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THE U.S. ROLE IN HELPING NIGERIA CONFRONT

BOKO HARAM AND OTHER THREATS IN

NORTHERN NIGERIA

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

SECOND SESSION

MAY 11, 2016

Serial No. 114–210

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 

DANIEL DONOVAN, New York 

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 

DANIEL DONOVAN, New York 

KAREN BASS, California 

DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island 

AMI BERA, California 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

WITNESSES 

The Honorable Frank R. Wolf, distinguished senior fellow, 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative ................................................................................................. 9

Mr. Emmanuel Ogebe, special counsel, Justice for Jos Project ........................... 18

‘‘Sa’a’’, Chibok schoolgirl, Education Must Continue Initiative ........................... 55

Christopher Fomunyoh, Ph.D., senior associate and regional director for Central and West Africa, National Democratic Institute ........................................ 60

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING 

The Honorable Frank R. Wolf: Prepared statement ............................................. 14

Mr. Emmanuel Ogebe: Prepared statement .......................................................... 22

‘‘Sa’a’’: Prepared statement ..................................................................................... 57

Christopher Fomunyoh, Ph.D.: Prepared statement ............................................ 62

APPENDIX 

Hearing notice .......................................................................................................... 80

Hearing minutes ...................................................................................................... 81

The Honorable Christopher H. Smith, a Representative in Congress from 

the State of New Jersey, and chairman, Subcommittee on Africa, Global 

Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations: Statement 

from Refugees International ............................................................................... 82

(1)

THE U.S. ROLE IN HELPING NIGERIA 

CONFRONT BOKO HARAM AND OTHER 

THREATS IN NORTHERN NIGERIA 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2016

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 2:31 p.m., in room 

2255, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Christopher H. Smith 

(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. 

Mr. SMITH. The subcommittee will come to order, and welcome. 

A number of members are on their way, so I will just start with 

my opening comments and then yield to Ms. Bass and other members as they come in. 

Let me just say at the outset—and I will be introducing, obviously, all of our distinguished witnesses after opening statements—

but I just want to welcome back to the U.S. House of Representatives a 17-term, 34-year Member of the House, Frank Wolf, who is 

truly the William Wilberforce of the U.S. Congress. He continues 

that work now, as we all know, as the distinguished senior fellow 

for the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative and the Jerry and Susie 

Wilson chair in religious freedom at Baylor University. 

Frank Wolf, as I think many of you know, is the author of the 

landmark law on religious freedom. It is called the International 

Religious Freedom Act of 1998. 

That legislation was strongly opposed by the Clinton administration. I remember chairing hearings on it. He wrote the language 

and did a magnificent job shepherding it both through the House 

and the Senate, but it was opposed by the administration. 

But at the end of the day, with a nose up, the President, in this 

case President Clinton, signed it, and it has made all the difference 

in the world. And as I think many of you know, it not only created 

the International Religious Freedom office and, obviously, established a number of mutually reinforcing sanctions, 18 of them that 

now the President has in his toolbox to promote religious freedom, 

but it also established an independent commission, the purpose of 

which is to really advise Congress, and, frankly, the President, to 

be a clear, nonambiguous voice about religious freedom. 

And all of that, every bit of that is attributable to Frank Wolf. 

And I want to thank him again for that extraordinary effort. 

2

I saw firsthand his devotion to human rights on a myriad of 

ways, including trips with Frank to prison camps all over the 

world, including in the Soviet Union. The infamous Perm Camp 35, 

where Natan Sharansky spent so many years of his life and other 

political prisoners, a godforsaken place in Perm Oblast, a place 

that no Americans had been to simply because it was off limits to 

everyone. Over the course of 2 years he negotiated his way, and I 

joined him, to Perm Camp, where we met with prisoners, 

videotaped them. And one by one they actually got out of that prison camp. 

I saw it again when we were in a Gulag in China, Beijing Prison 

Number 1. There were at least 40 Tiananmen Square activists 

there who were in servitude. They were truly being exploited. And 

that was closed, that Beijing Prison Number 1, because Frank had 

the good sense to ask the warden—his name was Zhou—for a box 

of what they were producing there, socks and jelly shoes, which 

were all the rage among young girls at the time in this country and 

in Europe for export. He brought that over to the commissioner to 

the State Department, they put an import ban on it, and Beijing 

Prison Number 1 closed its doors because we have a law that precludes importation of slave-made goods. That was Frank Wolf. 

We saw it again in Vukovar, a city that was under siege by 

Slobodan Milosevic. After that we met with Slobodan Milosevic—

and he lied through his teeth, war criminal that he is—and made 

strong and persistent efforts to mitigate the effects of that war, because right after Croatia, which is where Vukovar is, they went 

into Bosnia and did more killing. But Frank was right at the forefront of that in Romania and so many other countries. 

And Africa, the first Member of Congress to push so aggressively, 

and Sam Brownback was part of that effort as well, to say that in 

Sudan there is a genocide going on and we not only need to raise 

our voices, we need to put into place policies that will hopefully end 

that genocide. 

So Frank Wolf is truly a leader. He is a man of deep Christian 

faith. He walks the walk in a way worthy of his calling. He also 

chaired, as I think many of you may know, several Appropriations 

subcommittees, including Commerce, Justice, and Science, his last 

perch, leadership post, and wrote a number of laws, including nine 

major appropriations bills. 

So a man of great legislative accomplishment. But it is his heart 

for the weak and disenfranchised and his advocacy for religious 

freedom that has and continues to make all the difference in the 

world. 

So, Mr. Wolf, welcome. 

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country, as we all know, with 

more than 180 million people, roughly divided between Muslims 

and Christians, and including numerous ethnic groups. 

Nigeria’s Muslim population is among the largest in the world 

and has likely overtaken Egypt as the largest on the continent. 

Lagos, its commercial center, is among the world’s largest cities. 

