Fed Govt delays release of Chibok girls -US envoy
Category: Boko Haram News
The United States envoy has said the federal government is
responsible for the seeming lack of progress in rescuing the over 200
Chibok girls.
No fewer than 219 schoolgirls abducted from their dormitory in
Government Secondary School, Chibok on April 15, are still in the
custody of Boko Haram.
The U.S. is among the countries assisting Nigeria is the search for the girls. The others are Britain and Australia.
Reacting to questions about how useful the collaboration has been, Ambassador Phillip Carter
of the U.S. African Command (AFRICOM) said the U.S. government is only
assisting the Nigerian government on the kidnap that has sparked
protests across the globe.
“Fundamentally, the question of what this is achieving, that is a question you should pose to the Nigerian government and not AFRICOM,” he was quoted by Premium Times.
Mr. Carter reportedly spoke during the sixth U.S. Africa Command Academic Symposium in Accra, Ghana.
“We were asked by the leadership of Nigeria to provide help to the
Nigerian government to deal with the horrible phenomenon, Boko Haram. We
have an inter-agency, inter-government effort with the Nigerian
government run through our embassy in Abuja under our ambassador,” he
said.
The ambassador also debunked rumours that the U.S. government is
leading any operation in Nigeria. He said AFRICOM’s core engagement with
Nigeria includes locating the girls and improving the Nigerian Security
Forces’ capacity to manage information.
“[AFRICOM] is not leading them (Nigerian soldiers) to do anything. We
are not putting any equipment on the ground. We are only to support
them. That is the direction of President Obama and the request of
President Jonathan,” he said.
He explained some of the Command’s activities on the continent, and said AFRICOM has no intentions of militarizing Africa. He said AFRICOM is a geographic combatant command of the U.S. Defence Department and is focused on military relations with African states and other regional security organizations on the continent. AFRICOM, which began operations in 2007, is located in Germany but holds liaison officers at key African posts in the continent.
Mr. Carter, who served as U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Guinea
from 2007 to 2008 and has also served in other capacities in Africa,
Asia, and South America, delivered opening remarks at the kick-off of
the Symposium which will run till Thursday.
Ghanaian Minister of Defense, Mark Woyongo, bemoaned the mixed results achieved by security operatives in the sub-region.
“This year’s theme which is titled Perspectives and Partners on
Population-Centric Security Sector Transformation is both timely and
topical because of the contemporary security challenges facing our
region and Africa as a whole,” he said.
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