Schmitt wrote glowingly about fighting terrorism with mosquito nets: “Instead of launching American airstrikes or commando raids on militants,” he wrote, “the latest joint mission between the nations involves something else entirely: American boxes of donated vitamins, prenatal medicines, and mosquito netting to combat malaria.”

Humanitarian and development missions like the ones outlined in Schmitt’s article are at the forefront of AFRICOM’s public relations campaign. But promoting AFRICOM as a humanitarian outfit is misleading at best.

To put it simply, these projects are more like a Trojan Horse: dressed up as gifts, they establish points of entry on the continent when and where they may be needed.

Under the auspice of development and conflict prevention, AFRICOM regularly undertakes humanitarian projects in countries unmarked by permanent war or conflict. AFRICOM relies heavily on social media to showcase these projects and to portray itself as collaborative with African partners, dedicated to humanitarian aid, and trustworthy in the eyes of local peoples.

The command’s Facebook and Twitter accounts are updated daily, and include postings on anything from participation in global humanitarian campaigns such as World Malaria Day to reports on medical missions, sound bites from local recipients of AFRICOM aid, and photos of troops distributing toys to children.

Less is said about the expansive presence of American military personnel and technology on the ground and in the skies. AFRICOM conducts aerial and ground operations with U.S. troops, private military contractors, and proxy African military operatives trained and equipped by the United States.

Operation Flintlock is just one of the many training exercises AFRICOM provides for country partners, and Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti is a well-known staging ground for drone strikes in Yemen and Somalia.

Not surprisingly, given the ongoing U.S. interest in securing new fuel sources and growing concerns over China’s influence in the region, many of AFRICOM’s efforts are located in oil-rich regions – specifically Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, and the Gulf of Guinea.

The Gulf of Guinea, which hugs the Western coast of Africa, has received heightened interest of late given its proximity to the Sahel and Mali, an alleged increase in pirating, and notably, both on- and off-shore oil deposits.

In Takoradi, Ghana, for example – a place affectionately nicknamed “Oil City” -AFRICOM trains Ghanaian troops, conducts humanitarian missions, and meets with local chiefs, NGOs, and fishing communities.

Of course, wary of lingering skepticism about U.S. motives in Iraq, spokesmen have attempted to distance the United States from any interest in the region’s oil.

A recent report from the Army War College dismissed claims that AFRICOM is protecting U.S. oil interests, but nonetheless argued that private American oil companies are the “best corporate citizens that African leaders and their publics could hope for.”

One need not look far – from the polluted waters of Nigeria’s Niger Delta to Equatorial Guinea’s inequitable oil-driven development – to see how egregiously false that claim is.

AFRICOM is insistent that its end-goal is to empower local forces to find African solutions to African problems. But its daily operations and talk of “sensitising” West African nations to the idea of a permanent Marines “crisis unit” in the region make clear that a more permanent U.S. presence on the continent is its true intention.

Humanitarian projects allow military personnel to train in new environments, gather local experience and tactical data, and build diplomatic relations with host countries and communities.

As activists with Women for Genuine Security have explained, this use of relief and humanitarian aid to “further larger geopolitical and military goals” – a practice they have dubbed “disaster militarism” – is a general strategy employed by the U.S. military worldwide.

For example, a 2010 report from the Feinstein International Center at Tufts University found that in Kenya, humanitarian projects by the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, a multi-branch military operation in East Africa, provided “an entry point” to “facilitate a military intervention, should the need arise.”

Similarly, as David Vine has shown with regard to the U.S. military’s “lily pad strategy” of speckling the globe with tiny military installations – much like AFRICOM’s “small-footprint operations” – small-scale troop build-ups allow the United States to establish “goodwill” with local communities, planting the seeds for larger concentrations of troops and activities later on.

Accordingly, while humanitarian missions may incur small-scale benefits, these projects ought to be carefully monitored and scrutinised.

As Women for Genuine Security put it, “co-mingling humanitarian relief and military operations” contributes to “civilian confusion, public distrust, and questions of transparency and accountability.”