Nigeria also is Africa’s largest economy and largest oil producer. 

Nigeria has long been a top troop contributor to U.N. peacekeeping 

operations and is a major political force on the continent. 

3

I would note, parenthetically, one time in Darfur I myself hooked 

up with a group of peacekeepers and they were from Nigeria. I was 

in Sarajevo during the Balkan War and there was the same man, 

Major Ajumbo. So they really have distinguished themselves as 

providers of peacekeepers who have done great work around the 

world. 

Unfortunately, that stability that they have striven for has been 

under increasing threat in recent years. Disgruntled elements of 

mostly Muslim Kanuri ethnic group in 2003 created Boko Haram, 

a violent extremist group based in the northeast. 

Boko Haram is considered the deadliest terrorist group in the 

world, responsible for 6,664 deaths last year alone. Neglect of the 

region has limited potential support of the Kanuris and other ethnic groups for government efforts to combat the terror threats in 

northern Nigeria. 

Elsewhere in northern Nigeria, Fulani herdsmen have clashed 

with a multitude of ethnic groups of farmers, multi-ethnic farmers, 

leaving 3,000 people dead since 2010. 

Meanwhile, the growing number of confrontational Shiites in 

northern Nigeria recently resulted in a December 2015 massacre in 

Zaria in Kaduna State in which an as yet undetermined number 

of civilians and military were killed. The number of dead is believed to be in the hundreds, but there are several ongoing investigations of this incident. 

This subcommittee has long held hearings, many hearings on 

various aspects of Nigeria’s situation, including specifically attacks 

by Boko Haram. Staff Director Greg Simpkins and I have visited 

Abuja and Jos several times. Jos is a city where numerous churches were fire bombed by Boko Haram and I know Mr. Wolf has just 

been there with his delegation. 

Today’s hearing will examine the ongoing fight against the terrorist group Boko Haram and other conflicts in northern Nigeria in 

an effort to determine the best way for the U.S. Government to 

help address these challenges in the context of our overall Nigeria 

policy. 

The Nigerian Government has struggled to respond to the continuing threat posed by Boko Haram. U.S. officials have expressed 

continuing concern about Boko Haram’s impact in Nigeria and 

neighboring countries and its ties with other extremist groups, notably the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, to which 

Boko Haram pledged allegiance in 2015. 

The recruitment of Nigerians by other transnational terrorist 

groups also has been a concern. The State Department designated 

Boko Haram and a splinter faction, Ansaru, as Foreign Terrorist 

Organizations, or FTOs, in November 2013 following sustained efforts by this subcommittee. I would note, parenthetically, the day 

we were going to mark up a resolution that I had introduced to so 

designate, they made that proclamation. It was 2 to 3 years late 

in coming. 

The U.S. Government has made every effort to support Nigeria’s 

battle against Boko Haram, but our counterterrorism training was 

suspended by the previous Nigerian Government. It has been resumed, I am happy to say, and it is much needed. Boko Haram 

commenced a territorial offensive in mid-2014 that Nigerian forces 

4

struggled to reverse until early 2015, when regional military forces, 

primarily from neighboring Chad, launched an offensive against 

the group. The Nigerian Army has since reclaimed most of the territory, although many areas remain insecure. 

One of the witnesses today, Emmanuel Ogebe, recently told of 

his meeting with a Christian woman named Saratu in a refugee 

camp in northern Nigeria: ‘‘She had just returned from searching 

for her four children, ages 14, 11, 8, and 7, who had been abducted 

by Boko Haram from an attack on her town in 2014. She traveled 

to the front lines,’’ he went on to say, ‘‘asking soldiers if they saw 

her kids. She went to IDP camps. This is the life of many today 

in northern Nigeria.’’

We recently commemorated the tragic 2-year anniversary of the 

kidnapping of nearly 300 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in 

northeastern Nigeria. We have with us today Sa’a, one of the girls 

who escaped this mass kidnapping. But many of her classmates 

were not so fortunate. Many of these schoolgirls are believed to 

have been forced to convert to Islam and marry to Boko Haram 

fighters or prostituted by this egregious group. We now receive reports that some of them may be used as suicide bombers. 

As if the menace posed by Boko Haram was not enough of a challenge for the government of President Buhari there is the growing 

crisis in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, largely caused by clashes between 

Fulani herdsmen and a multi-ethic group of farmers. Some of the 

violence is a result of conflicts over cattle rustling on encroachment 

on private land. Nevertheless, according to the current Global Terrorism Index, Fulani militants operating in Nigeria and Central African Republic are considered the fourth-deadliest militant group in 

Africa behind Boko Haram, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and 

al-Shabaab. 

More recently, a new threat has been added to the volatile northern region. Although the majority of Nigerian Muslims are Sunni, 

there are between 1 million and 3 million Shia consecrated in 

Kano, Nassarawa, and Kaduna States. A member of the recent 

staff delegations that visited Kaduna found a high level of concern 

by Sunni Muslim leaders about what they described as an assertive 

Shia presence reportedly supported by Iran. 

Since the 1980s, the Shiite Islamic Movement in Nigeria, or 

IMN, has existed as a state within a state. Despite being a professed nonviolent movement, the IMN has made itself a public nuisance, blocking roads on the days they have processions, thus preventing citizens from accessing medical care in a timely fashion. It 

is for these social and religious reasons why the group is not sympathetic, even in light of what is believed to have occurred last December. 

Although the details of what happened in the town of Zaria appear to be murky, the U.S. Embassy beliefs that Chief of Staff 

Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai was attending a graduation 

ceremony in Zaria during the anticipated IMN religious procession. 

A Nigerian security force deployed to protect Buratai’s route had 

an altercation with IMN members. Claiming that there was an assassination attempt on Burati, the Nigerian military opened fire. 

Again, the exact number of people killed is not known, but this is 

a very serious potential escalation in that region. 

