The Trump
administration is expected to reveal to lawmakers its five-year plan to address
the Boko Haram rebellion in north east Nigeria and Lake Chad region.
This is
pursuant to a law signed by former President Barack Obama last December.The law
arose from a bill proposed by congresswoman Fredericka Wilson.
According to vanguard report, Indication
that the Trump administration will unveil its Boko Haram plan was contained in
notification letter addressed to the congresswoman by the US Department of
State Last month, U.S. Senator Susan Collins and U.S.
Congresswoman Frederica
Wilson led a bipartisan group of 50 Members of Congress in writing to Secretary
of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, and Director of
National Intelligence Daniel Coats, requesting an update on their efforts to
counter Boko Haram.
In December 2016, legislation introduced by Senator Collins
and Congresswoman Wilson was signed into law requiring the Administration to
develop a comprehensive plan to help the Nigerian government and its partners
combat Boko Haram and address the legitimate concerns of affected, vulnerable
populations.
Senator Collins and Congresswoman Wilson’s legislation, which
responded to the terrorist organisation’s kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls in
Nigeria in 2014, directs the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and
the Director of National Intelligence to submit to Congress a five-year
anti-Boko Haram strategy by June 12, 2017.
“While we were encouraged by the
release of 82 of the Chibok schoolgirls…, it is imperative that we remember
that many of the girls remain in captivity along with untold hundreds of other
women, men, and children who have been kidnapped by Boko Haram,” Senator
Collins and Congresswoman Wilson wrote.
“…[W]e look forward to receiving an
update on your efforts to develop an anti-Boko Haram strategy and beginning the
process of dismantling Boko Haram and reuniting all of the Chibok schoolgirls
with their families.”
0 Comments