Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, United States has reacted to accusation made by Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari that the position of United States on supply of arms to Nigeria has helped to foster the activities of Boko Haram.
Buhari made the charge in a speech during his recent visit to US, though presidency officials have said that the septugenerian president was quoted out of context.
Leahy initiated the popular Leahy Law that prohibits America from selling arms to countries with questionable human rights records.
In his reaction, which was posted on his personal website, Leahy said,”It is well documented by the State Department and by respected human rights organizations that Nigerian army personnel have, for many years, engaged in a pattern and practice of gross violations of human rights against the Nigerian people and others, including summary executions of prisoners, indiscriminate attacks against civilians, torture, forced disappearances and rape.”
“Rarely have the perpetrators been prosecuted or punished.
“This abusive conduct not only violates the laws of war, it creates fear and loathing among the Nigerian people whose support is necessary to defeat a terrorist group like Boko Haram.
He accused President Buhari of ignoring “the undisputed fact that most Nigerian army units have been approved, under the Leahy Law, for U.S. training and equipment. Only those particular units against which there is credible evidence of the most heinous crimes are ineligible for U.S. aid. And even those units can again become eligible if the Nigerian Government takes effective steps to bring the responsible individuals to justice.
“I strongly agree with President Buhari about the need to defeat Boko Haram, and I have supported tens of millions of dollars in U.S. aid to Nigeria for that purpose. But rather than suggest that the United States is at fault for not funding murderers and rapists in the Nigerian military, he should face up to his own responsibility to effectively counter Boko Haram. He should direct his attention to the Nigerian military, and the Nigerian courts, and clean up the units implicated in such atrocities.”