5

I would like to now yield to my very distinguished colleague, Ms. 

Bass, for any opening comments she might have. 

Ms. BASS. Mr. Chairman, thank you for conducting this critical 

and once again timely hearing. 

I welcome the witnesses and look forward to your perspectives on 

the deterioration of peace and security, particularly in northern Nigeria. 

We know that Nigeria as a whole is a vibrant, dynamic country 

aspiring toward democracy, as evidenced by the 2015 elections. And 

as one of your expert witnesses has cited in the past, the country’s 

vibrant private sector, civil society, labor unions, and professional 

associations are essential ingredients for a democratic society. 

Also, Nigeria, with some 250 different ethnicities, is the most 

populous country in sub-Saharan Africa with a population in excess 

of 180 million people. In the United States, Nigerian-Americans 

compose in part a well-educated and entrepreneurial diaspora, and 

Nigerians are known to be some of the most educated immigrants 

that come to the United States. 

Nigeria has long been an important economic ally of the U.S., 

and Abuja is also a critically important recipient of and leading regional actor in the U.S. and regional counterterrorism initiatives. 

However, over the past few years international commentary 

about this regional economic powerhouse has had to address increasingly the murderous attacks by Boko Haram on the impoverished communities of northeast Nigeria, the kidnapping of Chibok 

girls, and many others. I imagine that our colleague Frederica Wilson will probably be here with us today, and she has led the effort 

in the House to fight for the return of the Chibok girls. 

I have been dismayed when I hear of children being used as suicide bombers. And I have to say ‘‘suicide’’ implies that they consented. And to me, I think ‘‘human bombs’’ is a more accurate description of this atrocity. 

All of these crises are exacerbating ethno-religious differences in 

the north and pose strong challenges to the government of President Buhari. His administration must not only contend with the 

terrorist activity of Boko Haram, but must address thoroughly the 

humanitarian plight of the growing population of internally displaced individuals in Nigeria. To sidestep their plight could result 

in further alienating these communities and prompt them to support terrorist activities. 

Again, all of these complex issues must be dealt with impartially, 

succinctly, and swiftly by the Government of Nigeria, mindful always of the delicate ethnic, socioeconomic, and sectarian divide in 

the country. 

Of particular interest to me, and perhaps the witnesses can address, why these issues, notably the longstanding antagonism between the pastoralists and farmers, are coming to a head so violently and at this particular time and what role growing sectarian 

differences play in the situation. 

Again, Mr. Chairman, I look forward to hearing from all of our 

witnesses today regarding the recommended strategic next steps to 

be taken by the United States and the Buhari Government. Thank 

you. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you, Ms. Bass. 

6

Mr. Meadows. 

Mr. MEADOWS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I will be brief. 

But I want to give a little bit of hope in that there are hearings 

that go on time and time and time again, and some would suggest 

that the hearings go on with very little fruit. But I also would like 

to note that a number of hearings at the direction of Chairman 

Smith have not only produced fruit, but produced lasting fruit. 

And so it is your leadership, Chairman Smith, and obviously 

your leadership as well, Ms. Bass, that I applaud. 

Mr. Wolf, I want to say it is so good to see you again. And there 

is no one who has fought more diligently for the rights of those who 

perhaps can’t speak for themselves throughout his career as Frank 

Wolf. And so it is this body who has lost out at your new endeavor, 

but it is certainly the world’s gain, because you continue to fight 

with passion for those that are suffering without regard to personal 

well-being. And so I just want to say thank you for being here. 

But perhaps more telling than that will be the witness that has, 

unfortunately, got to experience a lot of this tragedy that we will 

be talking about here today. I think there will be no more compelling testimony than to actually hear from someone who has seen 

it up close and personal. And for America to act, they must first 

understand and feel the horror and the passion that so many in Nigeria and throughout northern Africa feel when there is persecution that goes on. 

So you have my commitment that not only will this be a hearing, 

but it will be something that we will continue to follow up with on 

a bipartisan manner to try to make sure that results are significant 

and lasting, and ultimately that fear does not reign in the hearts 

of little girls and others in Nigeria. 

And so I want to thank all of the witnesses for being here and 

express my apology, we are actually monitoring this, I have another hearing to go to in about 10 minutes. But we will be monitoring and following up. 

And thank you for your leadership, both of you. 

Mr. SMITH. Mr. Meadows, thank you for your leadership, and 

hopefully you can get back after that other hearing. 

I would like to recognize Mr. Donovan, the gentleman from New 

York. 

Mr. DONOVAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I echo my colleague 

Mr. Meadows’ remarks. And I am going to yield the remainder of 

my time so we give the witnesses more time to speak and testify. 

Thank you. 

Mr. SMITH. I would like to yield to the chairman of the Congressional International Religious Freedom Caucus, Congressman 

Trent Franks of Arizona. 

Mr. FRANKS. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

And thank all of you for being here today. It is an honor for me 

to be here among you. And I also will point out one Frank Wolf 

in the audience. I think there should be a 70-foot bronze statue of 

him out in front of Capitol, because he has been such a warrior, 

as Mr. Meadows spoke so succinctly, for those who don’t have a 

voice, for those who need to be defended but there is no one there 

to defend them. There is nothing more noble than that. 

7

Mr. Chairman, I guess I’d just ask for diplomatic immunity, because Boko Haram has terrorized innocent Nigerians for over a 

decade and clear links were made between the group and other insidious terrorist organizations many years ago. And I was very disappointed in the administration’s response to Boko Haram. Our office was engaged on this issue for a number of years, and when we 

approached Hillary Clinton’s State Department the response was 

excruciatingly slow. They just simply didn’t consider Boko Haram 

at the time a significant terrorist threat and played down our concerns. 

In response to a letter from Members of Congress in 2012 the 

State Department said, ‘‘The religious tension, while real, should 

not be mistaken as the primary source of violence in Nigeria.’’ 