We should approach AFRICOM’s humanitarian undertakings not as gestures of goodwill or conflict-deterrence, but rather as signs of what’s to come for the militarised U.S. approach to foreign policy in Africa.

Joeva Rock is a graduate student in the Department of Anthropology at American University in Washington, DC focusing on colonial legacies in West Africa. Follow her on Twitter: @southsidetrees.

A peaceful, Stable Nigeria Crucially Important To The Future Of Africa, By Robert P. Jackson

Greenbarge Reporters

May 16, 2014

Chairman Coons, Ranking Member Flake, and Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me to update you about U.S. efforts to address the chilling threat that Boko Haram represents to Nigeria, one of our most important partners in sub-Saharan Africa.

It has now been one month since Boko Haram kidnapped more than two hundred girls from the town of Chibok in northeastern Nigeria. At the time of the kidnapping, these brave girls had returned to their high school in order to complete examinations that would allow them to attend university.

By seeking knowledge and opportunity, they represented a challenge to Boko Haram in the heart of its area of operations. As the world now knows, Boko Haram opposes democracy and formal education. It has attempted to crush the kind of faith in the promise of education and prosperity that families in Chibok showed.

Boko Haram, the terrorist organization that kidnapped these girls, has shown it has no regard for human life. It has been killing innocent people in Nigeria for some time, and the attack at Chibok is part of that long, terrible trend. This year alone, Boko Haram has murdered more than 1000 innocent people in vicious attacks on schools, churches, and mosques. Since 2013, it has targeted and systematically kidnapped women – including these girls – seeking to deny them the education and opportunity they deserve. The abductions in Chibok fit into this larger pattern of violence. Throughout northeastern Nigeria, innocent civilians are terrified by gunmen who come in the night to kill young men and teachers and steal away young women.

Boko Haram has also retained its ability to target Abuja, as we saw with two recent bombings at the Nyanya bus depot outside the capital. And we’re concerned by the expansion of the group’s operations beyond Nigeria, including in Cameroon where it has also conducted kidnappings. The group is not just a Nigerian problem; it is a regional security problem.

We join the world, the people of Nigeria, and the parents of these children in expressing our outrage at Boko Haram’s shocking acts and its perverse ideology.

Young people, in Nigeria and across the globe, deserve the chance to pursue their dreams without suffering the predations of violent extremists. What happened in Nigeria resonates around the world, and pleas to free the kidnapped schoolgirls have come from First Lady Michelle Obama, from Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, UN Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown, and other champions of women’s right to an education.

This tragic kidnapping demands that we redouble our efforts to defeat a Foreign Terrorist Organization that has troubled Nigeria for more than a decade. World leaders, including President Obama, have pledged their full support to the government and people of Nigeria as they seek the safe return of these brave girls. We acted swiftly to carry out the President’s pledge. By Monday, May 12, the U.S. Government had deployed an 18-member interagency team to provide military and law enforcement assistance, as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support. We have provided commercial imagery and are flying manned and unmanned ISR aircraft over Nigeria to support the search. We are working closely with international partners on the ground, including the U.K. and France, and we are pressing for additional multilateral action, including UN Security Council sanctions on Boko Haram. As the President has directed, we will do everything possible to support the Nigerians in their efforts to find and free these girls. But we won’t stop there. We can and must continue to work closely with Nigeria to prevent Boko Haram from harming any more innocent people.

Given Nigeria’s importance, Boko Haram cannot be allowed to continue its array of bloody tactics: murdering police officers, snatching children, destroying churches, burning schools, attacking mosques, driving people from their homes, and challenging the government’s authority.

Mr. Chairman, A peaceful and stable Nigeria is crucially important to the future of Africa, and we cannot stay on the sidelines if it stumbles. Nigeria has the continent’s largest population and biggest economy. We look to Nigeria as a partner in our quest to help Africans lead lives free of violence and filled with possibility. As an engine of growth, a fountainhead of art and industry, and a political giant, Nigeria is vital to the success of President Obama’s 2012 Strategy toward Sub-Saharan Africa. As we implement that strategy, we are focusing on building a democratic, prosperous, and secure Nigeria.

