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92–851PDF 2015

NIGERIA ON THE BRINK?

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HEALTH, 

GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS, AND 

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

JANUARY 27, 2015

Serial No. 114–4

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/ or

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/

(II)

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

MATT SALMON, Arizona 

DARRELL E. ISSA, California 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina 

MO BROOKS, Alabama 

PAUL COOK, California 

RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

RON DESANTIS, Florida 

MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina 

TED S. YOHO, Florida 

CURT CLAWSON, Florida 

SCOTT DESJARLAIS, Tennessee 

REID J. RIBBLE, Wisconsin 

DAVID A. TROTT, Michigan 

LEE M. ZELDIN, New York 

TOM EMMER, Minnesota 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

KAREN BASS, California 

WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts 

DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island 

ALAN GRAYSON, Florida 

AMI BERA, California 

ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California 

GRACE MENG, New York 

LOIS FRANKEL, Florida 

TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii 

JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas 

ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois 

BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania

AMY PORTER, Chief of Staff THOMAS SHEEHY, Staff Director

JASON STEINBAUM, Democratic Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HEALTH, GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS, AND

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, Chairman 

MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina 

CURT CLAWSON, Florida 

SCOTT DESJARLAIS, Tennessee 

TOM EMMER, Minnesota 

KAREN BASS, California 

DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island 

AMI BERA, California 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

WITNESSES 

The Honorable Robert P. Jackson, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs, U.S. Department of State ............................................ 7

J. Peter Pham, Ph.D., director, Africa Center, Atlantic Council ......................... 28

Mr. Jadegoke Adebonajo Badejo, principal partner, Bonajo Badejo & Co. ......... 44

Mr. Emmanuel Ogebe, manager, Peaceful Polls 2015 Project ............................. 61

Chris Fomunyoh, Ph.D., senior associate and regional director for Central 

and West Africa, National Democratic Institute ............................................... 99

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING 

The Honorable Robert P. Jackson: Prepared statement ....................................... 12

J. Peter Pham, Ph.D.: Prepared statement ........................................................... 33

Mr. Jadegoke Adebonajo Badejo: Prepared statement ......................................... 47

Mr. Emmanuel Ogebe: Prepared statement .......................................................... 64

Chris Fomunyoh, Ph.D.: Prepared statement ....................................................... 101

APPENDIX 

Hearing notice .......................................................................................................... 112

Hearing minutes ...................................................................................................... 113

The Honorable David Cicilline, a Representative in Congress from the State 

of Rhode Island: 

Written responses from the Honorable Robert P. Jackson to questions submitted for the record ........................................................................................ 114

Prepared statement .............................................................................................. 116

Chris Fomunyoh, Ph.D.: Statement of the Joint NDI/IRI Pre-election assessment mission to Nigeria ...................................................................................... 124

(1)

NIGERIA ON THE BRINK? 

TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2015

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HEALTH,

GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS, AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS,

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS,

Washington, DC. 

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:09 p.m., in room 

2200, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Christopher H. Smith 

(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. 

Mr. SMITH. The subcommittee will come to order, and let me welcome all of you to our subcommittee hearing today, the first of this 

new year in a new Congress. 

Both Ms. Bass and I were delayed, and I apologize for that. We 

had a press conference on combating human trafficking. There are 

12 bills on the floor between yesterday and today. So we were 

speaking on that. So, again, I apologize to all of you for the lateness convening the hearing. 

Nigeria, as you know, is Africa’s most populous nation and it is 

the continent’s largest economy. Unfortunately, Nigeria is beset by 

various challenges of threatened peace and stability of this African 

giant. The terrorist group Boko Haram continues its bloody reign 

of terror, now threatening to establish a caliphate on the model of 

ISIS. Religious and ethnic discord which predate Boko Haram’s 

emergence continues unabated. Lower oil prices have seriously 

damaged an economy significantly dependent on oil revenues. 

Meanwhile, the prospect of a violent repeat of the 2011 post-election scene has ratcheted up tensions in Nigeria even further. 

Today’s hearing will examine the situation in Nigeria and the 

United States’ efforts to maintain positive relations with the largest U.S. trading partner in Africa and a major ally in international 

peacekeeping. 

U.S.-Nigeria relations were understandably rocky during the 

military rule of Sani Abacha in the 1990s. However, the advent of 

democracy with the 1999 elections ushered in an improved atmosphere of cooperation. Nigeria consistently ranks among the top recipients of U.S. bilateral foreign assistance, and it is the second 

largest beneficiary of U.S. investment in Africa. 

In recent months, though our relations have deteriorated, apparently some in the government of the President feel the U.S. is meddling in their internal affairs, especially when it comes to our noting of deprival of due process of rights of citizens by the Nigerian 

military and security forces. Our view is that friends don’t let 

2

friends commit human rights abuses, and I think a good relationship can withstand that kind of give and take. 

Our subcommittee held a hearing last July 10th to examine the 

complaints that human rights vetting was a major obstacle to U.S. 

counterterrorism. What we found was that the State Department 

estimated that half of Nigerian forces would pass muster through 

the vetting process, which we found is slowed by too few staff working on these important issues. Still, the Nigerian Government must 

be more cooperative itself. Some units in larger divisions may have 

human rights issues, but if replaced by units without such baggage, 

there would be created an entirely acceptable division for training. 

Late last year the Nigerian Government cancelled the counterterrorism training of one of its battalions which now places the entire 

training program on hold. We are making arrangements for discussions in the near future with Nigerian military officials and Members of Congress and the Obama administration to try to overcome 

the stalemate and resume the cooperation that is absolutely necessary to meet the challenge posed by Boko Haram. 

As we all know, this terrorist group has wreaked havoc on the 

people of Nigeria, particularly in the northeast. It is estimated that 

more than 5,500 people were killed in Boko Haram attacks in last 

year alone, representing more than 60 percent of the more than 

9,000 deaths caused by this group in the past 5 years. As many as 

2,000 people may have perished in the Boko Haram attack on the 

town of Baga and nearby villages earlier this month. More than 1 

million Nigerians have been displaced internally by the violence 

and tens of thousands of others are now refugees in neighboring 

countries. Clearly Boko Haram violence is escalating dramatically. 

Boko Haram has become part of the global jihadist movement 

and threatens not only Nigeria but also Cameroon, Chad, and 

Niger. While the terrorist group may not be an official affiliate of 

al-Qaeda or ISIS, they appear to be trying to create an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria. Various press reports estimate that the group 

has seized as much as 70 percent of Borno State, with additional 

territory under its control in neighboring Yobe and Adamawa 

States. In fact, Reuters calculated by that by mid-January of this 

year, Boko Haram was in control of more than 30,000 square kilometers, an area the size of the State of Maryland. 

For approximately 2 years I pressed the administration to designate Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. I argue 

that like cancer, early intervention can mitigate its spread, severity, and duration. 

I traveled to Nigeria twice and convened three hearings during 

the last Congress on why an FTO designation might help, only to 

be told by then-Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson that, 

‘‘. . . the phenomena of Boko Haram is one of discrediting the 

Central Government in power for its failure to deliver services to 

people.’’ On the very day of our hearing to consider a bill on FTO 

designation, the State Department, led by Secretary of State Kerry, 

announced that Boko Haram was being designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization. 

I would ask, Mr. Jackson, if you could, during the course of your 

testimony or answers, give us some insights as to what has hapVerDate 0ct 09 2002 08:27 Mar 13, 2015 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 Z:\WORK\_AGH\012715\92851 SHIRL
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pened with that designation. Has it helped? Was it too late? If you 

could touch on that, I know I and others would appreciate it. 

Meanwhile, Nigeria faces the prospects of post-election violence 

after Presidential voting on February 14th. The race, as we all 

know, pits President Jonathan against former military Nigerian 

leader General Buhari in a rerun of the 2011 elections. This time, 

however, Buhari’s All Progressives Congress is a coalition of major 

opposition political parties, and includes defectors from President 

Jonathan’s People’s Democratic Party, such as the Speaker of the 

National Assembly. 

Some PDP officials have referred to their opponents as Nigeria’s 

Muslim Brotherhood, while APC officials accuse the Jonathan administration of representing only Christian southerners. Party 

spokesmen on both sides have warned of potential violence, and remember some 700 churches were torched in the immediate aftermath of the 2011 elections, and our hope is, especially with the 

Abuja Accord that was agreed to, that we will not see a repeat of 

that loss of life and of property. 

Let me just conclude that today’s hearing is just the beginning 

of our renewed efforts to help Nigeria address the problems that 

threaten its stability. We must be honest with Nigerians and ourselves about the difficulties we both face. That is why we have 

asked our witnesses to give their honest assessments of where we 

are in the various situations that Nigeria is encountering and to 

suggest actions our Government can and should take to be most 

helpful. 

I would like to yield to my good friend and colleague, Ms. Bass 

for any opening comments she might have. 

Ms. BASS. Thank you, Chairman Smith, and I want to thank 

Chairman Royce over there, both of you for your leadership and for 

calling today’s hearing to give us an opportunity to examine the 

critical issues of governance, security, and stability in Nigeria in 

the midst of Boko Haram and in the lead-up to the national elections in just a few weeks. 

I would also like to thank our distinguished witnesses for today, 

including Ambassador Robert Jackson from the State Department, 

as well as several Nigerian experts and civil society advocates. I 

look forward to hearing your perspectives, not only on the challenges facing Nigeria, but also on how the U.S., along with other 

regional partners, can provide support at this critical juncture and 

how your agencies or organizations are promoting concrete solutions. 

The hearing title, ‘‘Nigeria on the Brink?,’’ begs the question: On 

the brink of what? While the challenges facing Nigeria have been 

well-publicized during the previous year and might lead some to 

expect the worst, it is my hope that today’s hearing will be solution-oriented and not resigned to simply impending doom in Nigeria. 

In recent weeks, the terrorist group Boko Haram has escalated 

its violent attacks in a pattern that has become all too familiar 

over the past several years. The latest atrocity was the massacre 

of a reported 2,000 men, women, and children in the town of Baga 

in northeast Nigeria. A troubling tactic, a tragic tactic of Boko 

Haram which has emerged of late, is the use of children in soVerDate 0ct 09 2002 08:27 Mar 13, 2015 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 Z:\WORK\_AGH\012715\92851 SHIRL
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called suicide bombing attacks, and, really, the children are being 

used as bombs because it is absolutely incorrect to consider children as suicide bombers. 

In addition, I remain deeply disturbed that the nearly 300 girls 

that Boko Haram kidnapped from their schools in mid-2014, as 

well as countless others who have not received the same media coverage, are still being kept from their families. By some estimates, 

more than 5,500 people were killed in 2014, with over 1 million Nigerians internally displaced by violence, and Nigerian refugee numbers in neighboring countries continuing to rise. 

This is why I am concerned about the government-to-government 

relationship between the U.S. and Nigeria, particularly the ways in 

which mistrust have hindered the kind of affective cooperation necessary to end the scourge of Boko Haram and to help set the stage 

for improved security, particularly in the lead-up to elections. 