While there are other certain factors contributing to the abhorrent 

violence against innocent men, women and children in Nigeria, Mr. 

Chairman, religious motivation should not be dismissed so callously. 

Boko Haram has since publicly supported the Islamic State, 

which calls for the extermination of Christians and Jews and others who do not conform to their radical ideology. And the State Department also noted support provided to Nigerian’s law enforcement entities to enhance counterterrorism efforts, but what do we 

have to show for those efforts? There has been no real follow-up in 

any way that I know of. 

According to the 2015 Global Terrorism Index, two of the top 

deadliest organizations in the world operate in Nigeria. Boko 

Haram ranked first as the most deadly terrorist organization in 

2014. The Fulani militants, who I am sure we will hear more about 

today, ranked fourth. 

To this end, I guess I just remain, Mr. Chairman, very disappointed that the administration has failed to respond appropriately to this threat posed by Boko Haram and other terrorist organizations. Our outreach and letter of concern happened over a 

year before the Chibok girls were kidnapped. If the response had 

been timely, only God knows whether the tragedy that happened 

there could have been prevented. And I think it is just another disgraceful chapter in the administration’s shameful response to the 

spread of terrorism throughout the world. 

So it is my sincere hope that this country, which has long served 

as an impetus for freedom and justice around the world, will renew 

its moral conviction, and even its political will, to combat Boko 

Haram and other organizations who threaten the peace and security of innocent Nigerians or innocent people anywhere. 

To our panelists, I again want to express my gratitude to each 

of you for your efforts. I look forward to hearing what you have to 

say, but I am in the same situation Mr. Meadows is. That is kind 

of reality around here. I am not going to be able to stay for the 

hearing. 

But I thank all of you for being here. I suppose the hardest part 

that you face is knowing that there are some innocent people out 

there that help will never come for in time. That is a heartbreaker. 

That moves my soul very deeply. That is the hardest part. 

I don’t know how we really deal with that emotionally or otherwise. It should break our hearts, but it should not paralyze us and 

8

prevent us from reaching out and helping out all that that we can. 

And the fact that you are doing that is, I think, a profound honor 

in your own right. So God bless every one of you and thank you. 

And thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the time. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you very much, Mr. Franks. 

I would like to now welcome our distinguished witnesses to the 

panel table, beginning first with Congressman Frank Wolf. As I 

said a few moments ago and I will not repeat all of it, but he is 

a lawmaker with very few equals, in my opinion. Elected the same 

year as Ronald Reagan in 1980, he served 34 years in the U.S. 

House of Representatives. He is now the distinguished senior fellow 

for the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative and the Jerry and Susie 

Wilson chair in religious freedom at Baylor University. 

As I mentioned earlier, he is the author of numerous laws, including and especially the International Religious Freedom Act of 

1998. He has been in refugee camps all over the world, especially 

in Africa, worked on human rights issues with persecuted believers 

in China, Tibet, Romania, Nagorno-Karabakh, Chechnya, Bosnia. 

How many people have gone to Chechnya? A show of hands. Frank 

Wolf has really been in some of the toughest places in the world, 

Bosnia, Kosovo, East Timor, and the Middle East of course. 

We will then hear from Mr. Emmanuel Ogebe, who is an international human rights lawyer specializing in Africa, and he currently serves as special counsel of the Justice for Jos Project. He 

earned the singular distinction of being the youngest law graduate 

in his home country of Nigeria. 

Exiled to the United States after becoming one of Nigeria’s political detainees during the brutal years of military rule, Mr. Ogebe 

has played a role, a key role, in shaping policy in Nigeria’s quest 

for a stable democracy. 

He has testified before this subcommittee previously, has provided great counsel and insight to me, to my staff, and others about 

what is truly going on in Nigeria, particularly as it relates to Boko 

Haram. And he has also been a guest speaker at university campuses across the U.S. and around the world. He has spoken at the 

Geneva Summit, the United Nations, World Bank, Canadian Parliament, and, again, before other parliaments. 

Then we will hear from Sa’a, who was one of the 276 schoolgirls 

who was kidnapped from the government secondary school in 

Chibok by the terrorist group Boko Haram 2 years ago but escaped 

by jumping off a truck. Sa’a has twice escaped from Boko Haram 

attacks on her schools. When Sa’a survived the first attack at her 

previous government secondary school in Bama, her parents decided to move her and enroll her in the Chibok secondary school 

because they thought it would be a safer place to continue her education. 

She currently is attending college in the United States under a 

project by the Education Must Continue Initiative, a charity run by 

victims of the insurgency for victims of the insurgency. Sa’a is a 

pseudonym that she uses for protection. 

Thank you for being here and your willingness to testify. 

We will then hear from Dr. Chris Fomunyoh, who is currently 

serving as the senior associate and regional director for central and 

west Africa at the National Democratic Institute. Dr. Fomunyoh 

9

has organized and advised international election observation missions and designed and supervised country-specific democracy support programs with civic organizations, political parties, and legislative bodies throughout central and west Africa. 

He recently designed and helped launch the African Statesmen 

Initiative, a program aimed at facilitating political transitions in 

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

an adjunct faculty at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies and 

a former adjunct professor of African politics and government at 

Georgetown University. 

Congressman Wolf. 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE FRANK R. WOLF, DISTINGUISHED SENIOR FELLOW, 21ST CENTURY WILBERFORCE 

INITIATIVE 

Mr. WOLF. Thank you, Mr. Smith, for your comments. I appreciate it. 

I want to thank Chairman Smith and the members of the committee for having this hearing today, and particularly thank Mr. 

Smith for his leadership over the many years. I also want to begin 

by saying that these are my personal observations. However, a detailed trip report will be released on June 9 at an event here by 

the 21st Century Wilberforce Group. 

