US, UK mull ‘special initiative against B’Haram’

John Kerry, the United States secretary of state, has condemned the massacre of residents of Baga and Doron Baga by Boko Haram, describing the acts as “crime against humanity”.

Speaking during a news conference in Sofia, Bulgaria on Thursday, Kerry disclosed that he discussed with Philip Hammond, British foreign secretary, on the possibility of engaging in a special initiative with Nigeria in respect to the excesses of Boko Haram.

“What they have done with respect to the slaughter recently is a crime against humanity nothing less,” he said.

“It’s an enormously horrendous slaughter of innocent people and Boko Haram continues to present a serious threat not just in Nigeria and the region but to all of our values and all of our sense of responsibility regarding terrorism.

“Boko Haram is without question one of the most evil and threatening terrorist entities on the planet today.

“Nobody in the world should doubt the world’s determination I think, over time, to deal with this, as we deal with ISIS, as we are dealing with Al-Shebab (in East Africa), as we deal with Al-Nusra (in Syria) and a host of groups that want to challenge the international values and morays which have guided the world for so long.

“Boko Haram obviously stands as a singular example of a threat to that structure.”

About 2000 people were said to have been killed in the attack on Baga but the military debunked the report, saying only 150 people lost their lives in the town.

But Amnesty International released satellite images claiming to show massive destruction in the town. The military is yet to react to the latest revelation of the human rights group.

Both countries showed interest in helping Nigeria in the quest to free the Chibok school girls abducted by Boko Haram in April 2014, but nothing came out of the effort.

It will be seen how the Nigerian government responds to the latest plan, seeing that in December, the federal government terminated a United States training programme for a Nigerian Army battalion.

Prior to the request, the American experts groomed the soldiers on how to effectively tackle the security challenge facing the country.

The federal government cited no specific reason for terminating the programme at its final phase, as two phases had taken place between April and August 2014.