During Secretary Kerry’s visit to Nigeria this past weekend, he 

reiterated the U.S. condemnation of Boko Haram’s attacks and 

stressed the need for credibility and transparency. The Secretary 

also praised some of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission staff for taking concrete steps to achieve just that end. In 

meetings with both President Jonathan and his leading opponent, 

General Buhari, the Secretary committed U.S. support for both security and election assistance, and received commitments from 

each candidate to administer issue-based campaigns free of violence. In the lead-up to the February 14th elections, my hope is 

that those commitments will be met by all sides for the best outcome of Nigeria’s citizens. 

Lastly, the Secretary praised regional nations such as Niger, who 

hosted a regional security ministerial last week, as well as noting 

President Obama’s international Summit on Countering Violent 

Extremism planned to take place in Washington next month. 

While it is vital that these commitments to peace, security, and 

credible and transparent elections be made, it is now up to each of 

us to ensure effective coordination, improved diplomatic relations, 

and the transfer of the expertise and resources to realize these 

ends. 

I am looking forward to working with my Congressional colleagues, African regional bodies, and members of the diplomatic 

corps to ensure that our continued focus is on sustainable solutions 

for peace and security in Nigeria. 

Thank you. I yield back my time. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you very much. 

I would like yield to the full committee chairman, Ed Royce, gentleman from California. 

Mr. ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for holding 

this hearing, and I thank you and I thank Karen Bass as well for 

your trips to Nigeria. 

One of the realities here is this is a satellite image of the town 

of Baga before and after the attack, and reportedly as many as 

2,000 people were slaughtered in this assault. 

Now, I remember conversations that I had some years ago in our 

trips to Nigeria. There was in northern Nigeria a governor who told 

us, a Muslim governor in the north, that because Gulf state money 

was coming in and establishing a new madrasa across the street 

5

from the madrasa where he grew up, he said, ‘‘You know, it is 10 

times the size. It has 100 times the budget, but apparently in all 

of these agreements there is one thing that comes with it: A Gulf 

state imam who is changing our culture, changing our indigenous 

culture, and radicalizing our youth,’’ and I said, ‘‘What do you 

mean by radicalizing?’’ He said, ‘‘If you went into that madrasa, 

you would find a bin Laden T-shirt on some of those young men.’’ 

And he said, ‘‘You know, I have a feeling that here in the north 

it is only going to be a matter of time before they come for me, and 

then they will come for my people, and then the slaughter will 

start. 

And I think today about the warnings this governor from an area 

near where Boko Haram operates gave us. I think of Deborah who 

testified before our committee, one of the survivors from the village, both of her parents were massacred. Now she is in hiding. 

She can’t go back to Nigeria, and it took a real push, and, yes, 

Chairman Smith is right, it took a push to convince the administration to put Boko Haram on this list, on this terrorist list. 

But, frankly, Boko Haram is the ISIS of Africa. If you look at the 

political ideology, tell me the difference between what Boko Haram 

believes and what ISIS believes, and this is not an indigenous 

movement. To go back to the point the governor made, this is something introduced into society where children were radicalized and 

now we are to the point where children are being used, you know, 

putting suicide vests on them and pushing them into a marketplace. 

This has to be confronted, and, yes, it is going to be a tense political environment over there. Myself and Don Payne, who used to 

serve on this subcommittee with us, and Colin Powell, we cochaired 

an election observer them that went over to Nigeria for a prior 

election. I know how tough this election is going to be given the 

fact that Boko Haram is operational in the north as they try to conduct this election, but I will tell you right now, we have absolutely 

no alternative but to engage with Nigeria with the assets that we 

have to go after Boko Haram. There is no other possibility here to 

end this violence. 

And the Nigerian Military, despite its faults, it is the only feasible resource for defeating Boko Haram. We don’t have another recourse except to use that resource that is their military, and we 

have a situation today where we have tied our hands. We have tied 

our hands so that we cannot use special ops and put on the ground 

with the type of expertise and connection to satellite technology 

and tracking abilities that our special operations forces have to go 

with the Nigerian Military and track down, and we should have 

done it immediately when those 300 girls were captured. 

We should have tracked them. We should have assisted with our 

capabilities. No, our special ops forces don’t have to be involved in 

an attack, but they can certainly, with all they know about how to 

free people from captivity, help plan an attack, help strategize, 

help key this thing up. My friends, it is long since time to lift the 

Leahy restrictions in the face of what confronts not just Nigeria 

anymore but Chad and Cameroon and other neighboring countries. 

This is the region now that we see engulfed in this, and those 

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6

ing, we should assist these countries in confronting this challenge, 

and that is why I very much appreciate the fact that the chairman 

of this subcommittee and Congresswoman Karen Bass, the ranking 

member, have been engaged in this issue, and I hope they will 

push for more U.S. engagement. 

Frankly, our military is unmatched in its technical and capacity 

building capabilities, and it is a travesty not to have them fully engaged in supporting the Nigerians to combat Boko Haram. 

Thank you. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you very much Chairman Royce. 

I would like to now yield to Mr. Cicilline. 

Mr. CICILLINE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you 

and Ranking Member Bass for holding today’s hearing on this very 

critical issue. 

It is clear that Nigeria is in a very precarious situation as it 

faces its upcoming elections, increased threats of violence and instability from Boko Haram, and continued and serious human 

rights concerns. 

Because Nigeria is an important trading partner of the United 

States and an influential political power in Africa, its issues are of 

concern to the entire world. 

First, the continued terrorization and intimidation by Boko 

Haram is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated. The United States 

must continue to help fight the threat of Boko Haram and work to 

promote stability. 

But in our relationship with Nigeria, we must also enforce our 

expectations that the Nigerian Government is honest, fair, and not 

corrupt. We will closely monitor and must closely monitor the upcoming elections in the hopes that they will accurately reflect the 

will of the Nigerian people. 

And, finally, the United States must be more vigilant in protecting the human rights of all individuals around the world. 

Nigeria recently enacted a discriminatory law against lesbian, 

gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals, and since then we 

continue to receive reports of escalated violence, police and government oppression, and censorship. We cannot continue to ignore 

these developments either. 

I look forward to hearing from the witness regarding the U.S.-

Nigerian bilateral relationship. 

And with that I yield back, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you. 

Mr. Emmer. 

Mr. EMMER. Thank you. I look forward to hearing the testimony. 

I want to thank the subcommittee chair and the ranking member 

for having this hearing. 

I am looking forward to being a member of this subcommittee 

and doing some important work, and I echo the statements of the 

full committee chair on the problem that is Boko Haram. 

I look forward to your testimony today, sir, and hopefully seeing 

the United States get engaged in this important issue. 

Mr. ROYCE. Will the gentleman yield for just a moment in his 

opening statement? 

Mr. EMMER. Yes. 

7

Mr. ROYCE. This subcommittee hearing complements the full 

committee closed briefing that we have scheduled tomorrow with 

the Intelligence Community, and I just wanted to share that with 

the members on Nigeria and Boko Haram. So thank you. 

Mr. EMMER. Thank you. I yield back. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you, Mr. Emmer, and welcome aboard. 

Mr. EMMER. Thank you, sir. 

Mr. SMITH. I would like to now introduce our first witness, the 

Honorable Robert P. Jackson. Ambassador Jackson is currently the 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of African Affairs. He previously served as Ambassador to Cameroon, as well as 

Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge at the U.S. Embassies in Morocco and Senegal. He has also served U.S. Embassies in Burundi, 

Zimbabwe, Portugal, and Canada. 

At the State Department headquarters, he has worked in commercial and consular sections and conducted officer training. He 

also performed oversight work in the Office for the Promotion of 

Democracy and Human Rights after 9/11. 

Ambassador Jackson has appeared before this subcommittee 

many times, and we welcome him—and the floor is yours. 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE ROBERT P. JACKSON, PRINCIPAL DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY, BUREAU OF AFRICAN AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

Mr. JACKSON. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and thank 

you for holding this subcommittee hearing. 

Ranking Member Bass, other members of the subcommittee, I 

want to thank all of you for the opportunity to discuss U.S. policy 

and relations with Nigeria, one of our most important African partners. 

With Africa’s largest population, biggest economy, vibrant culture, vigorous democracy, and current service on both the U.N. Security Council and the U.N. Human Rights Council, Nigeria’s success is important to us, to Africa, and to the world. 

This is especially true as Nigeria prepares to hold complicated 

and closely contested elections against the unwelcome backdrop of 

escalating bloodshed at the hands of the violent Boko Haram extremists in the northeast, and the pressures on the country’s currency and fiscal balance stemming from falling oil prices. 

Last year I testified to your counterparts in the Senate saying 

that, in part, a peaceful and stable Nigeria is crucially important 

to the future of Africa, and we cannot stay on the sidelines if it 

stumbles. 

Today, more than ever, the United States is committed to our 

strong relationship with Nigeria, and we are engaged with Nigeria 

and its neighbors in the fight against Boko Haram. As Secretary 

Kerry said in the Lagos 2 days ago, ‘‘The United States stands 

ready to work with Nigeria and its people, helping Nigeria combat 

insecurity in the northeast, and addressing its root causes, including expanding economic opportunity for all Nigerians and dealing 

with the other enduring challenges that will remain on our agenda.’’

Before delving further into those challenges, I would first like to 

discuss the general elections, now just 18 days away, because even 

8

in the face of horrifying attacks, terrorist organizations like Boko 

Haram must not distract Nigeria from carrying out credible and 

peaceful elections that reflect the will of the Nigerian people. 

The United States has focused significant diplomatic and programmatic effort on civic and political engagement preventing electoral violence and improving electoral administration. Our goal is 

to minimize violence, increase transparency, and boost credibility 

so that whoever wins has the legitimacy to lead Nigeria to address 

its serious challenges. 

Presidential and National Assembly elections February 14th will 

be followed by gubernatorial and state assembly elections on February 28th. Many of these elections will be closely contested because the consolidated opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, has chosen former military head of state Major General 

Muhammadu Buhari to run against incumbent President Goodluck 

Jonathan, who heads the People’s Democratic Party. 

Nigeria’s elections are among the earliest of many across the continent in 2015, and can serve as an example to other countries. Organizing elections for over 69 million voters at more than 120,000 

polling stations is no easy task. The Secretary’s trip to Nigeria just 

weeks ahead of the election to meet with the candidates was intended to send a strong signal that we appreciate the enormity of 

the challenge and are invested in its peaceful outcome. 

We are working closely with Nigeria’s independent election commission, INEC, on processes to ensure as many eligible voters as 

possible are free to exercise their civic duty safely. We are doing 

everything we can to support the efforts of INEC and its respected 

chairman, Attahiru Jega, as they distribute voter registration cards 

and electronic card readers, develop a communications plan, and 

prepare plans for dispute resolution and violence mitigation. 

