Nigeria not doing enough to stop attacks – US

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The United States says Nigeria has not made sufficient progress in addressing attacks on Christian communities and should remain a Country of Particular Co Read More:…

The United States has said Nigeria has yet to make sufficient progress in addressing attacks on Christian communities, warning that the country’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern should remain in place.

Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Frank Garcia, stated this while responding to questions from US Congressman Riley Moore during a congressional hearing on violence in Nigeria on Thursday.

Moore had questioned the Nigerian government’s efforts to dismantle militia strongholds and kidnapping camps in the Middle Belt, particularly in Benue and Plateau states, and demanded to know what operations had been conducted since US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Allison Hooker, raised concerns about the pace of Nigeria’s response in August.

He also questioned why Benue and Plateau were not included among the 10 states covered by Nigeria’s new forest guard initiative, despite the persistent attacks in the two states, and noted that 1,000 presidentially approved guards for Plateau had yet to be deployed.

The congressman said the US should not remove Nigeria from the CPC list, arguing that the country had not done enough to address the violence.

“Before you answer that, we cannot take this CPC designation off of this country. They have not done enough,” Moore said.

Responding, Garcia acknowledged that Nigeria had not made sufficient progress, but said the government was taking steps to address the concerns, although the measures had yet to produce the desired impact.

“I think we would agree, as Under Secretary Hooker stated, after our CPC meeting that progress has not been there, but that doesn’t mean that Nigeria is dismissing concerns, and it doesn’t mean that they’re not taking actions, but it does mean that it hasn’t had an impact to this point,” he said.

Garcia identified the establishment of the US-Nigeria Joint Working Group as an important step towards ensuring accountability, saying it would provide a framework for monitoring the…

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