Since Boko Haram came to the world’s attention with a massive uprising in 2009, we have been working to help Nigeria counter this threat. We provide Nigeria with security cooperation, which goes toward professionalizing the Nigerian military, investigating bomb sites, improving border security, and carrying out responsible counterterrorism operations. As we hear reports of Boko Haram cells in neighboring countries, we have increasingly placed our response to Boko Haram in a regional context. Through our Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership, the Global Counterterrorism Forum, and our bilateral relationships with Nigeria’s neighbors, we are encouraging greater information sharing and border security efforts.

At the same time, we have been urging Nigeria to reform its approach to Boko Haram. From our own difficult experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq, we know that turning the tide of an insurgency requires more than force. The state must demonstrate to its citizens that it can protect them and offer them opportunity. When soldiers destroy towns, kill civilians, and detain innocent people with impunity, mistrust takes root. When governments neglect the economic development of remote areas, confidence can falter. We share these lessons with our partners in Nigeria, urging them to ensure that security services respect human rights; officials end a culture of impunity; people see the benefits of government; and diverse voices are heard and represented in the capital. We have seen some signs of reform – we were encouraged in March of this year to see National Security Advisor Sambo Dasuki announce his “soft approach” to countering violent extremism, though Nigeria needs to follow through on implementing this strategy. We have also worked through our Counterterrorism and Conflict and Stabilization Operations Bureaus to promote narratives of nonviolence in Nigeria, and we are working broadly to protect civilians, prevent atrocities, and ensure respect for human rights.

At the same time, we are providing law enforcement assistance, including by training Nigerian law enforcement officials on basic forensics, hostage negotiations, leadership, and task force development.

To counter the spread of violent extremist ideology, we support programs and initiatives – including job training and education — that create economic alternatives for those vulnerable to being recruited by terrorist organizations.

All of this is part of a coordinated effort to help strengthen Nigeria’s ability to respond responsibly and effectively to these challenges in a way that ensures civilians are protected and human rights are respected.

We have also joined the international effort to isolate Boko Haram. In June 2012, the State Department designated Boko Haram’s top commanders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists under section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224. In June 2013, the State Department added Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram’s official leader, to our Rewards for Justice Program and offered up to $7 million for information leading to his location. In November 2013, the State Department designated Boko Haram and Ansaru as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, and as Specially Designated Global Terrorists under section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224. Last week, our Ambassador met President Jonathan on the margins of the World Economic Forum, and they agreed on the importance of quick action on the UN designation of Boko Haram as a terrorist group. The United Nations Security Council has renewed calls for regional cooperation to address Boko Haram. This week, Nigeria brought this question to the UN Security Council. And as I mentioned, we continue to work with Nigeria and others to press for UN Security Council sanctions on Boko Haram.

The importance of regional and multilateral coordination is clear at a time like this, as Nigeria and its partners seek to prevent Boko Haram from smuggling young women across the border or using neighboring countries as safe havens. I must note, however, that our ability to encourage regional collaboration is made more difficult, at this time, as our highly qualified nominees to be the U.S. Ambassadors to Niger and Cameroon continue to await confirmation by the full Senate.

As we strike a balance between helping empower Nigeria and counseling its government on reform, we engage regularly with Nigeria at all levels of our government. President Obama and Nigerian President Jonathan discussed security issues during their bilateral meeting on the margins of the UN General Assembly last September. Most recently, our Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, Dr. Sarah Sewall, and U.S. Africa Command Commander General David Rodriguez spent May 12 and 13 in Nigeria. They met senior Nigerian security officials to discuss how to intensify efforts against Boko Haram, reform human rights practices, and pursue a comprehensive approach to Boko Haram. Under Secretary Sewall and General Rodriguez devoted considerable attention to the crisis surrounding the kidnapped women. Under Secretary Sewall called the principal of the young women’s school in Chibok to express U.S. outrage and deep concern about the deplorable kidnapping.