I, along Randel Everett, president of 21st Century Wilberforce 

Initiative, Elijah Brown, executive vice president, and Lou Ann 

Sabatier, director of communications, traveled to Nigeria in late 

February this year. We arranged our own itinerary. We did not 

travel with the U.S. State Department. We traveled to three states 

with representatives from the Stefanos Foundation, a Nigerian 

nonprofit that has worked for 14 years in relief, restoration, and 

rebuilding lives and communities ravaged, ravaged by violence and 

persecution in northern Nigeria. 

We met with representatives from nine states in the north who 

traveled to spend several hours with us, sharing stories and 

documentations of persecution. And much of the time was spent in 

Jos and the surrounding area, often referred to as the Middle Belt. 

We listened, we listened to hundreds of individuals in small villages and remote areas miles off the main roads. We talked to tribal leaders, pastors, mothers and fathers, as well as government officials and our own Embassy personnel. We heard about the pain, 

suffering, and agony that the people in northern and central Nigeria have faced and continue to face. Many of the people we spoke 

to believe the world is not concerned with their problems, and I 

must say I tend to agree. 

As a result, it is clear that the crisis plaguing Nigeria is multifaceted, but one that must be addressed not only by the Nigerian 

Government, but our Government and the international community. 

Corruption. One significant issue is corruption. It is in the government at the Federal level, state level. It is in business. It is in 

the military. One cannot enter the country without corruption raising its insidious head. 

Transparency International ranks Nigeria 136 out of 168 countries. That is the bottom 20 percent. Given their population size 

10

and economic output, this means that a vast number of people have 

to suffer the costs and the injustice of corruption. 

Poverty. Despite the fact that according to the latest available 

data from the World Bank Nigeria is the richest country in Africa, 

yet there is immense poverty. Unemployment is a huge issue. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, it has been increasing 

since 2005 and now stands at or above 20 percent. 

The falling oil prices are hitting the economy broadly. The per- centage of people living in poverty, at less than $1.90 a day, is 53.6 

percent. That is 2009, it is probably much higher. 

Terrorism. According to the 2015 Global Terrorism Index, more 

than half, 51 percent of all global deaths attributed to a terrorist 

group were committed by either Boko Haram or the Islamic State. 

Nigeria has experienced the largest increase in terrorist deaths, 

more than 300 percent from 2014 to 2015, with fatalities at least 

7,512 in 2015. 

Nine of the top 20 most fatal terrorist attacks occurred in Nigeria in 2014. The deadliest terrorist organization in the world, according to the number killed, are Boko Haram, the Islamic State, 

al-Shabaab, and the Fulani herdsmen. 

Boko Haram. Terrorism and violence continue from the wellknown Boko Haram terrorist group, whose name means ‘‘Western 

education is forbidden.’’ According to the Global Terrorism Index 

2015 for the Institute of Economics and Peace at the University 

Maryland, Boko Haram killed 6,664 Nigerians in 2014, more than 

ISIS elsewhere in the world. That makes them the single most 

deadly terrorist organization in the world. You would never know 

it listening or reading the media, but it is a fact. In a recent report 

by Refugees International, they indicate that reportedly 20,000 

have been killed in total as a result of the insurgency. 

In 2015, Boko Haram pledged allegiance to ISIS. This affiliation 

means that Boko Haram is now part of that organization’s declaration of war against both the Nigerian Government and our own 

Government, the American Government. 

Boko Haram attacks villages, conducts drive-by shootings, uses 

young girls as suicide bombers, they target politicians and clerics 

for assassination, focusing on the symbols of Western advancement 

such as schools, hospitals, churches, and mosques. 

While no one has an exact number, thousands of young girls 

have been abducted by Boko Haram. According to the Washington 

Post, young girls and women who have been raped but released by 

Boko Haram face extreme stigmatizing from their communities 

where many label them ‘‘Boko Haram wives’’ and fear that they 

have been radicalized. They are the victims twice. They are victims 

when they are captured and they are victims many times when 

they are released. 

Just last month we commemorated the 2-year anniversary of the 

kidnapping of the Chibok girls. And despite the loud protests in the 

West and the #BringBackOurGirls campaign championed by First 

Lady Michelle Obama and Prime Minister Cameron and many others, it is extremely doubtful that any of the girls have been released. 

One counselor who we met with up in the Jos area spoke, told 

us that the girls who have been captured may never return without 

11

a major concerted effort by the Nigerian Government and the West. 

And when they do return, and I am hopeful and optimistic that 

they will return, they will have been victims of sexual violence, and 

they are oftentimes pregnant and will have been forced to convert 

to Islam. That is what the counselor told us. 

Fulani herdsmen. Unfortunately, Boko Haram is not the only 

violent organization that plagues Nigeria. The Fulani, who I had 

heard very, very little about before visiting Nigeria, the Fulani 

herdsmen are a large tribal grouping that stretches over many 

northwestern African countries and follow migratory grazing patterns. Some of these herdsmen adhere to more radicalized versions 

of Islam, and this is having a significant and devastating impact 

on the predominantly Christian farming communities in the Middle 

Belt. 

The Global Terrorism Index has identified them as the fourth 

most deadly terrorist organization in the world. That means Nigeria has the first and the fourth most dangerous terrorist groups in 

their country. 

While we were in Nigeria, Agatu village was attacked, and I 

know Emmanuel will talk more about that. Two hundred to 300 

were killed over a sustained 2- to 3-day attack. And the attackers 

did not move on, but rather occupied homes within the village. And 

there were reports on the ground that indicated that sophisticated 

resupply systems were used, including, we were told, two helicopters and boats. 

Attacks like this go beyond the settler-herder conflict. There has 

been an obvious increase in violence in 2013 and the Fulani militants killed 63; in 2014, 1,249. 