To increase the transparency of the electoral process and our 

ability to assess its credibility, the United States Government is 

funding and fielding complementary election observation missions 

across the country. USAID has had a program to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to observe its own elections. 

Over 3,000 locally recruited U.S. Government funded election observers in all 774 local government areas in the 36 states and the 

Federal Capital Territory are already working hard gathering data 

and monitoring for early warning signs of electoral violence. We are 

also funding a 36-member international electoral observer mission 

conducted in tandem by the National Democratic Institute and the 

International Republican Institute. 

On top of this, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, 

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, will lead our diplomatic election observation on February 14th, and election observation missions based 

within the U.S. Mission in Nigeria will field observation teams 

throughout the country during these general elections. 

Moreover, a U.S. Government security expert will soon make a 

third trip to Nigeria joining two long-term U.S. security and strategic communications advisors who are supporting INEC. 

Following the 2011 elections, 800 people died during 3 days of 

protests. Ambassador James Entwistle and his team have led an 

aggressive campaign to persuade Nigerian candidates, political 

9

party leaders, and opinion makers to pledge publicly to condemn violence. 

During his visit, Secretary Kerry reiterated to both President 

Jonathan and General Buhari that the world is watching Nigeria’s 

elections and prevailed upon them to encourage their followers to 

commit to nonviolence. He welcomed the signing by both of the 

January 14th Abuja Accord, as it is called, on nonviolence and their 

agreement to accept the results of the election. 

Allow me to turn to Boko Haram. A peaceful and smooth transition is equally essential so that whoever is elected can quickly turn 

his focus to confronting and defeating Boko Haram. The threat is, 

unfortunately, not new, but attacks have increased in intensity and 

impact, as well as expanding to threaten Cameroon, Chad, and 

Niger. Recent estimates are that some 1 million Nigerians have 

been displaced internally, and more than 200,000 have sought refuge in neighboring countries. We are appalled by the accelerated 

pace and brutality of Boko Haram’s attacks. This unchecked killing 

must stop. 

We agree that Boko Haram has killed more than 5,000 people in 

2014, doubling in 1 year all of its killing since 2009. The trend of 

attacks has continued unabated this month. The satellite images 

from the destruction in Baga in early January demonstrate the 

rampage, and have indeed gone viral. 

An unwitting 10-year-old girl was blown in half when the device 

around her waist detonated the edge of a market in Maiduguri on 

January 10th, killing 19 other people. The next day two other 

young female suicide bombers struck Potiskum, killing at least six 

others. Just last week on January 20th, Boko Haram’s leader, 

Abubakar Shekau, claimed responsibility for the attack on Baga, 

and warned, ‘‘This was just the beginning of the killings,’’ and 

threatened to wage war on neighboring Cameroon, Chad, and 

Niger. 

We are often asked why Nigeria has been unable to curb Boko 

Haram’s advances. The answer is a complex mix of reasons. Public 

critics and Nigerian Military sources have cited pervasive corruption that prevents the Nigerian Armed Forces from properly equipping front line soldiers. Government officials have responded to 

criticism by highlighting the tremendously difficult task of fighting 

a well-armed insurgency that hides within local communities and 

noting that their forces have not been trained in counterterrorism. 

Last week one of Nigeria’s top security officials called Nigerian 

forces cowardly. Most recently Nigeria’s failure to send a senior official to Niamey, Niger for a January 20th ministerial on Boko 

Haram hindered the ability of all of the affected countries to craft 

an effective regional approach to the problem. The United States, 

however, was in Niamey, and we will continue to support Nigeria 

and its neighbors as they address the violence caused by Boko 

Haram. 

At the same time, Nigeria must commit to a comprehensive holistic strategy for countering Boko Haram that protects civilians, 

respects human rights, and addresses the underlying causes of the 

conflict by bringing both civilian and security tools to the fight. We 

are supporting Nigeria and its neighbors to counter Boko Haram. 

10

U.S. assistance includes information sharing and technical assistance. We have provided commercial satellite imagery and are 

flying intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft over 

Nigeria and immediately sharing the results of those missions with 

Nigerian authorities on an almost daily basis. 

We have also helped establish a program to provide care, counseling, and education to the victims of Boko Haram, and are providing humanitarian assistance to conflict-affected and internally 

displaced populations in the northeast, as well as to Nigerian refugees who fled to neighboring countries, including Cameroon, Chad, 

and Niger. 

Boko Haram is not just a Nigerian problem. It is a regional problem. Most recently Boko Haram kidnapped 80 people on January 

18th, 30 adults and 50 young girls and boys, in a cross-border attack in Cameroon. Although the Cameroonian forces were subsequently able to repel the attackers and free 24 of the hostages, 

Boko Haram’s largely unchecked success in seizing territory and 

expanding the reach of its attacks underscores the need for a robust coordinated regional approach, a fully realized multi-national 

task force to fight Boko Haram. 

Last week Chad sent more than 2,000 soldiers, 400 trucks, and 

attack helicopters to reinforce Cameroon. At last week’s ministerial 

meeting in Niger, Assistant Secretary Thomas-Greenfield called on 

Nigeria and its neighbors to make the multinational task force into 

a force that can better fight Boko Haram. At the African Union 

summit in Addis Ababa this week, we will continue to encourage 

other partners to redouble their efforts and press for meaningful 

African Union political support for the task force and the Lake 

Chad Basin Commission to cooperate to defeat Boko Haram. 

As Assistant Secretary Thomas-Greenfield told this subcommittee in November 2013, Boko Haram’s activities call our attention not just to violence but also to poverty and inequality in Nigeria. Achieving and sustaining peace in the northeast of Nigeria 

will require the Nigerian Government to address legitimate concerns about government corruption, unfairness, accountability, and 

impunity that alienate the population and provide grievances used 

to radicalize disaffected youth. 

Finally, let me say just a word about the economy. Nigeria has 

the largest economy in Africa, and it is diversified. Eighty-three 

percent of that economy is in non-extracted industries. Agriculture, 

services, and manufacturing are driving economic growth which 

was 6.1 percent in the third quarter of last year and is expected 

to be 4.8 percent in 2015. 

Although the country is a global petroleum powerhouse, corruption is pervasive, and 60 percent of Nigeria’s population lives in 

poverty. The impact of a more than 50 percent drop in oil prices 

since last summer has posed major fiscal and monetary challenges 

and is contributing to the slowdown in economic growth. The Central Bank has thus devalued the Naira and raised interest rates. 

Over 70 percent of government revenue comes from petroleum exports. So the government has been forced to revise its budget, cut 

government spending, and look for ways to increase revenues. 

The administration that is elected next month may well face 

greater challenges with fewer resources to govern. Improving govVerDate 0ct 09 2002 08:27 Mar 13, 2015 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 Z:\WORK\_AGH\012715\92851 SHIRL
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ernance, implementing economic reforms, and committing to transparency would help secure Nigeria’s long-term stability and the 

welfare of its people. 

In closing, Nigeria’s success is important to us and critical to Africa. As Secretary Kerry declared in Lagos last Sunday, our hope 

is that Nigeria will set a remarkable example for the world in this 

election. 

On the Foreign Terrorist Organization designations, Mr. Chairman, we are not aware of any assets that have been blocked, but 

we do feel that these designations have been potentially useful in 

preventing Boko Haram from accessing U.S. financial institutions. 

And I do want to emphasize as far as the search for the girls is 

concerned, we continue to provide intelligence. We still have a 

multi-disciplinary team in Abuja advising the Nigerians, meeting 

with them, and the FBI continues to assist with investigations and 

we are assisting with countering IEDs. 

We appreciate the committee’s interest in these issues. I hope 

that you and the other members will remain engaged, and I invite 

you to lend your voices by making statements and talking to social 

media in calling for peaceful and credible elections next month. 

Thank you, and I welcome your questions. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you, Mr. Jackson. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Jackson follows:]

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Mr. SMITH. And I will collapse all of my questions into one question, if you wouldn’t mind, just because of time. We have votes 

coming up very shortly. We think 3:15 to 3:30. 

Let me ask you if I could, on the Chibok girls, do we have information about them? I have met Chibok girls, one in Abuja when 

I was on a trip there. I met several who escaped, the lucky ones. 

Are we any closer to reclaiming their freedom? 

Secondly, if I could, on the FTO progress, if you could tell us how 

many people are actually working it. Is it really getting a high priority? We know that the weapons cache of Boko Haram is growing, 

maybe even exponentially. Some of it they steal, some of it they 

buy from robbing banks, but some of it may be coming from places 

in the Middle East. If you could touch on that. 

We are all very pleased and happy that Secretary Kerry did meet 

with President Jonathan. I read both the President’s and the Secretary’s statements, and there was talk about the multinational 

task force, the Lake Chad Basin Commission, and about more and 

more cooperation. 

Let me ask you this. Is it time for a U.S.-Nigeria task force? I 

was struck when I was at the fusion center that intelligence that 

we might provide that was actionable may not have been followed 

up on. You know, you need a quick deployment of troops if you find 

something that needs action, and it seems to me that, and on the 

Leahy amendment, why not have a joint working group to focus on 

vetting Nigerian security forces? 

Some of the pushback has been a well-earned pride in the Nigerian Military. They are tremendous peacekeepers. I saw them when 

I was in Sarajevo. I saw them again in Darfur. They have gone all 

over and have done yeoman’s on peacekeeping, but, again, it is a 

very special skill set required to combat a terrorist insurgency like 

this with Boko Haram. Why not have a joint working group on the 

vetting as well so they have buy-in. Is that something you are 

thinking about? 

And again on IDPs, more money I think needs to be provided. 

Yes, Nigeria is a rich country, but it does have a problem, as we 

all know, with those drop in oil prices. 

And, finally, Abubakar Shekau has said, ‘‘Nobody can stop us 

and live in peace except if you accept Islam and live by Sharia 

law.’’ He has said, ‘‘We will kill anyone who stands against the will 

of Allah by opposing Sharia,’’ and that they are fighting a religious 

war against Christians, these are all quotes, and that by Allah 

whoever practices democracy we will kill. 

Will the administration really brand them for what they are, a 

radical Islamist movement? I met so many Muslims who have lost 

loved ones in Nigeria, many more Christians, because they are targeting Christians. They are a horrific brand of Islam, a radical 

brand. I think we need to call it for what it is, and, again, I know 

Buhari has signed, as well as President Jonathan, the Abuja Accord, but let’s not forget after 2011, 700 churches, 3,100 Christianoperated business and schools were burned, over 3,400 Christian 

homes were destroyed. 

How enforceable, how real, do you think he and his followers are 

in living up to that accord so that thereis not post-election violence? 

And that is critical, I think. Anybody can sign a piece of paper in 

19

the run-up to election. Do you have confidence that he will adhere 

to it? 

I yield. 

Mr. JACKSON. So Mr. Chairman, thank you for those questions. 

On the Foreign Terrorist Organization designation, I am going to 

have to get back to you on the numbers of people at the Treasury 

Department and the Justice Department who are working on this 

because I don’t have those figures immediately available.

