US condemns Boko Haram attacks, deplores use of young girls for heinous campaign

The United States has condemned the horrific and indiscriminate attacks at the Jambutu Mosque in Yola, Adamawa State, the Central Mosque of Polo Ward in Maiduguri, Borno State, and other locations in Maiduguri on October 23 and 24, 2015.

A statement by John Kirby, US Department of State spokesperson, Washington, DC, a copy of which was made available to BusinessDay, said: “We offer our deepest sympathies and condolences to the families and loved ones of the many innocent civilians who were killed and injured.”

The US also noted that the apparent use of children, particularly young girls, to commit these attacks was especially heinous, adding that “it provides yet more examples of the horrific measures Boko Haram is willing to take to terrorise civilians in northeast Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin region.

“The US continues to support the governments and people of the Lake Chad Basin region in their ongoing struggle to defeat Boko Haram. We will continue to assist these vital efforts in every appropriate way.”

It would be recalled that the Islamist sect, who began its bloody campaign sometime in 2009, has continued to wreak havoc despite measures to check the ugly trend.

Although no accurate figures have been given as those who have lost their lives in the orgy of unprovoked attacks by the sect, but it is believed that close to ten thousand people have lost their lives while many more have been confined to perpetual agony owing to threatening bodily injuries or homelessness.

Across the length and breadth of Nigeria, there are camps housing the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who fled their ancestral homes as a result of activities of the Boko Haram.

Close to two years, over 200 schoolgirls who were abducted from their school somewhere in Chibok, Borno State, are yet to be seen let alone recovered.

In the efforts to arrest the ugly situation, past and present governments in Nigeria have looked to the outside world, including the US, for assistance.