The IDPs, the internally displaced people. Due to the violence 

from groups like Boko Haram and the Fulani militants, there are 

thousands of internally displaced people scattered around the country. According to recent estimates, there are 2.1 million people who 

are internally displaced and more have fled to neighboring countries. Unofficially, however, we were told there are about 5 million 

who have been displaced. We have been told that 90 percent of the 

IDPs are dispersed among villages and are outside of official camps 

and therefore they are unable to access even the limited government services. 

In the Refugee International report, which I know the committee 

probably has, it is a very powerful report, a senior U.N. official was 

quoted as stating, ‘‘Nigeria is our biggest failure.’’ This aligns with 

the stories we heard over and over on the ground. 

Some recommendations based on the challenges. One, strategic 

geopolitical and national security interests are at stake. Many organizations, including local groups like the Stefanos Foundation 

and an international one such as MercyCorps, are doing the vital 

work. However, much, much, much, much more needs to be done. 

They are barely touching, scratching the surface of what has to be 

done. 

Congress and the U.N. should do everything it can to aid IDP 

camps and support efforts at distribution in novel ways for those 

IDPs who are not, for various reasons, in camps. The types of aid 

should not only include food and medicine, but psychosocial services for the rehabilitation of victims as well as for former members 

12

of Boko Haram who are attempting to reintegrate into the communities. 

We visited prison two different times. They said they would let 

us talk to Boko Haram. Each time we got there we were ready, and 

then they pulled them back. 

Groups like International Justice Mission or Shared Hope, which 

have done an excellent job with regard to counseling and rehabilitation of women and girls, could provide valuable training to 

groups and individuals. I would hope the State Department would 

send IJM and Shared Hope and groups like that over to work with 

the Nigerian Government to help them set it up. We can’t just talk 

about this. The people who are released, they need counseling, and 

I think IJM and Shared Hope could do that. 

Congress should also investigate the connection between ISIS 

and Boko Haram and integrate strategies as appropriate to deal 

with them. It is my understanding that the NSC has internally 

designated Boko Haram as part of ISIS. If this is indeed the case, 

there should be increased funding available for security purposes. 

While I generally support the Leahy amendment, and Senator 

Leahy has been a great person on these issues and I do support 

it, the Nigerian military has serious problems with corruption and 

human rights abuses. I believe that it would be beneficial to find 

every way possible in which the U.S. could provide vital human 

rights training to the Nigerian military and security forces. 

There were constant stories we heard that the military came in, 

the police came in, the people had uniforms. Were they really the 

police? Were they really the military? Did they steal the uniforms? 

But over and over and over and over. 

So human rights training should be included in basic training for 

new recruits and promotional courses for existing soldiers. This is 

critical. 

Special envoy. I believe that a special envoy for Nigeria and the 

Lake Chad district, not just Nigeria, but for the Lake Chad region, 

could be a strategic benefit because many of the problems involve 

Nigeria and the surrounding countries. Such a position could be 

modeled after Senator Danforth, formerly the Special Envoy to 

Sudan, or Knox Thames, who is the Special Advisor for Religion 

Minorities in the Near East and South/Central Asia. 

I understand there is a coordinator on Boko Haram within the 

State Department, and he is a good person. Perhaps this position 

could be elevated to that of a special envoy and expanded to include all terrorism, including the Fulani militants, human rights, 

refugee assistance, counseling, a one-stop, one-place coordinator. 

There are a lot of good people working on these issues within our 

own Government. However, I believe a special envoy would provide 

those seeking assistance a one-stop. We talk to Nigerians, they say 

they come to America, they don’t know where to go. Do they go to 

the State Department? Do they go to USAID? Do they go to DOD? 

Who do they talk to? So I think it would be a one-stop for those 

seeking assistance while also coordinating with the Embassies in 

Nigeria, in Chad, in Cameroon, and Niger on various issues. 

The issue of Boko Haram and the Fulani herdsmen are not localized to Nigeria but transcend the bordering countries. A special 

envoy could help coordinate necessary assistance throughout the 

13

region. There was an April 23 New York Times article where it 

said Boko Haram moves easily across the border. So it is not just 

in one location. 

Military assistance, and I know we are doing much. The U.S. 

Military and other Western nations should use all possible assistance to help the Nigerian Government. We also should have 

churches in the West to be engaged with Nigerian churches, Catholic to Catholic, Baptist to Baptist, Anglican to Anglican, in order to 

help the local congregations. 

Also, the Multinational Joint Task Force consisting of security 

forces from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Benin, they also 

have to have human rights training. 

Lastly, the challenges that face Nigeria are great. However, I believe that the United States and other Western nations have a 

vested interest in confronting one of the worst crises of the current 

day. One of the members on our delegation said Nigeria—and it 

sort of caught—he said Nigeria has been fractured and forgotten. 

And it is my hope—and, Mr. Smith, you have done a great, and 

Ms. Bass, on these issues before—that this hearing will light the 

spark that is needed to elevate this crisis to the place that it deserves. 

And, lastly, I heard the musician, an Irish singer, Bono, the 

other day on television. There are 180 million people in Nigeria. He 

said if Nigeria unravels, or if part of it unravels, he said it is an 

existential threat to Europe. You saw the number in Nigeria? What 

will happen will be. So I think everything that can be done should 

be done. 

Again, thank you, Mr. Smith and Ms. Bass, for this hearing and 

to really kind of shine the light on it. I think it can make a big 

difference. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Wolf follows:]

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Mr. SMITH. Mr. Wolf, thank you so very much for your testimony. 

Mr. Ogebe. 

STATEMENT OF MR. EMMANUEL OGEBE, SPECIAL COUNSEL, 

JUSTICE FOR JOS PROJECT 

Mr. OGEBE. I would like to thank you very much, Chairman 

Smith, for your consistency and leadership on this issue, for traveling to Nigeria to further assess the situation. 

I also want to thank you, Ranking Member Bass, for the breakfast you held recently on this issue, keeping the issue alive. 

