US offers support to Nigeria

Tribune

24 February 2012

Boko Haram sets school on fire in Borno

•Kills 4 policemen in Kano, Niger
•As US offers support to Nigeria
Written by James Bwala, Kola Oyelere and Adelowo Oladipo, With Agency Reports

A primary school situated at Abaganaram ward of Maiduguri metropolis was set ablaze on Wednesday night by suspected members of the Boko Haram sect, residents of the area alleged.
+++Meanwhile, the U.S. ambassador to Nigeria said, on Thursday, that his country was offering support for the Nigeria’s fight against the Boko Haram sect, but ruled out sending troops into a region vital to American oil supplies.

Ambassador Terence McCulley said the United States (US) was encouraging Nigeria to reach out to residents in the North while using security forces to target and apprehend terrorists.

He said the US was also considering opening a consulate in Kano, the biggest city in Nigeria’s North, to burnish America’s own image in a region where many people were still suspicious of the Western influence.

However, he was unequivocal when asked in an interview with the Associated Press whether US troops should be deployed in Nigeria.
“That’s not on the table. No, absolutely not.

“It’s of a great concern to us. We’ve seen an increase in sophistication, we’ve seen increased lethality. We saw at least a part of the group has decided it’s in their interest to attack the international community.
“It’s not going to be solved exclusively by treating it as a security issue,” McCulley said, adding that “it needs a holistic solution. Government needs clearly to have a targeted approach on security that targets the bad guys that target perpetrators of these horrible attacks and don’t injure innocent civilians or damage property.”
While McCulley declined to give details, he said that “adequate systems” were now in place to receive such warnings and that the US maintained “robust relations” with Nigerian intelligence agencies.