President Buhari has accused the United States of indirectly aiding and abetting the atrocities of Boko Haram terrorists.
While addressing a section of people at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in Washington DC as part of his four-day trip to America, President Muhamadu Buhari, has accused the United States of indirectly aiding and abetting the atrocities of Boko Haram terrorists.
The President accused the U.S becuase of their refusal to let Nigeria have access to much needed military arsenal to fight to quell the six-year insurgency. He also frowned at the use of the ‘Leahy Law’ by the U.S government to deny Nigeria weapons based on unsubstantiated human rights abuses by the Nigerian military.
Expressing his belief that the US would not want the Boko Haram carnage to continue, Buhari demanded that America provide Nigeria with “far more substantial counter-terrorism assistance with minimal strings”, especially as Nigerian troops have re-written their rules engagement to better protect the rights of combatants and civilians.
“In our efforts at combating the activities of Boko Haram, the new Government has sought and obtained the support of not only our neighbours other international friends and partners.
"Regrettably, the blanket application of the Leahy Law by the United States on the grounds of unproven allegations of human rights violations levelled against our forces has denied us access to appropriate strategic weapons to prosecute the war against the insurgents.
"Our forces have remained largely impotent because they do not possess the appropriate weapons and technology which they could have had, had the so-called human rights violations not been an obstacle.
"Unwittingly, and I dare say, unintentionally, the application of the Leahy Law amendment by the U. S. Government has aided and abetted the Boko Haram terrorist group in the prosecution of its extremist ideology and hate, the indiscriminate killings and maiming of civilians, in raping of women and girls, and in their other heinous crimes.”
The Nigerian President has consequently appealed to the US government to provide Nigeria with far more substantial counter-terrorism assistance with minimal strings.