WRITTEN RESPONSE RECEIVED FROM THE HONORABLE ROBERT P. JACKSON TO

QUESTION ASKED DURING THE HEARING BY THE HONORABLE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

An FTO designation, once complete, provides the legal basis for the Departments 

of Justice and Treasury to ensure that U.S. citizens are prohibited from providing 

material support to Boko Haram and that the organization is blocked from using 

the U.S. formal financial system. Numerous staff in many agencies across the U.S. 

Government work to develop and implement designations. Countering Boko Haram 

is a foreign policy priority and we are constantly working with a host of key allies 

to counter the group’s influence in Africa. 

We have offered up to $7 million from our Rewards for Justice Program to bring 

Boko Haram’s current leader to justice. To the extent that groups like Boko Haram 

are funneling the financing for their barbarous acts through U.S. financial institutions, we are prepared to freeze their assets. As you rightly point out Boko Haram’s 

funding streams are much less formal—derived primarily from the proceeds of 

looting and kidnapping innocent civilians for ransom.

Mr. JACKSON. As far as a joint task force, I think you visited the 

center of a joint task force, and I want to note that France is working with Nigeria’s neighbors to establish a coordination cell in 

N’Djamena that we believe will be very useful in this fight, and it 

is already showing promise in coordinating the activities of Cameroon and Chad as they work together in this activity. 

Mr. SMITH. But, I mean, across all sectors. 

Mr. JACKSON. I understand. 

Mr. SMITH. The entire military complex, not just intelligence. 

Strategy as well. 

Mr. JACKSON. Right. But our Justice Department is represented 

in Lagos as part of the interdisciplinary team. The FBI is there. 

We have people who can advise on hostage negotiations and humanitarian assistance. I believe that the team is robust and of the 

disciplines necessary to address these issues. 

As far as Leahy issues are concerned, I note that the 7th Division, which has had primary responsibility for combating Boko 

Haram, has a new commander. So we will be looking at how we 

can work with Nigerian units. As you know, we vetted over 100 

units and individuals last year who were found capable of working 

with us and qualified to receive U.S. assistance and——

Mr. SMITH. Mr. Jackson, they need thousands, and they are very 

capable troops. They can be human rights vetted. The State Department has said 50 percent or more tomorrow could be vetted 

and found to be free of human rights abuses. They need that training and they need it now. We are fighting the ISIS of Africa. So 

bring that urgency back if you would. 

Mr. JACKSON. I will take that back, Mr. Chairman, and you 

asked about branding Boko Haram. I would note that Daesh and 

al-Qaeda in the lands of the Islamic Maghreb have disassociated 

themselves from Boko Haram because they consider it such an extreme organization. 

20

Mr. SMITH. Ms. Bass. 

Ms. BASS. I will yield my time to Representative Wilson to make 

her statement. 

Ms. WILSON. Thank you, Chairman Smith and Ranking Member 

Bass, and thank you to our witnesses for being here today to discuss this very important issue. 

Last April I was horrified when hundreds of girls were kidnapped by Boko Haram because they attended school. These precious girls reminded me of my own daughters and granddaughter, 

and I couldn’t sit idly by. 

To this day, Boko Haram continues their reign of terror. There 

have been more kidnappings. They are using young children as 

human bombs. They continue murdering and terrorizing, and they 

attack villages and cities throughout Nigeria and bordering countries. 

Last June I was part of a bipartisan codel that traveled to Nigeria where I met with the victims of Boko Haram attacks and with 

the families of the kidnapped girls. I saw firsthand the immeasurable anguish that Boko Haram’s heinous attacks have caused. I 

met with some of the Chibok girls who were fortunate to escape 

from Boko Haram. These girls thought they were going to be killed 

and their parents thought they may never see their daughters 

again. 

I met with the organizers of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign 

who made it their mission to call attention to the atrocities committed by Boko Haram, to call for the return of the kidnapped 

girls, and to hold Nigerian leaders accountable. They did this despite being intimidated, beaten, and imprisoned for their efforts. 

They asked us to carry on and spread their work in the U.S. by 

tweeting ‘‘Bring Back Our Girls,’’ which I have been doing every 

day since leaving Nigeria. 

Nigeria has the resources to stop Boko Haram, I believe, but 

there is a lack of political will to do so or do what is necessary to 

rescue the schoolgirls. 

I will be watching Nigeria’s Presidential elections next month. I 

pray these elections are fair and free from any violence or coercion. 

Regardless of which candidate wins, we must continue to put pressure on that winner to focus on Boko Haram and to finally eradicate this terrorist group. 

Last Congress we passed two resolutions that I sponsored condemning Boko Haram. I thank the committee for their commitment 

to work with me to accomplish the goal of eradicating Boko Haram. 

Today you will hear from Mr. Emmanuel Ogebe. His organization, Jubilee Campaign USA, does amazing work on behalf of the 

Chibok girls who escaped from Boko Haram, paying for them to 

come to the United States to continue their education in a safe environment. I look forward to hearing from him as well as our other 

witness. 

Thank you. We must do everything we can to bring back our 

girls and stop Boko Haram. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you, Ms. Wilson. 

Mr. Emmer. 

Mr. EMMER. Mine is very short. What is being done about the 

corruption and what can be done? It seems that you are talking 

21

about pervasive corruption throughout the government and its impacting the military’s ability to stifle the activities of Boko Haram. 

I am just interested to know what is being done and what can be 

done? 

Mr. JACKSON. Thank you, Congressman. 

For a number of years we have been working with Nigeria’s anticorruption agencies, and we have seen some successful investigations as a result of that. 

A tool that the Secretary talked during his most recent visit to 

Nigeria that we believe will be very useful is designating people as 

ineligible for U.S. visas. There has been a lot of attention paid to 

this in the Nigerian press over the last 2 days, and that indicates 

to me that this is something we need to explore in greater depth. 

Mr. EMMER. And I would like to have more at the appropriate 

time, but if you could go back, at the beginning of your testimony, 

in fact I think in your written testimony, it is at the end of page 

1, beginning of page 2, where you talk about the upcoming election 

that is only 18 days away, and specifically I think your words were 

making sure that it is credible and transparent, et cetera. 

It is the violence that I think many of us are most concerned 

with. You can have election experts, you can have U.S. aid to have 

the local folks actively engaged, but when the killing starts, how 

do you allow a true democratic process to go forward, and are steps 

being taken on the ground to address that potential violence? 

Mr. JACKSON. The primary reason for having the Secretary visit 

Nigeria so close to this election was to emphasize that we are concerned about the conduct of the election and cannot accept violence. 

And we have been hammering home that message. We have sent 

the security experts to work with the election commission to identify the areas that we think are most prone to violence. 

But I want to underscore that in previous Nigerian elections it 

hasn’t been the elections themselves that have been violent in recent years. It has been after the results were announced, and this 

is something that we need to remain focused on. This is why we 

have solicited pledges from the candidates, why we value the Abuja 

Accord which was signed in the presence of former U.N. Secretary 

General Kofi Annan, and we will absolutely sanction leaders who 

exhort their followers to engage in violence. 

Mr. EMMER. One more, Mr. Chair. 

Just on that note, this is different. I understand that the 800 in 

the last election were during the protests that followed, but Boko 

Haram has an incentive to disrupt the election as it occurs, and I 

guess I am interested if you can give me some specific examples, 

Mr. Jackson, of things that are being done in anticipation of that 

to prevent, hopefully prevent the violence on the day of the election? 

Mr. JACKSON. Congressman, what I can say is that we have 

worked with the Nigerian election commission, the security forces, 

to ensure that the polling proceeds as smoothly and as safely as 

possible. Clearly in the three states under the state of emergency 

the voting places will have additional security. Whether that will 

be sufficient is subject to what Boko Haram does over the period 

of the election, and we are watching this very carefully. We will 

22

use our intelligence assets to try and predict where violence might 

break out, but it is not an exact science. 

Mr. EMMER. Thank you, Mr. Jackson. 

I yield back, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH. Ms. Bass. 

Ms. BASS. Actually, I will yield to Mr. Cicilline. 

Mr. CICILLINE. I thank the gentlelady for yielding. 

Thank you, Ambassador Jackson. Could you speak a little bit 

about what efforts are being undertaken to work with state and 

local officials in light of the kind of tense relationship with the national government to both work on security issues as well as 

counter-violence strategies. 

And also would you speak a little bit about whether there are 

local organizations or individuals that we are working with to help 

counter some of the kind of violent ideology and the radicalization. 

And then finally if you would speak to the issue of human rights 

following the passage of anti-LGBT laws in Uganda, the United 

States engaged in a review that resulted in implementation of several counties relating to gross human rights violations, and I know 

that the review of Nigeria, if it would occur, would be different, but 

why aren’t we in fact taking the same steps in Nigeria to at least 

open a review and see what changes could be enacted to send a 

message to the government there? 

And what steps has our Embassy in particular taken to help 

push back against some of the very serious homophobia and 

transphobia and to protect LGBT people in Nigeria from serious 

acts of violence? 

Mr. JACKSON. Thank you, Congressman. 

First of all, on the violence, we have been working not only with 

the election commission but with civil society. We have had civil society training programs as part of our $51 million elections effort 

over a 4-year period. That, I think, has been useful. We have also 

had a program financed through our Civilian Stability Operations 

Bureau and we have worked with imams and other religious leaders in order to encourage them to speak out against the violence. 

We have particularly tried to identify religious leaders both 

Christian and Muslim, and animists in the north who we believe 

have great influence with the people, and in the south we have 

worked with some of the most prominent religious leaders, especially with bishops to get out anti-violence messages to their congregations, and that is ongoing. 

We also undertook a rather unique anti-violence activity in the 

delta which was previously a hotbed for violence, and that was to 

create a film called ‘‘Dawn in the Creeks: A Niger Delta Legacy.’’ 

This film is an ongoing television series as a result of its success, 

and it advertises how Nigerian youth can find opportunities for employment and a new life outside of oil bunkering. It has been very 

successful, and we believe it is a model for this kind of activity and 

something of which the State Department is very proud. 

Finally on the LGBT issue, which is a very serious one, we note 

that Nigerian authorities have generally not enforced the law since 

its passage. Initially there was some really serious anti-LGBT activity, but that waned very quickly. We are aware that the law’s 

being challenged in the courts as it was in Uganda, and we believe 

23

that pursuing the constitutionality of the law or the lack thereof 

is a way to address this issue. 

We meet with LGBT groups on a regular basis. When I was in 

Nigeria in October, I met with LGBT activists to get their sense, 

and I would be happy to talk with you privately about some of the 

other things we are doing that I would prefer not to discuss in this 

setting. 

Mr. CICILLINE. I appreciate it. Thank you. 

I yield back, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH. Mr. Clawson. 

Mr. CLAWSON. Two questions, and thank you for coming today. 

