U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari before a bilateral meeting on May 29, 2015. Photo courtesy of U.S. State Department
He returned to Abuja, Nigeria's capital, without assurances of U.S. military aid.
"In our efforts at combating the activities of Boko Haram, the new Government has sought and obtained the support of not only our neighbors, other international friends and partners. Regrettably, the blanket application of the Leahy Law by the United States on the grounds of unproven allegations of human rights violations levelled against our forces has denied us access to appropriate strategic weapons to prosecute the war against the insurgents. In the face of abduction of innocent school girls from their hostels, indiscriminate bombings of civilians in markets and places of worship, our forces have remained largely impotent. This is because they do not possess the appropriate weapons and technology which they could have had, had the so-called human rights violations not been an obstacle. Unwittingly, and I dare say, unintentionally, the application of the Leahy law amendment by the U. S. Government has aided and abated the Boko Haram terrorist group in the prosecution of its extremist ideology and hate, the indiscriminate killings and maiming of civilians, in raping of women and girls, and in their other heinous crimes."
