We’ll no longer fund Nigerian military due to human rights abuses —US

As controversy continues to swirl over the  alleged massacre of civilians in Baga, Borno State, the Government of  the United States of America has announced its decision to stop  extending any form of aide to the Nigerian military.
 
US Ambassador to Nigeria, Terence P. McCulley, announced the decision this morning during a closed-door meeting with stakeholders of  Nigeria's human rights community.
 
News Express learnt that at the meeting held in the  Ambsaador's Abuja residence "issues of extra-legal killings by security  agents and state of of insecurity in the country were extensively  discussed," according to one source. Also discussed, siad the source, is  "the unprecedented corruption in Nigerian government circles."
 
At the meeting, Ambassador McCulley restated the US Government's  worry about the issues discussed and made references to the recently  released human rights report of the US State Department which alleged  widespread human rights abuses in Nigeria. He then disclosed that the  Barack Obama administration has consequently decided to withdraw any  further assistance, financial or otherwise, to the Nigerian military.
 
This is coming on the heels of the controversy surrounding the April  19-21 military operation in Baga, a town close to the Chad border, in  which many civilians were allegedly killed in the hunt for Boko Haram  insurgents.
 
Representatives of about 10 prominent human rights group attended the breakfast meeting held with Ambassador McCulley in the Nigerian  capital. They include Dr. Jibrin Ibrahim of Centre for Democracy and  Development (CDD); Kole Shettima of MacArthur Foundation; Emmanuel  Onwubiko of Human Rights Writers' Association of Nigeria (HURIWA); and  Clement Nwankwo of Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC).
-
Source: www.newsexpressngr.com

Posted in: World News