Will you go back a little bit to what you said about youth employment and give me a larger picture of this issue of poverty being utilized to radicalize youth and what the Nigerian Government is 

doing on a larger scale educationally and in the private sector so 

that folks have something to look forward to and hope as opposed 

to being radicalized? 

And I guess the second question I have, since this is a question 

of radical Islam, what are the other religious leaders doing in the 

country to promote peace, to promote tolerance, and especially 

peace coming up to these elections, and what would you recommend that they do in this respect? 

Thank you. 

Mr. JACKSON. Thank you, Congressman. 

So with an extreme poverty rate of 60 percent of the population, 

we believe that many Nigerians are disaffected and prone to 

radicalization, and the rampant corruption, impunity of the security forces and accountability for actions of all government officials, 

be they security officials or other government officials, pose real 

challenges and contribute, we think, to Boko Haram’s being able to 

manipulate a small number of Nigerians to follow it. 

As for what religious leaders are doing, whether Christian, Muslim, or animist, in general they have played a very important role 

in preaching messages of nonviolence for the elections and for Nigeria’s activities in general, and many of them have spoken out very 

forcefully against Boko Haram, and I expect they will continue to 

do so. 

Mr. CLAWSON. Yield back. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you. Ms. Bass. 

Ms. BASS. Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I want to acknowledge that last week I had a long telephone conversation with Finance Minister Okonjo-Iweala, and we talked 

about what was going on in Nigeria, and there were a lot of concerns expressed that she felt like things were being characterized 

in too much of an extreme fashion here, especially given the sensitivity of having an election coming up in a couple of weeks, to characterize a hearing as ‘‘Nigeria on the Brink?’’ She just felt it sends 

a bad signal. 

She raised an issue that the United States is blocking Nigeria 

from purchasing arms because of human rights violations, and so 

I wanted to ask you about a couple of questions. What specific criteria would the U.S. Government need to see from the Nigerian 

Government to determine that they are sufficiently working to 

remedy the human rights violations. 

24

And then also what you feel is the sentiment of northern Nigerian communities toward the Nigerian Army, and is the distrust 

between them harming the efforts to root out Boko Haram? That 

is one question. I have a few others. 

Mr. JACKSON. Did you want me to respond at this point? 

Ms. BASS. I do. 

Mr. JACKSON. All right. Thank you. 

So when we talk about ‘‘Nigeria on the Brink?,’’ I think another 

way to look at that is Nigeria on the cusp, and much depends on 

what it does with the elections. The conduct of the elections and 

the government that emerges from those elections has real opportunities as well as challenges, and as the Secretary said, we hope 

they will seize those opportunities and address the challenges. 

The arms question is a very good one. While the decision to not 

approve the sale of American-manufactured Cobra helicopters that 

the Israeli Government wished to sell to Nigeria was driven by a 

belief that the Nigerians did not have the capacity to operate them, 

we have the policy and are in fact providing lethal equipment, and 

we will look at each request on a case-by-case basis. 

But Congresswoman Bass, I really want to underscore, we believe Nigeria has both the financial means and the technical means 

to procure any weapons that it believes it needs for its self-defense, 

and our decision to influence certain sales is guided as much by 

what we believe the capacity to use those weapons is as much as 

anything else. I want to emphasize that——

Ms. BASS. You don’t think they know how to fly them? 

Mr. JACKSON. They do not currently have the capacity to fly 

Cobra helicopters. It would take at least 6 months for them to do 

the necessary training, and it would require that about 80 people 

be trained to maintain them. 

However, the Chadians are successfully employing their helicopters, which are armed, against Boko Haram, and it shows that 

it can be done, and the Nigerians could potentially do it with the 

right training and weapons. 

The problems that the Armed Forces of Nigeria face are in terms 

of morale, in terms of supply chains. We often hear from soldiers 

who have entered Cameroon fleeing Boko Haram that they haven’t 

eaten for days, that they are not well-equipped, and these are challenges for governance and leadership, and we would like to see the 

military address these challenges, deal with the internal corruption, and we believe that would have as much impact on the fight 

against Boko Haram as any weapon system possibly could. 

Ms. BASS. Will you comment about the north? 

Mr. JACKSON. I will. 

We have all seen pictures of alleged Nigerian security force 

abuses. This is why we believe the Leahy vetting process is so important for dealing with the Nigerian security forces, but we have 

approved, as I said, more than 100 individuals and units. And 

when we talked about that we were training an entire battalion. 

We are talking about thousands of people, not just hundreds of people. 

When you look at the units, we are talking about having vetted 

thousands of people, thousands of individuals. So there are plenty 

of people who are eligible for U.S. security assistance, and yet it 

25

was Nigeria who chose to prematurely end the training of the 

143rd in October before we felt they were fully capable, but they 

had been deployed, and that was a Nigerian sovereign decision. 

Ms. BASS. So, I was asking you a question about relationships between those folks that live in the north and the military. I don’t 

know if you want to——

Mr. JACKSON. So, we believe that some people have had excellent 

relations with the military. Other people feel abandoned by the 

military, and I think both of those extremes are very real in the 

three states under state of emergency. 

Ms. BASS. So this is an entirely different subject, but, you know, 

if the general topic here is ‘‘Nigeria on the Brink?,’’ I wanted to ask 

you if you were aware of reports of plans to privatize water in 

Lagos and across the country, and given how important fulfilling 

basic human rights can be in reducing the potential for violence, 

how would the negative effects of water privatization? Are you 

aware of this, is the U.S., and is there any relationship we have? 

Is there any concern about this? 

Mr. JACKSON. Honestly, Congresswoman, I am going to have to 

get back to you on the water privatization. We have been following 

the electricity law and the new efforts to make electricity more 

available in Nigeria, and Nigeria is a Power Africa country, but I 

have personally not followed the water issue.

WRITTEN RESPONSE RECEIVED FROM THE HONORABLE ROBERT P. JACKSON TO

QUESTION ASKED DURING THE HEARING BY THE HONORABLE KAREN BASS

Water is a hugely politicized issue in Nigeria. Politicians use promises of free 

water to garner votes. There is some recognition that private sector participation 

will lead to improved reliability and quality of water. However, Cross Rivers is the 

only state with a privatized water utility and the only state with 24 hours of water 

available a day. Other states, such as Rivers, are considering such reform, but resistance is strong. Five years ago, Lagos had a failed experience privatizing its 

water sector. We have supported efforts to increase privatization of water and will 

continue to do so. 

With respect to privatization, a strong regulatory framework is critical, as well 

as a transparent and competitive tender process. Currently, the poor, unlike the 

wealthy in Nigeria, do not have connections to subsidized water and must buy their 

water from local vendors. 

Nigeria is a Tier 1 country for our Sustainable Water for All initiative and will 

see an increase in resources to promote water privatization in Nigeria. Over the 

past five years, we have worked with a modest budget in Bauchi, Ebonyi and Rivers 

state to: (1) revise state water laws; (2) strengthen the operational capacity of state 

water boards (billing, maintenance, and investment); (3) conduct public outreach 

campaigns on the necessity of paying water bills, and; (4) advise stakeholders and 

decision makers on various institutional models for better managing the water sector.

Ms. BASS. Okay. Thank you. 

I will yield back my time. 

Mr. SMITH. Mr. Pittenger. 

Mr. PITTENGER. Thank you for giving me this time. 

Mr. Jackson, thank you for your service and dedication. 

Since declaring Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, 

has there been any evidence or progress in this investigation of uncovering those who are providing aid and abetting this terrorist 

group? 

Mr. JACKSON. To date, Congressman, we have not found any U.S. 

individuals or financial institutions that are aiding Boko Haram or 

26

allowing Boko Haram finances to flow through our financial system. 

Mr. PITTENGER. Thank you. 

Has the administration found any connection between the use of 

the girls unwittingly suicide efforts that have been kidnapped by 

Boko Haram, and do you believe that any Chibok girls may have 

been used in this manner? 

Mr. JACKSON. There has been a lot of speculation about this, but 

I don’t think we have confirmed that any of the children who participated in the suicide bombings, certainly involuntarily, were 

from Chibok. 

I would note that there are four Chibok girls who are now resident in the United States, and we have certainly talked with them 

about their experience and we make an effort to debrief people who 

have been in Boko Haram activity. 

Cameroon has done a great job of debriefing hostages, and we encourage the Nigerians to follow suit. 

Mr. PITTENGER. Thank you. I yield back. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you. 

If I could, just for clarification, Mr. Jackson. As you know, there 

are fundamental differences in the United States over the whole 

LGBT issue. I am a strong believer in traditional marriage and do 

not construe homosexual rights as human rights. Others have a 

different view, and I certainly respect them. But I want to know, 

has the administration, and I would ask for a clarification on this, 

has the administration’s view on LGBT affected in any way or in 

any way hindered U.S. support to Nigeria to combat Boko Haram? 

And, secondly, when it comes to humanitarian aid and money for 

IDPs and money for health issues, has the administration held 

back or in any way affected funding to the faith community, whether it be Muslim or Christian, in the dissemination of those funds 

to combat malaria or any other problems faced by Nigerians? 

Mr. JACKSON. Mr. Chairman, to my knowledge there has been no 

impact to the same sex marriage prohibition bill on any of our activities, be it financial assistance, humanitarian assistance, or what 

organizations we work with in Nigeria. 

Mr. SMITH. I appreciate that. Could you also, I know that is your 

reasoned opinion, but get back to us if there is anything that would 

contradict that? 

Mr. JACKSON. I will be happy to inquire, but I feel quite clear, 

since I see all of our assistance numbers, but I would have to check 

on whether we have decided not to work with any specific organizations. But I will get back to you.

WRITTEN RESPONSE RECEIVED FROM THE HONORABLE ROBERT P. JACKSON TO

QUESTION ASKED DURING THE HEARING BY THE HONORABLE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

Christian and Muslim institutions and groups are key partners in addressing 

health problems in Nigeria. For example, the President’s Malaria Initiative works 

very closely with the Nigerian Interfaith Action Association (NIFAA)—a collaborative initiative of the Christian Association of Nigeria and the Sultan of Sokoto (as 

head of Islamic community in Nigeria)—to promote awareness in their communities 

on how to fight malaria and other health risks. No funding has been withheld or 

redirected as a result of the passage of the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act.

Mr. SMITH. Good. 

27

And finally, again on the U.S.-Nigeria task force idea, if you 

could follow up and get to us on that as well. This would be a 

multidimensional approach to get complete and full buy-in from the 

Nigerians. I think for whatever reason, there was a cessation of the 

training of their military. That needs to be resumed. We have got 

to find out what it was that encumbered that and get back so that 

hopefully thousands of Leahy-vetted Nigerian soldiers and officer 

corps can get the training they need to vanquish Boko Haram. 

Mr. JACKSON. Mr. Chairman, I will get back to you. As the Secretary noted, we believe that having peaceful and credible elections 

is a condition for greater engagement, and we want to get through 

that step first.

