Nigeria Has Lost Its Fight Against Terrorism - USA

The United States government said that the Federal Government of
Nigeria has failed in its fight against terrorism,Washington, DC.

In the US International Religious Report for 2013, released on 28
July, secretary of state John F. Kerry strongly criticized the
Goodluck Jonathan-led administration for being too slow to prevent and
react to the communal or religious-based violence. Also one of the
reasons for such connivance in the country was named poorly equipped
and trained security forces responsible for suppression of extremist
groups in the north.

Here's only a small part of claims made to the federal government:

1) The government also failed to protect victims of violent attacks
targeted because of their religious beliefs or for other reasons.

2) Legal proceedings against five police officers charged in 2011 with
the extrajudicial killing of Boko Haram leader Mohammed Yusuf did not
resume during the year.

3) There were no indictments or prosecutions following three fatal
attacks on high-profile Muslim leaders in late 2012.

4) Local and state authorities did not deliver adequate protection or
post-attack relief to rural communities in the northeast, where Boko
Haram killed villagers and burned churches throughout the year.

5) There is discrimination and a systematic lack of protection by
state governments, especially in central Nigeria.

6) Federal, state, and local authorities did not effectively address
underlying political, ethnic, and religious grievances leading to this
violence.

"In Nigeria, casualties and human rights abuses associated with Boko
Haram attacks and the government's response escalated. Boko Haram
killed more than 1,000 people during the year. The group targeted a
wide array of civilians and sites, including Christian and Muslim
religious leaders, churches, and mosques, often killing worshippers
during religious services or immediately afterward. The federal
government was ineffective in preventing or quelling the violence,
only occasionally investigated, prosecuted, or punished those
responsible for abuses related to religious freedom, and sometimes
responded to violence with heavy-handed tactics, which were associated
with both human rights abuses and civilian casualties. Over 10,000
people have fled to neighboring countries as refugees, fearing both
Boko Haram and sometimes the military.

Related: US Government Sent Nigeria $20 Million To Fight Boko Haram Since 2012
An attack on the Emir of Kano in January was widely believed to be an
attempt by Boko Haram to silence the anti-extremist Muslim leader,
although the group did not officially claim responsibility. On
September 28, Boko Haram killed at least 50 mostly Muslim students at
a technical college in rural Yobe State. After this and other
incidents, security forces faced public criticism for arriving at the
scene hours after the assailants had fled. Government attempts to stop
Boko Haram were largely ineffective. Actions taken by security forces
under the state of emergency, declared in May in the three
northeastern states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa, often increased the
death toll, as bystanders were caught in crossfire during urban
gunfights, security forces committed extrajudicial killings of
suspected terrorists, and detainees died in custody."

It would be recalled that earlier the US government was one of the
first who expressed its readiness to assist Nigeria in fight against
Boko Haram. It also designated Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist
Organization (FTO) on November 14, 2013

"The kidnapping of hundreds of children by Boko Haram is an
unconscionable crime, and we will do everything possible to support
the Nigerian Government to return these young women to their homes and
to hold the perpetrators to justice. I will tell you, my friends, I
have seen this scourge of terror across the planet, and so have you.
They don't offer anything except violence. They don't offer a health
care plan, they don't offer schools. They don't tell you how to build
a nation; they don't talk about how they will provide jobs. They just
tell people, "You have to behave the way we tell you to," and they
will punish you if you don't, "Secretary of State John F. Kerry said.