Nigeria: USA backs Nigeria but a pledged $5 million is in jeopardy

Written by Linda Digby 29 Jul 2015
Nigeria: USA backs Nigeria but a pledged $5 million is in jeopardy

On Monday President Barack Obama met Nigeria's new leader Muhammadu Buhari and discussed ongoing plans to defeat Boko Haram. Obama praised Buhari's integrity and Buhari claimed to have a very clear agenda in defeating Boko Haram extremists inside his country. The Obama administration has pledged $5 million to Nigeria's military since Buhari's election earlier this year. Obama said Nigeria is ‘one of the most important countries’ in Africa and he and Buhari discussed combatting corruption, public health concerns and climate change. On Wednesday it was discovered that the US Leahy Law which prevents the government selling arms to countries which fail to tackle human rights abuses applies to Nigeria. However the Nigerian military does not possess appropriate weapons and technology to address the ‘human rights violations’ and the two president’s agreement would have released this technology to Nigeria. On Thursday President Buhari said, ‘Unwittingly, and I dare say unintentionally, the application of the Leahy Law Amendment by the United States government has aided and abetted the Boko Haram terrorists.’

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  • Pray: that God would cement this partnership. Pray for appropriate technical support and help to rebuild damaged communities in North East Nigeria. (Ps.127:1)