WRITTEN RESPONSE RECEIVED FROM THE HONORABLE ROBERT P. JACKSON TO

QUESTION ASKED DURING THE HEARING BY THE HONORABLE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

In addition to our daily interactions with the Nigerian government, often at quite 

high levels, the United States engages regularly with Nigeria via the U.S.-Nigeria 

Bi-National Commission (BNC). Launched in 2010 with four specific working 

groups, the commission now encompasses five lines of effort: good governance and 

transparency; energy and investment; agriculture and food security; and the Niger 

Delta and Regional Security Working Group, which was subsequently split into two 

components. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield led the U.S. delegation to the meeting of the BNC’s Regional Security Working 

Group in September 2014. 

Nonetheless, we were disappointed last November when the Nigerian government 

cancelled the training by the U.S. government of a Nigerian Army battalion. Citing 

differences over timelines and pre-requisites such as equipment, the Nigerian government prematurely terminated the third phase of a training of a Nigerian Army 

battalion (the 600-strong 143rd) designed to strengthen the Nigerian Army’s capacity to counter Boko Haram. The first two phases of training were conducted between 

April and late August 2014, giving personnel basic soldiering skills. The canceled 

third iteration of training was to develop a unit with advanced infantry skills. The 

cancellation, while regrettable, does not affect the ability of the U.S. government to 

continue other aspects of our bilateral security relationship, as well as all other assistance programs, with Nigeria. The U.S. government is committed to the long tradition of partnership with Nigeria and will continue to engage future requests for 

cooperation and training. We continue to seek other opportunities to help Nigeria 

and its neighbors to counter Boko Haram. 

As Secretary Kerry said in Lagos on January 25, however, ‘‘We don’t believe that 

the level of support provided by the United States or the international community 

is the limiting factor in the Nigerian Government’s ability to fight Boko Haram.’’

Mr. SMITH. Thank you so much, Mr. Jackson. 

I would like to now, because we are under a little bit of a time 

crunch, welcome our second panel, and I thank you, Mr. Jackson, 

for your testimony. 

Beginning with Dr. Peter Pham, who is the director of the Africa 

Center at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC. He is the incumbent vice president of the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa, an academic organization which represents 

more than 1,000 scholars, and is editor in chief of the organization’s Journal of the Middle East and Africa. 

Dr. Pham was the winner of the 2008 Nelson Mandela International Prize for African Security and Development. He has authored half a dozen book chapters concerning Somali piracy, terrorism, and stabilizing fragile states, as well as more than 80 articles in various journals. He has testified before our subcommittee 

on several occasions on a number of topics, and we welcome him 

back. 

28

We will then hear from Mr. Badejo, who is a principal partner 

of a law firm in Nigeria established in 1987 in which he has acted 

as legal consultant and company secretary to many blue chip companies and orthodox religious bodies in Nigeria. 

Between 1981 and 1987 he worked with the firm Burke and 

Company in Lagos where he was the head of chambers between 

1985 and 1987. He was awarded the rank of senior advocate of Nigeria by the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee in 2010. This 

title is conferred only to a very select group of very senior attorneys 

in Nigeria. 

We will then hear from Mr. Emmanuel Ogebe, who is the manager of the Peaceful Polls 2015 Project, and an experienced attorney specializing in international matters of focusing on Nigeria. 

Exiled to the United States after becoming a political detainee 

during the brutal years of Nigeria’s military dictatorship, Mr. 

Ogebe has played a role in shaping U.S. policy toward Nigeria in 

its quest for democracy. His is experienced in managing, designing, 

and implementing complex international programs and projects in 

Nigeria. 

Then we will hear finally from Mr. Chris Fomunyoh, who is senior associate and regional director for central and west Africa at 

the National Democratic Institute. He has organized and advised 

international election observation missions and designed and supervised country-specific democracy programs and civic organizations, political parties, and legislative bodies throughout central 

and west Africa. 

He recently designed and helped launch the African Statesman 

Initiative, a program aimed at facilitating political transitions in 

Africa by encouraging former democratic heads of state. He is also 

the adjunct faculty at the African Center for Strategic Studies and 

former adjunct professor of African politics at Georgetown. 

Dr. Pham. 

STATEMENT OF J. PETER PHAM, PH.D., DIRECTOR, AFRICA 

CENTER, ATLANTIC COUNCIL 

Mr. PHAM. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Bass, distinguished members of 

the subcommittee, thank you not only for the opportunity to come 

before you today to discuss the present situation in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but also for the sustained attention which the 

subcommittee has consistently dedicated to west Africa as a whole 

and to Nigeria in particular, as well as for its solicitude for the 

challenges facing that region by the United States and our African 

and other partners. 

I think I speak for many in the policy and advocacy communities 

in expressing our gratitude for the leadership which the chairman, 

the ranking member, and members of the subcommittee and its 

staff have shown, including no fewer than three hearings in the 

113th Congress, including the one last June on ‘‘The Ongoing 

Struggle Against Boko Haram’’ which you accorded me the privilege of testifying at. 

It should be acknowledged that the subcommittee was already 

working On the present hearing well before the new cycle turned 

to Nigeria once again in the aftermath of the Boko Haram attacks 

29

on Baga 2 weeks ago. With your permission, I will present a summary of my current assessment of Boko Haram and the situation 

in Nigeria and ask that my prepared statement will be entered into 

the record of this hearing. 

Mr. SMITH. Without objection, your statement and that of all of 

our distinguished witnesses will be made a part of the record. 

Mr. PHAM. Thank you Mr. Chairman. 

At any time elections in Nigeria, Africa’s most populus country, 

the continent’s largest economy, home to both its largest Muslim 

community, as well as its largest Christian community, will be a 

pivotal moment, fraught with geopolitical, economic, and strategic 

implications. However, this is all the more the case as Nigerians 

prepare to go to the polls in less than 3 weeks in what many analysts view as perhaps the most competitive Presidential race since 

the transition from military to civilian rule in 1999. 

While I know that some have questioned the title of this hearing 

and its reference to a country on the brink, it is not an exaggeration to say that what has come together is a perfect storm of security threats, including, of course, the continuing insurgent activity 

of Boko Haram in the extreme northeastern part of Nigeria, its terrorist attacks beyond the region to other parts of Nigeria as well 

as neighboring countries, the humanitarian challenges, not least of 

which are the hundreds of thousands if not millions who have been 

displaced because of the conflict, and the economic pressures, top 

amongst which is the impact of declining oil prices on the national 

budget and thus resources available to the Federal Government to 

deal with the aforementioned challenges. 

Permit me therefore to begin by reviewing these challenges as 

they currently stand before returning to the upcoming elections 

and what the United States might be able to do to help have a 

positive effect on the situation in Nigeria. Since the subcommittee’s 

hearing on the fight against the militants last June, Boko Haram 

has unfortunately continued to be on a roll and, in fact, appears 

to have even ramped up its momentum. 

Depending on which Nigerian official or international analyst 

one chooses to credit, this means the group effectively exercises at 

least loose dominion over a total area that is either larger than the 

State of Maryland, as you mentioned, or perhaps even slightly 

smaller than the State of West Virginia. 

Just this past weekend, an assault on the Borno State capital of 

Maiduguri by Boko Haram was repulsed, although I am not entirely convinced that the strategic objective of that attack was so 

much to storm the city as to underscore a message, given that the 

attack came the day after the Nigerian President had campaigned 

there amid heavy security and sought to reassure the citizens that 

the insurgency would be defeated. 

On the other hand, the group’s simultaneous attack on Monguno, 

which received less attention, a town near Nigeria’s borders with 

Chad and Cameroon was very unfortunately successful, resulting 

in the capture of a city with its population of more than 110,000 

people, as well as the large military base nearby. 

Nigerian Military spokesmen admitted that the garrison in 

Monguno consisting of some 1,400 soldiers from the 243rd Army 

Battalion and other units were overwhelmed. The seizure of 

30

Monguno, which sits at the intersection of three major roads, removes one of the key buffers protecting Maiduguri and the 2 million people who reside there or who have taken refuge there from 

complete encirclement by Boko Haram forces. 

Furthermore, Boko Haram has been using the territory it holds 

or clears out as a base to launch a campaign of terrorist attacks 

reaching other Nigerian states as well as neighboring countries, 

some of which like Niger are already under incredible pressure 

from militants linked both to al-Qaeda’s north African affiliate as 

well as spillover from the continuing disintegration of Libya. 

Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou has even been quoted as 

saying that ‘‘the Islamic State is at our door.’’

In its ongoing offensive, Boko Haram is not only using the terrorist tactics it has honed over the last 5 years, but even ratcheting 

up with new twists like the recent use of young girls as young as 

10 years old to carry bombs into crowded settings. Even more worrisome, as a number of analysts have pointed out, Boko Haram’s 

recent messaging and activities point to a troubling convergence 

tactically and ideologically with the so-called Islamic State. 

While the reasons for failure to contain, much less roll back, 

Boko Haram’s advance were addressed in my prior testimony are, 

indeed, legion with plenty of blame to go around, I would be remiss 

if I didn’t call attention to the fact that the address last week at 

Chatham House by Sambo Dasuki, National Security Advisor to 

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, if it indeed is representative of current consensus in Abuja and consequent future conduct 

by the Federal authorities, represents a significant and promising 

shift in strategic thinking. 

Not only has Boko Haram wreaked havoc in Nigeria’s northeast 

quadrant and parts of Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, but the group’s 

attacks have also precipitated a veritable humanitarian crisis spanning the region. The combined effects of the insurgents’ seizure of 

livestock and food supplies, as well as the closure of markets, the 

abandonment of farms, some for several years in a row, have resulted this month in the warning from the Famine Early Warnings 

Systems Network of the U.S. Agency for International Development 

that without massive assistance, some 3 million people will not be 

able to meet their basic food needs by the middle of this year. 

In the context of discussing the humanitarian crisis caused by 

Boko Haram, it is incumbent upon me to draw attention to a frequently overlooked fact. While northern Nigeria has historically 

been predominantly Muslin, the north is not without a sizeable 

Christian population, just as some parts of the south, especially the 

southwest of the country, have significant Muslim communities. 

Consequently, both Muslims and so Christians have been victims 

of Boko Haram’s brutal assaults. 

However, the Christian community has suffered a disproportionately high toll. According to the Roman Catholic Diocese of 

Maiduguri, in just 2 months, August and September of last year, 

185 churches were destroyed by Boko Haram in Borno and 

Adamawa States. When added to the 300 churches destroyed in 

2013, and those destroyed in previous years, it adds up to an unholy tally of more than 1,000 Christian houses of worship destroyed 

by Boko Haram since the last time Nigerians went to the polls. 

31

With hydrocarbons still making up much of Nigeria’s exports and 

up to 80 percent of the government’s revenues, the dramatic fall in 

global oil prices cannot but have a major impact on the Nigerian 

economy. The Naira is trading at record lows against the U.S. dollar. As I was leaving the office to come here today, one U.S. dollar 

brought about 190 Naira. The stock market is down by almost onethird. Expectations for economic growth in 2015 have been revised 

downward, and the Federal budget has been recalibrated twice in 

recent months, and for that I give credit to the Finance Minister 

for at least recalibrating the budget, which is more than what some 

other oil producing countries have done. 