I also want to especially thank the honorable Congressman, retired, who has crossed over to our side of the aisle. I have to say 

that it is a great honor to have an old champion on my right and 

also a young champion on my left, Ms. Sa’a, who will be speaking 

here shortly. 

Let me start by saying that last year when I testified before this 

subcommittee last we were discussing what then was the big threat 

in Nigeria. Fortunately, we dodged a missile and peaceful elections 

and a successful transition occurred. That was the good news. 

Today there is a continuing sense of insecurity from three factors 

and actors, and I will start with an update on Boko Haram, which 

is the elephant in the room. 

Mr. Chairman, exactly 6 months after the administration announced the FTO designation of Boko Haram before this subcommittee, Boko Haram abducted 276 girls from a school in 

Chibok. The world took notice, but so also did al-Qaeda, who condemned it. And so also did ISIS, who emulated it and started abducting Yazidi and Christian women in Iraq. Eleven months after 

that, ISIS and Boko Haram established an alliance. 

Mr. Chairman, in June 2014 you visited Nigeria and at that time 

were informed of over 1,000 Christians stranded on Gwoza Mountain, facing starvation and snakebites. By July, we saw on the 

news in the U.S. helicopters dropping supplies to the starving 

Iraqis besieged on the mountaintops, but we never saw the same 

for those in Nigeria. 

Mr. Chairman, a few weeks ago I met a survivor from that 

mountain who just came down in April when Boko Haram attacked 

them there on the mountaintop. Only about 300 of them are left. 

Like the Chibok girls, these people were cut off from our civilization by the terrorists for 2 whole years while the world debated 

what to do. This was the situation before the ISIS alliance and the 

spread of attacks to Niger, Cameroon, and Chad. 

Now, global perception of Boko Haram is determined by the watershed date of April 14, 2014. I call it BC, before Chibok, and AC, 

after Chibok, for illustrative purposes. The worst attack on the 

United Nations are caught in Abuja in the year 2011 BC, before 

Chibok, but the U.N. did not impose sanctions on Boko Haram 

until 2014 AC. So it was the Chibok abductions that actually forced 

them to impose sanctions on Boko Haram, not the fact that Boko 

Haram had bombed the United Nations building several years earlier. This is how significant Chibok is in the annals of Boko Haram. 

With that said, I want to use that as a small case study to show 

how U.S. cooperation, or lack thereof, is happening. 

19

Mr. Chairman, you will recall that at a hearing of this subcommittee in June 2014 you expressed shock that you were the 

first to interview an escaped Chibok schoolgirl 2 months after the 

abduction in spite of the reports of global partners searching for 

the girls. 

Well, 4 months after your statements, in other words 6 months 

A.C., after Chibok, U.S. operatives reached out to interview the 

girls, 6 whole months later, 4 months after you mentioned it in the 

subcommittee hearing. They claim they did not have access to the 

girls in Nigeria. 

In 2015, 1 year later, again 1.6 years after Chibok, Nigerian 

operatives requested the names of the escaped Chibok girls in the 

U.S. From this experience, one is not enthused by the level of cooperation between the U.S. and Nigeria in searching for the missing girls. Rather than intelligence fusion, this seems to me like intelligence confusion. 

Now, the one quick update I would give with regard to what 

Boko Haram is doing is what was mentioned earlier by Ranking 

Member Bass, that these young girls are now being used as human 

bombs, not suicide bombers, and this is considerably the worst 

thing that is happening on the planet—the very notion that someone would abduct your daughter, strap her with bombs, and use 

her to blow up other people’s daughters. Boko Haram has deployed 

over 100 girls since June 2014. 

The second threat, which I call the new elephant in the room, is 

the Fulani herdsmen who perpetrated a massacre in Agatu, Benue 

State, killing hundreds in February and March, and also massacred a community in Enugu State this month. 

Fulani herdsmen have accounted for over 6,000 deaths in 5 

years, equivalent to those killed by Boko Haram last year. They 

have been described as the fourth-deadliest terrorist group in the 

world. But I do not think they are terrorists in the traditional 

sense. They are historically jihadists. Their modus is more local 

jihad than global jihad, unlike Boko Haram, but they are more brutal and have attacked more states in Nigeria than Boko Haram. 

An alliance between them is suspected because in 2012 Boko 

Haram actually claimed responsibility for a herdsmen attack in 

which a Nigerian senator was skilled. This is public information, 

Boko Haram issued a statement claiming. So there is a strong likelihood that there is a linkage. An alliance between them could be 

most deadly because of their ability to operate freely across west 

Africa. 

Nigerians are gravely alarmed at these recent attacks, especially 

as Fulani spokesmen have claimed they have special protection 

under the incumbent President, who is also Fulani. 

In southeast Nigeria, many Igbos who have fled the north because of Boko Haram’s targeted attacks are upset that the Fulani 

herdsmen are attacking them on their own soil, especially after the 

south conceded the Presidency to the north in the last election. 

The Fulani herdsmen are more medieval than Boko Haram and 

there is a pervasive sense in Nigeria that they are now a serious 

national security concern. The U.S. continues to view the herdsmen 

attacks as simply a product of climate change and farmer-herder 

competition for land, notwithstanding that people are killed in 

20

their homes by intruders. The U.S. Commission for International 

Religious Freedom has consistently raised an alarm on this for several years. 

The third threat is the Iranian-backed Shiites led by Sheikh alZakzaky and they have been a dreadful nuisance to communities 

in northwest Nigeria. But they are not terrorists. The reported 

massacre of over 300 Shiites by the Nigerian Army 6 months ago 

is unfortunate as it has the potential to create yet another insurgent group in the country, but this time one with greater capacity 

and with full support of a known state-sponsor of terror. A Boko 

Haram alliance would be catastrophic, but it is intriguing that 

Boko Haram allied with an Iraqi group first before another Nigerian group. 

