The billions aren’t wasted tackling Boko Haram

But Nigeria could do much more to help find the hundreds of schoolgirls kidnapped two years ago

In the two years since Boko Haram militants kidnapped more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls, no expense has been spared in the global effort to rescue them and bring their abductors to justice.

The international outcry that greeted the girls’ abduction, with such luminaries as Michelle Obama and Angelina Jolie leading the clamour for action, has resulted in the Nigerian government receiving billions of dollars in foreign aid and military support.

Britain, in particular, has played a lead role in supporting the authorities’ efforts against Boko Haram, the Nigerian-based terror group with links to al-Qaeda that was originally set up to prevent Nigerian children from receiving a Western-style education. The Department for International Development has committed aid worth around £860 million to Nigeria, with the aim of building political stability in a country that now boasts Africa’s largest economy, as well as destroying the jihadist threat. The US, meanwhile, has given aid worth $2.1 billion.

Yet, as the grieving families of the missing schoolgirls prepare to mark the second anniversary of their disappearance tomorrow, there is little prospect of them being returned to their homes in the foreseeable future. Boko Haram, meanwhile, continues to consolidate its position as one of the world’s leading promulgators of Islamist-inspired terrorism.

So far as the families are concerned, about the only clues they have that the girls are still alive are rumours they have been spotted at Islamist-run slave markets, or the even more alarming claims that some of them have been trained and mobilised as suicide bombers. Last weekend it was reported that the terrorists were demanding a ransom of nearly £36 million for the safe return of the missing Chibok girls.

Kidnapping has become one of Boko Haram’s primary funding sources, and the millions of dollars raised from ransom payments and other forms of extortion has allowed the organisation to rise up the terrorist league table. At the end of last year the Global Terrorism Index reported Boko Haram was responsible for more deaths than Islamic State (Isil), causing 6,664 deaths in 2015, compared with Isil’s 6,073.

Overall the group has been responsible for killing 20,000 since 2010 and driving an estimated 2.3 million from their homes. Amnesty International estimates that, apart from orchestrating a wave of bombings and suicide attacks, the group has kidnapped more than 2,000 schoolgirls in all, many of whom have since been brainwashed into fighting for the Islamist cause. All of which makes grim reading for those charged with tackling the fanatics, even as Boko Haram’s leaders can celebrate the dubious distinction of presiding over one of the world’s deadliest terror organisations.

Moreover, much of the blame for this disastrous state of affairs must rest with Nigeria’s recently elected leader, President Muhammadu Buhari. A former military dictator who ruled the country between 1983-85 before being deposed in a coup, Mr Buhari relied on the democratic process to facilitate his return to power last July. During the election campaign he claimed he would concentrate his energy on tackling the threat posed by Boko Haram.

But since taking office Mr Buhari has proved less enthusiastic about confronting Boko Haram, even going so far as to claim that the organisation no longer posed a serious threat to Nigeria. He made this remarkable claim despite the fact the country continues to suffer Boko Haraminspired terrorist attacks, including the abduction and murder of a senior military officer taken just hours after Mr Buhari made a statement claiming Nigerians enjoyed improved safety and security.

There are now concerns that, instead of tackling Boko Haram, Mr Buhari is more interested in returning to his old dictatorial ways. As we report today, Western aid officials have raised concerns that the Nigerian leader is using aid money originally ear-marked for tackling Islamistrelated terrorism to wage a campaign of persecution against his political opponents, with several prominent members of the former ruling People’s Democratic Party having recently been imprisoned without charge.

At a time when Britain’s controversial foreign aid budget is under close scrutiny, Mr Buhari’s indifferent track record in tackling Boko Haram will raise questions about whether the hundreds of millions of pounds his government receives from Britain in aid is money well spent.

If criticism of Mr Buhari’s conduct may be justified, turning our backs on Nigeria at this critical juncture could prove to be counter-productive. In recent weeks there have been encouraging reports that Isil fighters in Syria and Iraq have been forced on to the defensive by the US-led coalition’s military efforts. If we really do have Isil on the run, then the last thing the West needs is for another group of Islamist fanatics like Boko Haram to take their place.