The human rights abuse record and
uncooperative attitude of the Federal
Government and its military authorities have
been identified as factors hindering United
States of America offering Nigeria effective
security assistance.
Speaking on Thursday before the US House
Foreign Affairs Sub-committee on Africa’s
hearing entitled, ‘Human Rights Vetting:
Nigeria and Beyond’, the Specialist at African
Affairs Congressional Research Service,
Lauren Blanchard, said the Nigerian
government and its military had not been
yielding to America’s suggestions.
The Congress heard that the main impediment
to America’s efforts to support Nigeria’s
broader response to Boko Haram is “gross
violations committed by the Nigerian forces,
the Nigerian government’s resistance to
adopting a more comprehensive approach to
Boko Haram, and the continued lack of
political will” within the government to
investigate allegations of human rights abuses
and hold perpetrators accountable.
Blanchard told the Congress, “The Nigerian
government also has appeared reticent in some
cases to allow its security forces to
participate in US training programmes. The
State Department indicates that there are
currently 187 Nigerian military units and 173
police units that have been vetted and cleared
to receive U.S. assistance and training.
“It is unclear whether the Nigerian
government has given approval for such
training to occur. A 2013 State Department
audit report noted that, in addition to human
rights concerns, Nigeria’s late submission of
names of candidates for assistance was a
‘recurring problem’ for the US embassy.
“Multiple systemic factors further constrain
the effectiveness of the Nigerian security
force’s response to Boko Haram, notably
security sector corruption and
mismanagement, and some of these factors
impede US support even for units that have
been cleared for assistance”.
Among the cleared units, she revealed, were
Nigeria’s Speed Boat Service commando and
the 101st Infantry Battalion, which the ACRS
specialist said were best positioned to conduct
hostage rescue operations, but “both
reportedly require significant additional
training”.
She added that the security relationship
between Nigeria and the US was hampered by
the lack of cooperation and systemic failure in
Nigeria.
“The security relationship also has been
hampered at times by a lack of cooperation
from Nigerian officials and by systemic
problems in the Nigerian military. Political
and human rights concerns have been a
prominent factor in shaping US-Nigeria
relations for decades.
“State Department human rights reports have
continued to highlight serious human rights
violations by the Nigerian security forces
every year. These violations include politically
motivated and extrajudicial killings, excessive
use of force, and torture,” Blanchard said at
the hearing.
Despite about N1trn ($5.8b) security budget,
the ACRS specialist said the “Nigerian troops
are not adequately resourced or equipped” to
counter Boko Haram insurgency. During the
hearing, the American disclosed that the
troops were “slow to adapt with new
strategies, new doctrines and new tactics,” and
described Nigeria as “an extremely
challenging partner to work with.”
www.punchng.com/news/nigerian-military-uncooperative-slow-to-learn-us-hearing/

3 Israeli kids went missing; the whole country went standstill; 276 girls are missing but our leaders don't give a damn. Everything is all about 2015...I smh 4 Nigeria!!!!