Nigeria will defeat insurgents soon –US

The United States of America has expressed confidence that Nigeria would soon overcome its security challenge before the 2015 general elections.

That would pave way for residents in the three north eastern states currently under emergency rule to exercise their voting rights, the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.

She said this while addressing newsmen after the US-Nigeria Bi-national Commission in Abuja on Tuesday.

“I think the Nigerian government would defeat Boko Haram. We are giving the government tremendous amount of support and advice. It is our hope for the people of Nigeria that Boko Haram is defeated,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

She said the killings in the region whose number is now in the thousands “cannot continue” saying “government has a responsibility to provide security for those people and we are working with the government to assist them in doing that.

“...this is something that requires a multi-faceted approach. It is not just a security issue, it requires getting into the communities, knowing the communities, and it requires addressing some of the communities’ needs,” the US envoy added.

On speculations of the US deploying drones to assist Nigeria fight the Boko Haram insurgents she said military actions can only be taken in coordination with and at the request of the government.

Even if there were such plans, they would not be discussed publicly, Thomas-Greenfield said.