Senator Coons, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, announced Friday that he would lead a hearing next week to review the United States’ policy regarding the Nigerian government’s response to the abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls on April 15. The hearing, which will be held one month to the day of the abductions, will examine U.S. offers of assistance and any impediments that may be slowing the deployment of that assistance. The hearing will also take a broader look at the root causes of Boko Haram’s years-long terror campaign in the region.
“It’s been almost a month since Boko Haram kidnapped nearly 300 innocent girls, and reports they are being sold into slavery are truly heartbreaking,” Senator Coons said. “It took far too long for President Jonathan to accept the United States’ offers of assistance to find these girls. I was relieved when President Jonathan finally said he would welcome our help, but rhetoric alone won’t bring these girls home. This hearing will seek to ensure that everything is actually being done to find and free these girls, and that the U.S. assistance being offered is being utilized to its full potential. This wasn’t Boko Haram’s first or last act of terror, so we’ll also look at what has been and what needs to be done to end this threat.”
The Subcommittee previously looked at the threat of Boko Haram to Nigeria’s stability and security in March 2012. More on that hearing is available here: http://1.usa.gov/1l7aSX2 and http://1.usa.gov/1gfZ40m