All of these policy tools – our security cooperation, our legal and sanctions actions, and our diplomatic engagement – constitute the framework within which we are working to help Nigeria safely bring back the women kidnapped by Boko Haram. Resolving this crisis is now one of the highest priorities of the U.S. Government. As I mentioned when I began, we deployed an interagency team to advise Nigerian authorities on how to recover safely and assist these young women. Led by a senior diplomat from our Africa Bureau, the team is liaising with counterparts across Nigeria’s Government to offer specialized expertise on military and law enforcement best practices, hostage negotiation, intelligence gathering, strategic communications, and how to mitigate the risks of future kidnappings. At the same time, USAID has mobilized resources to provide humanitarian assistance to those affected by Boko Haram violence, including through the provision of psychosocial and medical support and treatment. We are cooperating thoroughly with the U.K., France, and a host of other countries who are also dedicating significant interagency manpower, resources, and time to this effort. Our field team remains in close, coordinated contact with State Department headquarters here in Washington.

Nevertheless, Nigeria’s conflict with Boko Haram will not end when these young women are bought home. Consequently, throughout this crisis, our assistance is framed by our broader and long-term policy goal of helping the Nigerians implement a comprehensive response to defeating Boko Haram that protects civilians, respects human rights, and addresses the underlying causes of the conflict. We are sharing practices and strategies with the government of Nigeria that will bolster its future efforts to defeat this deadly movement.

Nigeria’s importance and the violent attacks committed by Boko Haram are both growing. We cannot ignore either trend. We welcome your interest in these urgent matters, and we look forward to continuing to work with you as we strive to bring these young women home and address the broader threat posed by Boko Haram. I would be pleased to respond to your questions.

Testimony

Robert P. Jackson, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Subcommittee on African Affairs, Washington, DC

May 15, 2014

How Jonathan Chickened Out Of Visit To Chibok For Security Reason: He Never Scheduled Visit To Chibok-Abati

Greenbarge Reporters

May 16, 2014

President Goodluck Jonathan, who was scheduled to visit Chibok in Borno state today from where he was to take off to Paris for a security summit on Boko Haram, cut off such visit to the epicenter of the abducted female students of the Government Girls Secondary School by members of the deadly Boko Haram on April 14^theven as the Presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati denied that President ever scheduled any visit to Chibok.

The visit of President Jonathan to Chibok was abruptly cancelled at the last minute “due to security reasons,” according to sources.

A presidential official had told AFP early afternoon: “The president has cancelled his visit to Chibok. It was on his schedule up until this morning.”

The official did not give any reason for the abrupt cancellation of the visit.

Jonathan, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria’s Armed Forces, has been under fire for refusing to visit Chibok to commiserate with the affected families.

However, in a statement today, Dr, Abati said that it is traditional that every movement of the President were documented and announced ahead of time, adding that in this care, there was no record indicating that Jonathan would visit Chibok.

According to him, the press statement he issued regarding the President trip was that to Paris, France, adding that any visit to Chibok was an important one that would have attracted a formal statement from his office.

He insisted that the trip was not on Jonathan’s schedule for the day.

“Every movement of the President is documented and backed by press statement. Chibok is very important. Such trip would have been backed up by a press statement from my office.

“We never announce Chibok trip. It was not on the President’s schedule. All the reports about the so-called trips quoted some unnamed government officials. Let the journalists identify the officials.”

He said it was wrong and maliciousness to allege that a “non-existent trip has been cancelled.”

World Cup Venue, Brazil In Civil Turmoil 28 Days To The Tournament

Greenbarge Reporters

May 15, 2014

Protesters disgusted at the price tag of the World Cup today, called for demonstrations across Brazil, trying to regain the momentum that disrupted the Confederations Cup a year ago.

