Sunday 15 May 2016

UK To Give Nigeria £40m To Fight Boko Haram

United Kingdom Foreign Secretary has pledged to give Nigeria £40m to help the fight against Boko Haram - and praised the president's "strong leadership" just days after David Cameron called the country "fantastically corrupt".
Philip Hammond also announced the UK would train almost 1,000 Nigerian military personnel for deployment in counter-insurgency operations.
His promises came as he arrived in Abuja, Nigeria for the Regional Security Summit.
"President Buhari has shown strong leadership in the fight against Boko Haram, a brutal organisation that has raped, murdered and kidnapped innocent civilians and forced over two million people to flee their homes," said Mr Hammond.
"Their allegiance to, and potential coordination with Daesh (IS), is a reminder of the threat they present to the region and to British interests."
Boko Haram has killed some 20,000 people during a seven-year insurgency.
The UK's money to fight the Islamic extremists will be distributed over four years.
Mr Hammond's flattering words follow days after Mr Cameron was heard making undiplomatic comments to the Queen ahead of an anti-corruption summit.
"We've got some leaders of some fantastically corrupt countries coming to Britain," Mr Cameron told the Queen.
"Nigeria and Afghanistan - possibly the two most corrupt countries in the world."

No comments: