U.S. slams Nigerian government’s failure to curb Boko Haram

The United States on Thursday issued a scathing rebuke of the Nigerian government’s failure to curb the extremist sect, Boko Haram, responsible for thousands of deaths, as President Goodluck Jonathan announced he will attend an inter-regional security summit in France to discuss the threat.

A top U.S. Defense Department official told the U.S. Senate subcommittee that Nigeria was too slow to find a response to the threat of Boko Haram, but said the United States is now committed to helping fight the al Qaeda-linked group and safely return over 250 school girls seized from Chibok, Borno State, a month ago.

“In general Nigeria has failed to mount an effective campaign against Boko Haram,” said Alice Friend, the Pentagon’s principal director for African Affairs, according to Reuters news agency.

Ms. Friend gave testimony to the U.S. Senate’s Africa subcommittee ahead of a hearing Thursday.

“The Department has been deeply concerned for some time by how much the Government of Nigeria has struggled to keep pace with Boko Haram’s growing capabilities,” Ms. Friend said. She also condemned the spate of abuses by Nigerian security forces in the fight against Boko Haram.

Another senior official, Robert Jackson, who is the acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, said the U.S. has been urging Nigeria to change its approach to Boko Haram. “When soldiers destroy towns, kill civilians and detain innocent people with impunity, mistrust takes root,” Mr. Jackson was quoted by Reuters as saying.

President Jonathan has been widely condemned for his handling of the Boko Haram crisis, and his slow response to the group’s abduction of the girls from a school in Chibok, Borno State.