In addition to pressures exerted on the economy by the global 

commodity prices, there has been the negative impact of the ongoing insurgency on the economy of the northern part of the country 

in general and the northeast in particular. Diminished revenues 

clearly impact the resources available to Nigeria to fight the insurgency and fund the sort of holistic approach to development that 

can truly drain the fever swamps that feed extremism. 

All this sets the context for the upcoming general elections, 

which Secretary John Kerry rightly described on Sunday as one of 

the most important elections Nigeria has ever held. There are a 

number of challenges to the vote however. In deference to my good 

friend, Dr. Chris Fomunyoh, who just returned from a joint International Republican Institute-National Democratic Institute preelection assessment and will address the main technical and structural issues with the election organization, I will limit myself to 

just a few points of concern. 

First, the specter of Boko Haram has increasingly impacted the 

election and will continue to do so. With numerous local government areas either under the insurgents’ control or otherwise rendered unsafe, even the Independent National Electoral Commission 

has acknowledged that it will be impossible to organize voting 

across the entire territory of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 

Whether satisfactory arrangements can be made for displaced persons remains to be seen. 

In addition, millions of voters across states most impacted by 

Boko Haram may still be deterred from voting by a fear of suicide 

bombing or other attacks mounted by the terrorists. Thus the political question that will be answered only after the elections is how 

the winner claims the mandate of the people when so many could 

potentially be unable to express themselves. 

Two, even aside from Boko Haram in the northeast, divisive and 

inflammatory messages which some political figures and their supporters have been delivering through traditional and social media 

in several parts of Nigeria is worrisome, raising as it does the risk 

of the sort of localized violence that has marred elections in the 

past. Of course the impunity of those responsible for the violence 

surrounding the previous polls, including 2011, does little to discourage these people. 

Third, election day itself presents extraordinary security challenges commensurate with the temptations it undoubtedly presents 

to the terrorists who ideologically reject democratic politics and 

who strategically have every reason to tarnish the poll. 

32

Fourth, in the leadup to next month’s vote, various fault lines 

have emerged in greater relief, dividing Nigerian society along various ethnic, regional, and religious lines. Ironically, these are the 

sorts of fissures that first-past-the-post democratic politics exacerbates, rather than mitigates. In addition, the crisis in the north, 

adds a wild card to the election insofar as Nigeria’s Constitution 

requires the Presidential candidate winning not only to win 50 percent plus 1 vote of the total votes cast, but also that he win 25 percent of the votes in two-thirds of the states of the federation. 

Fifth, the intensely competitive Presidential race and exceptional 

circumstances are secured under which it is being run has given 

rise to concern that the winner and/or his supporters may refuse 

to accept the outcome, even if the election itself is credible. 

It goes without saying, Mr. Chairman, that the bilateral relationship between the United States and the Federal Republic of Nigeria has gone through something of a rough patch recently and at 

a time that could not be less opportune for any chasm to open up 

between the two countries. While the United States indeed has a 

role it can and should play in this pivotal moment in Nigeria’s history, we also need to be realistic about what that role is, cognizant 

of some very real limitations. 

That said, Secretary Kerry’s visit to Nigeria over the weekend 

and his meetings with the two leading contenders and other officials helped underscore the importance that we recognize in this 

election and our commitment to a strong working relationship with 

Nigeria going forward. While much of what we may be able to do 

and would like to do in cooperation with Nigeria to combat Boko 

Haram may have to wait until the dust settles after the election, 

there are things which can be done now, and those we need to look 

at. 

Mr. Chairman, it is hard to exaggerate the importance of Nigeria’s upcoming general elections, not only for the immediate political future of Africa’s giant, but also in light of the rapid expansion 

of the threats posed by Boko Haram and the inability for various 

reasons of the Nigerian forces so far to contain it, much less defeat 

the militants. 

The international community, Mr. Chairman, can only hope that 

when the result that emerges from that election is, indeed, the will 

of the people, and we should stand by the Nigerian people as they 

queue up to cast the votes for their future, indeed, all of ours. 

Thank you, Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you so much for your insights. 

We are a little pressed because there may be some votes coming 

soon, but thank you so much. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Pham follows:]

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Mr. SMITH. Mr. Badejo. 

STATEMENT OF MR. JADEGOKE ADEBONAJO BADEJO, 

PRINCIPAL PARTNER, BONAJO BADEJO & CO. 

Mr. BADEJO. Chairman Smith, and ranking member of the subcommittee, I thank you for this privilege to testify before you on 

this important issue which threatens the continued existence of my 

country, Nigeria. 

I acknowledge with gratitude the tireless efforts of the chairman 

and members on Africa and Nigeria in particular. I know that your 

efforts will further cement the bond of friendship between the 

United States of America and Africa and also assist my country, 

Nigeria, tremendously in overcoming the present challenges. 

I describe myself as an official bystander. I have never held any 

political office in Nigeria. I am not a card-carrying member of any 

political party, so I have come here today to tell you what I have 

seen on the ground in Nigeria where I just arrived from yesterday, 

as one who is clearly interested in the affairs of my country. 

I also must state that I belong to the Lift Up Now organization, 

and I am associated with the Faith Based Community Organization in New Jersey, and I know that they share the same views 

with me. 

Travails of democracy in Nigeria. We must remember that Nigeria consists of 250 ethnic groups. They have different cultures, and 

they also have differences in religion and world view. What the 

British did was to by fiat, forge these ethnic groups into one single 

country. The British organized elections before Nigeria became 

independent. These elections were more or less credible because of 

the presence of British Government who tried as much as possible 

to make politicians play by the rules. 

But since independence, immediately after independence, what 

we had in Nigeria unfortunately were parties whose support base 

were mainly rooted in their ethnic areas. So we had three parties, 

major parties, and other smaller parties who are constantly at war 

with themselves and trying all sorts of methods to control the resources of the Federal Government at the center, and that was the 

beginning of insecurity in Nigeria. 

And this insecurity which led to riots in the southwestern part 

of Nigeria, which is now called the southwest region, led eventually 

to the collapse of the First Republic. There was military interregnum, and the Second Republic also faced similar challenges in 

the sense that these parties remained in their anklets, perpetually 

struggling for power in the center. And this complexity explained 

or is at the root of what we have as the Nigerian problem today, 

and it must be understood before we can provide solutions to these 

challenges. 

In the Second Republic we must remember also that, that republic collapsed 3 months after the election, the second election in that 

republic because of rigging, thuggery, inability to conduct a credible 

election, and the other security lapses that came with that election, 

so the military took over again. And then we add another spell of 

military interregnum. 

And then we tried a Third Republic, and that Third Republic also 

collapsed before it was actually born. Why? Because the difficulty 

45

in accepting the results of the election of June 12, 1993, where the 

ruling oligarchy refused the result of that election, and that was 

the end of the short-lived Third Republic. 

Now after the military interregnum again, we went into the 

Fourth Republic, and we can observe that in the Fourth Republic 

Nigeria has survived three elections, one in 2003, 2007, and 2011, 

and this is the fourth election in the process. And this is the longest time that we have had an unbroken democratic record in Nigeria. 

And what are the factors that are responsible for seeing us 

through up until today? The factors are one, the ruling political 

elites have realized that they needed to come out with parties that 

have a little bit of national spirit, and they have realized also that 

the Nigerian Nation cannot afford to have another military intervention. And so at the time of every election since 1999, we have 

had rising tensions, just as we are having now, and these tensions 

have dissolved immediately after the election with the ruling political elite taking some steps to douse the tension. 

Now, what happened in 1999, 2003, and 2007 is that we had situations where the geopolitical zone of the country that lost the 

Federal election at the center will be dissatisfied, and there will be 

pockets of post-election violence which Nigerian Governments have 

met by either inviting the opposition to join in the cabinet or inviting selected individuals within the opposition to come into the cabinet to participate in government. This process doused tension considerably. But the build-up to the present election has witnessed 

something we have never seen before in Nigeria and it is really, 

really alarming. 

Now, I will need to trace the history of what led us to this 

present position so that we can understand. The government that 

was put in place in 1999 was aided by President Olesegun 

Obasanjo who is from the southwest. He had a Vice President from 

the northeastern part. He ran the government for 8 years, and he 

handed over to President Yar’Adua, who is from the northwest, and 

the Vice President at that time is the current President who is 

from the south-south geopolitical zone. And you will discover that 

it means that without changing government, the office of the Nigerian political elite succeeded in rotating power from two regions to 

another two regions, so you have the semblance of stability in the 

polity. 

Unfortunately President Yar’Adua died, and we had a President 

from the south, and then that was the beginning of the escalation 

of the serious security challenges that we faced. Now, the contest 

for power is a contest for power between the northwest and the 

south-south, so we have the two contestants for power in Nigeria 

now. One from the northwest and another from the south-south. 

And there are a lot of people in Nigeria today who are supporting 

these candidates based on the region they come from, so you will 

find a lot of their supporters, supporting them because they feel 

that they come from the region where they come from. 

Mr. SMITH. Mr. Badejo, we have 15 minutes to be physically on 

the floor for a series of votes. 

46

If we could go to Mr. Ogebe and then to our next distinguished 

witness, and then if there is another minute or so, you could sum 

up. 

Mr. BADEJO. I just want to sum up, I will sum up now. If I am 

permitted to sum up. 

Mr. SMITH. If you gentlemen can equally divide it for about 7 

minutes each. And then we will come back to you for a 1-minute 

sum up. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Badejo follows:]

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STATEMENT OF MR. EMMANUEL OGEBE, MANAGER, 

PEACEFUL POLLS 2015 PROJECT 

Mr. OGEBE. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for inviting 

me once more to speak. 

And I just want to commend this panel. This is the first time 

that I have addressed the panel where 75 percent of the membership had recently been to Nigeria, so I commend you for your courage in doing so at this trying time. 

I think it is also fitting that today is the 70th anniversary of the 

liberation of Auschwitz, that we are looking at an issue that deals 

with the Auschwitz of our time. I just returned from Nigeria recently where the Baga atrocity occurred. And to put this statistically, in 2012 Boko Haram killed approximately 2,000 people. In 

the first week of 2015, they have already exceeded the number of 

people they killed in 2012. Last year it took them 6 months to 

achieve what they have done this year in a matter of 7 days. 

But I also want to draw attention to the fact that Boko Haram 

has taken a back seat to ISIS. Even though the terrorism rankings 

indicate that Boko Haram has led ISIS in the last 3 years in atrocities, and it is a puzzle to me to this date that Boko Haram does 

not get the attention that ISIS has. 

But then even when we talk about Paris, Paris occurred at the 

very same time as Baga, and Paris got way more attention than 

the people of Baga ever did, even though the destruction of Baga 

was an extinction-level event. I want to say that black lives do 

matter when it comes to global terrorism as well. 