Ongoing strikes by police and teachers and the threat of a nationwide strike by federal police also raised fears of chaos with 28 days to go until the World Cup.

In business hub Sao Paulo, about 5,000 members of the Homeless Workers’ Movement (MTST) set fire to car tires and marched towards the Corinthians Arena stadium, which will host the World Cup opening match between Brazil and Croatia on June 12.

Around 200 metalworkers also held a protest against unemployment outside a factory in the south of the city.

Several hundred demonstrators blocked a nearby street demanding housing, and hundreds of others barricaded a road leading from the Osasco suburb into the city, Globo TV reported.

Several movements took to social media calling for protests in at least 10 of the 12 World Cup host cities on issues ranging from poverty to concerns over human rights.

One of the groups calling for protests was the Free Pass Movement (MPL), a student group whose demand for free public transport helped spark million-strong street protests last year that embarrassed Brazil during the Confederations Cup, a World Cup warm-up tournament.

The movement said it hoped to gather 15,000 people in the streets of Sao Paulo.

In Rio de Janeiro, where the World Cup final will be played on July 13, anarchist group Black Bloc and hacker group Anonymous were also helping organize protests.

Anonymous hacked the official website of Sao Paulo’s World Cup organizing committee the evening before and put up the slogan “Without rights there will be no World Cup.”

Brazil has spent more than $11 billion to organize the World Cup, money protesters say could have been better spent on pressing needs in areas such as transport, education and health care.

The protests have shrunk in numbers recently but have also grown more radical. Thursday’s demonstrations will be a test of both the movements’ momentum and the police’s ability to contain them.

Brazil is also facing strikes by teachers and by military police in host city Recife. Rio bus drivers trashed 708 buses in three days of strikes that ended Wednesday, and federal police are also threatening a nationwide strike during the World Cup.

Go Ahead With State Of Emergency, House Of Representatives Gives Jonathan Node

Greenbarge Reporters

May 15, 2014

The House of Representatives has approved the extension of the emergency rule in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states by another six months.

The decision came through a majority voice vote shortly after a closed-door meeting with service chiefs which ended at about 4.40pm today

The meeting, which started at 2.09pm, was presided over by the Speaker of the House, Aminu Tambuwal.

The Speaker said that members chose to vote on the matter following a “robust debate” by members earlier Wednesday.

North Opposes Emergency Rule Extension, Says It Has Not Helped The Situation

Greenbarge Reporters

May 15, 2014

Pan-northern socio-political organization, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has kicked against the extension of the state of emergency in three states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.

It said that extension of the emergency is absolutely unnecessary because the previous one that has lasted for a year had not resolved the problem it was meant to resolve.

In a statement by its Secretary-General, Colone Paul Ubah (Rtd.) in Kaduna State today, the ACF said that there is no reason for the National Assembly to extend the emergency rule as it has not solved the problem of the insurgency in the states.

“Before the State of Emergency was declared in the three states, between 2009 and 2012, the total casualties of the insurgency were less than 1,500. But this figure sky-rocketed to over 2,700 during the one year of the emergency rule, according to figures released by Amnesty International.

“It is not clear to the public why the violence has been escalating since the imposition of the state of emergency on those three states. If we counsel against the continuation of the emergency rule, we are only being guided by our ugly experiences thus far.

“And, at any rate, the Federal Government does not need to declare a state of emergency before it can discharge its responsibility of maintaining law and order. Otherwise, it may need to declare a state of emergency on the whole country at this time, given the state of lawlessness going on in the North, South, West and East of the country.”

ACF blamed President Goodluck Jonathan for the poor handling of the abduction of the schoolgirls from the Government Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State, adding: “the President approached the abduction with neither a sense of urgency nor seriousness until ordinary Nigerians poured out on to the streets demanding greater action.

“The response of the Federal Government, particularly President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan, to the abduction of over 200 students by Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno on the 14th of April, 2014, is disappointing.

“His belated acceptance of help from foreign powers had come only after the abduction of over 200 young girls, stirring worldwide outrage.”

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