Let me also seize this opportunity to say there is a French connection to what is happening in Nigeria. France has a huge, I call 

it the France loophole, we have the FTO designation, but France 

is one of the countries that pays Boko Haram huge ransom money 

for kidnapped citizens, which is fueling the killings of black people 

in Nigeria. 

France needs to understand that global terrorism is not isolated 

to one part of the world. When you pay money to terrorists, they 

use it to kill other people and I hope that this is a wake-up call 

to France. You can’t give Boko Haram money to kill Nigerians. 

Boko Haram has killed people of over 15 countries. They have 

killed Italians. They have killed Greeks. They have killed Norwegians, many people, so indirectly France’s money is going to fueling that organization. Boko Haram does not have the oil wells that 

ISIS has, so it relies on this ransom money to be able to fund itself. 

Now, today I want to, of course, speak about the elections because that unfortunately is another reason that religious minorities 

are killed in northern Nigeria. In a 3-year window in 2011, in a 

48-hour time period, several hundred churches were destroyed. 

Hundreds of Christians were killed. People were pulled out of 

taxies and killed because they were Christian, not because they 

asked them who they voted for. Because they were Christian, they 

assumed that they voted for a Christian. My cousin was shot five 

times in 2011. 

In 2012 we had the Boko Haram atrocities. In 1 day that killed 

over 200 people, and so we see that elections compete with Boko 

Haram for the killing of indigenous Christian minorities in northern Nigeria. And that is why the elections on February 14 this year 

62

will likely be a Valentine’s Day massacre for the poor Christians 

of northern Nigeria. 

And so I have, I just in the last 2 weeks started a project called 

Peaceful Polls 2015 because based on the atrocities I saw in 2011, 

we said we need to do something to avert these avoidable atrocities 

and tragedies. And one of the things we did—I know Congressman 

Emmer was asking what practical things had been done—my 

project, the Peaceful Polls Project, has filed FOIA requests with the 

Government of Nigeria saying where are the people that you prosecuted for all the atrocities last time? If they are not in jail, guess 

what; they are coming back again. And so in the next few weeks 

we are following up with the various attorneys generals’ offices to 

ensure that impunity does not continue and that these people are 

put behind bars. 

I will quickly go to what I consider the recommendations that I 

would like to make, and let me say here, Congressman, that I 

think it is illogical for the U.S. Military trainers to say, well, the 

Nigerians don’t have equipment, so we can’t train them. But on the 

other hand, you are refusing to sell them equipment. 

And so we have a suggestion where the Prime Minister of Iraq 

is saying, you know, we want to buy weapons from the U.S., and 

we need loan deferments to buy the weapons. Nigeria is saying we 

are going to pay cash for these weapons, and you are saying no. 

That is not how the marketplace works. Give Nigeria the weapons, 

give them the training. They have the human resource to make 

this happen. 

But, Mr. Congressman, let me say, sir, that with regard to the 

Chibok girls, the world has blinked. The girls had 15 minutes of 

fame, and we walked away. It is now 9 months. I spoke to a man 

who escaped from one of Boko Haram’s concentration camps last 

week, and he told me that as recently as September the girls had 

not all been married off. That means that we can still rescue them. 

That means that they will not all possibly have babies at this 

point, which will make it easier for us to rescue them; but we have 

40 days to rescue them and we need to work with that time window. 

Finally, Mr. Congressman, let me say that you have done a great 

job in calling for a victim fund in Nigeria, and a month after you 

made that call, the President of Nigeria responded by launching a 

fund. I think that means that you should come to Nigeria more. 

But with that said, I do want so say there is something we can do 

right here, right now in America, which is to reintroduce the bill 

that Congresswoman Frederica Wilson introduced last month. 

The bill would allow forfeited Nigerian assets here to be put into 

a victim assistance fund. As she mentioned, I was responsible for 

bringing ten of the Chibok girls and putting them back in school 

in America. We can do that and we can do a lot more without using 

U.S. taxpayer funds. We can use funds from Nigeria that are here 

already. 

So, Mr. Congressman—Mr. Chairman, let me say we may not be 

able to bring back our girls, but we can help those who escaped, 

and we can do that by bringing back that bill. So bring back our 

bill, H.R. 5778, which Honorable Congresswoman Frederica Wilson 

introduced last session. 

63

And I thank you very much. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you, Mr. Ogebe. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Ogebe follows:]

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Mr. SMITH. I would like to now introduce Dr. Fomunyoh. 

STATEMENT OF CHRIS FOMUNYOH, PH.D., SENIOR ASSOCIATE 

AND REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR CENTRAL AND WEST AFRICA, NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTE 

Mr. FOMUNYOH. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Karen Bass, 

and distinguished members of the subcommittee, on behalf of the 

National Democratic Institute, the NDI, I appreciate the opportunity to discuss current political developments in Nigeria in light 

of next month’s general elections. This is a summary of my original 

testimony, as my full testimony has been submitted for the record. 

Nigeria faces significant challenges that could undermine the 

success of the 2015 polls. Two weeks ago, NDI and the International Republican Institute, IRI, conducted a pre-election assessment mission to Nigeria. I was part of that delegation and just returned from Nigeria. I ask that the delegation’s statement be included in the record. 

Mr. SMITH. Without objection, so ordered. 

Mr. FOMUNYOH. The 2015 Elections: In the Eye of the Storm. 

The 2015 elections will take place in a difficult political and security environment for Nigeria. The country is deeply polarized 

around regional, religious, and partisan lines. These cleavages are 

exacerbated by citizen dissatisfaction over the economy, the Boko 

Haram insurgency, poor delivery of public services, and allegations 

of large-scale fraud. 

Moreover, Nigeria has a history of election-related violence. Boko 

Haram extremists pose a major threat to the conduct of peaceful 

polls. Insecurity in the northeastern States of Borno, Yobe, and 

Adamawa, which have approximately 4.5 million registered voters, 

could cause the disfranchisement of a large number of voters. In 

addition, hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons, 

IDPs, are not likely to return to their home constituencies before 

election day and may therefore not be able to vote. 

Nigeria Pulling Back From the Brink. Despite these challenges 

and many more, Nigeria still has the ability to pull itself back from 

the brink, in part because of a number of measures undertaken by 

the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). 

These include: Biometric registration which entailed a thorough 

audit of the voter registry and using voters’ biometric data to eliminate double entries, underage voters, and the deceased. Close to 5 

million names were expunged. Machine-readable permanent voter 

cards, PVCs, and voter card readers which will allow INEC to track 

number of accredited voters per polling site and therefore hinder 

the inflation of results noted during previous elections. 

An Interagency Consultative Committee on Election Security 

charged with improving election security by facilitating seamless 

coordination among governmental agencies. INEC has also accredited 78 citizen observer coalitions and 19 international delegations 

to monitor the polls. 

Nigeria’s vibrant civil society also has undertaken a number of 

initiatives to enhance the legitimacy of the polls. These include: 

Voter education and get-out-the-vote campaigns targeting youth, 

including a campaign launched by the well-known Nigeria artist 

2face Idibia in collaboration with the Youngstars Foundation with 

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technical assistance from NDI, and various interfaith initiatives 

lead by Muslim and Christian leaders aimed at promoting violencefree polls. 

In addition, the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), a coalition 

of more than 400 civil society organizations is gathering and analyzing nationwide data on acts of violence and to identify early 

warning signs of violence. TMG will also use parallel vote tabulation methodology that will draw on statistical principles to provide 

realtime qualitative and quantitative assessments of voting dates 

and verification of the official election results. TMG has recruited 

and trained over 3,000 observers for the PVT Quick Count. 

Finally, on January 14, Presidential candidates, including the 

two frontrunners, signed a public pledge for a peaceful election, the 

Abuja Accord, committing themselves to run issue-based campaigns, to refrain from violence and inflammatory speech, and to 

speak out against any such violence. 

The Way Forward. Under normal circumstances, conducting national elections in Nigeria is no easy feat. And these are not normal 

times. The stakes are extremely high. At this crucial moment, 

friends of Nigeria should send a strong message to its government 

and the Nigerian people underscoring their support for violencefree and credible elections. 

They should also appeal to INEC to guarantee proper administration of the polls and to the Government of Nigeria to provide security for voters. The Nigerian people are to be commended for 

their efforts to increase citizen participation and enhance prospects 

for peaceful elections, and must be encouraged to do more in the 

remaining weeks and the post-election period. 

The international community should continue to provide objective and nonpartisan assessments of the electoral process with a 

forceful message that violence will have consequences for the legitimacy of the election outcome. All concerned parties should, therefore, put in place contingency plans to safeguard the peace and further consolidate the democratic gains that would emerge from a 

meaningful electoral process. 

To conclude, as a highly respected Nigerian religious leader told 

the NDI–IRI delegation in Abuja 2 weeks ago, ‘‘We Nigerians have 

perfected the art of dancing on the brink, but it is an uncomfortable place to be.’’ In my humble opinion, Nigeria does not have to 

stay on the brink in perpetuity. 

Should the 2015 polls be peaceful and credible, Nigeria will have 

a lot going for it. The outcome of this election would have significant implications for the consolidation of democracy in Nigeria and 

elsewhere on the African continent. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the subcommittee. 

Mr. SMITH. Dr. Fomunyoh, thank you so very much for your testimony. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Fomunyoh follows:]

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Mr. SMITH. Thank you to all of you for your expert, incisive commentary. And if we could get back for a 1-minute, we are almost 

out of time, if we could. 

Mr. BADEJO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. Now, the 

challenges confronting Nigeria can be solved both in the short term 

and the long run. In the short term, I believe the United States 

should engage Nigerian leaders in ensuring that they maintain 

peace and sensitize them toward moving on in an atmosphere of 

peace and security in the country. 

Knowing fully well that the fundamental problems are caused by 

the ethnic configuration of Nigeria, insecurity caused by corruption 

and chronic inefficiency, so the United States Government should 

note this and then assist Nigeria in coming out of this problem. 

On the long term I believe that whatever government comes into 

place must be constructively engaged. There must be, if the United 

States can, legislation that will assist Nigeria in establishing enduring democracy. 

One thing that the United States can do is to assist Nigeria in 

having the center for democratic studies established that will be 

funded, that will be well-positioned in terms of staff to address the 

problems of Nigeria. There must be political education of Nigerians. I believe that Nigeria will survive, and all hands must be on 

deck to ensure that that Nation gets its political kingdom. 

I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your support in this. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you, all four of you, for your written testimonies which will help this committee, will help hopefully the administration. As we go forward, your opinions are deeply valued 

and cherished, and so I thank you. 

We don’t have time for questions because of this series of votes, 

and I apologize. 

The hearing is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 3:58 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] 

(111)

A P P E N D I X 

MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

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MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD BY CHRIS FOMUNYOH, PH.D., SENIOR ASSOCIATE AND REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR CENTRAL AND WEST AFRICA, NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTE


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