I should point out that Nigeria confiscated 13 container loads of 

arms sent from Iran to Nigeria. It is debatable whether the arms 

were meant for Boko Haram or for the Shiites. 

Nigeria has detained Sheikh al-Zakzaky for months. The U.S. 

has not pressed these human rights violations as strongly as it did 

the deaths of Boko Haram suspects killed during a jailbreak attack 

on a military barracks under the former President even though this 

is how Boko Haram mutated from an extremist sect to a terrorist 

group. 

I will round up with recommendations. I believe U.S. policy formulation on northern Nigeria should be informed by the terrorist, 

jihadi universe. As Bishop Matthew Kukah stated recently, the 

Government of America must ‘‘take full responsibility for how it 

shapes leadership around the world,’’ arguing that policies and conflicts around the world bear consequences for the people of northern Nigeria. We are suffering the ‘‘collateral damage,’’ he lamented. 

There have been more protests in northern Nigeria against the 

U.S. and Israel than there have been against the Nigerian Government over the years. 

That the world today is facing a clash of civilizations is 

undebatable. Standing by Nigeria as a worthy ally to end the insurgency is critical to regional security. Nigeria has historically 

been a receiver, not an exporter of refugees, and this crisis has reduced its capacity as a regional power and a global player in international peacekeeping, as you referenced earlier. 

Secondly, this Congress has a key to address the humanitarian 

crisis before it deteriorates further by passing a bill to utilize assets forfeited from Nigeria in a victim compensation fund. Funds 

looted abroad by a former NSA were repatriated to Nigeria only to 

be relooted again, allegedly, by the last NSA. 

H.R. 528 would help victims like Habila Adamu, who testified before this subcommittee but remains unemployed and has lost family members since he survived kill shots to his head. The entire assault on Borno, which has been mostly neglected in relief efforts, 

could also benefit from that kind of fund. 

It appears that repentant terrorists appear to be getting more 

personal attention than the victims, and this in itself is a travesty. 

The U.S. Government should press Nigeria to stave the relentless 

bloodshed occasioned by the Fulani herdsmen. The U.N. should categorize Nigeria as a level three humanitarian crisis and the U.S. 

21

and this Congress should recognize Boko Haram’s atrocities as 

genocide. 

I have several other recommendations which you can see on page 

16 of my written testimony, as well as page 18 of my written testimony, and I ask that you kindly enter this in the record. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Ogebe follows:]

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Mr. SMITH. Without objection, so ordered. 

And any extraneous material any of you would like will be made 

a part of the record. 

Mr. OGEBE. I thank you, sir. 

Mr. SMITH. Ms. Sa’a. The floor is yours. 

STATEMENT OF ‘‘SA’A’’, CHIBOK SCHOOLGIRL, EDUCATION 

MUST CONTINUE INITIATIVE 

SA’A. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Two years ago the terrorist group Boko Haram attacked my 

school at Chibok when we were all sleeping at night. They were 

shooting guns and yelling ‘‘Allahu Akbar.’’ They asked, where are 

the boys? They also asked where the food is. They made us move 

from where we were staying to the class area. They started burning everything, our clothes, our books, our classrooms, and everything in our school. Then they made us walk far away from the 

school and forced us to enter a truck. If we did not they are going 

to shoot all of us. 

We were all scared so we entered the truck. When we were all 

riding through the forest, I had this feeling that I should try and 

escape because I don’t know where I am going and neither do my 

parents. We didn’t know. I said to one of my friends that I am 

going to jump out of the truck and escape. She said, ‘‘Okay,’’ she 

is going to jump out with me. 

I jumped out first and she jumped out after me. We hid in the 

forest while they passed. It was very dark. We didn’t know where 

we are. My friend hurt both of her legs from jumping out of the 

truck. She couldn’t walk. She cried. She said to me that I should 

go home and let her die in the forest. I said, ‘‘No, if we are going 

to die, we are going to die together. I am not going to leave you 

here.’’

I decided to go and look for help. I was going not far from where 

we slept. I found a Fulani man, a shepherd. I asked him for help 

but, he said, ‘‘No.’’ So I tried and convince him. Then he did help 

us. He put my friend on his bicycle and took us to Chibok, and that 

is how we got home. 

After we escaped, Mr. Emmanuel Ogebe with the Justice for Jos 

Project, with Congressman Chairman Chris Smith, came to Nigeria 

to find out what happened. They met my friend who escaped with 

me and heard our story. 

Mr. Emmanuel Ogebe found a school for her to study in the U.S. 

She told them if they giving her a scholarship to come to study, she 

would like me to come too because I was the one who helped her. 

My friend told me about the opportunity, but I told her that I am 

not coming to school because of what happened. 

That was the second attack that both of us had been through. 

When Boko Haram kidnapped us they asked, ‘‘Why are you at 

school?’’ They said, we should all be married. They said that we 

should not go to school again or they will find us. I felt like if I 

go to school again they will kidnap us wherever we are. 

My brothers and friends encouraged me that I should not let 

Boko Haram stop me from getting an education, I should come and 

study. I am glad I listened to them and I’m here today. I started 

college in January under a project by the Education Must Continue 

56

Initiative, www.emcinitiative.org. It is run by the victims of the insurgency for victims of the insurgency which has helped me and 

about 3,000 other IDP kids to go to school. 

I have learned a lot since I came to the U.S. I went to the National Archives and I saw the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. I even saw a version of the Magna Carta. I 

learned that the people who wrote those documents have faced 

hard times through the years, but they didn’t give up, and hope 

and freedom won. 

When I heard Patrick Henry said, ‘‘Give me liberty or give me 

death,’’ I realized that was exactly how I felt when I had to decide 

about jumping out of the truck to escape from Boko Haram. 

Here in the U.S., I stood under the Capitol dome and looked up 

at the statute on the top called Armed Freedom and realized that 

freedom has to have strength protecting it. 

I want to study medicine. I want to help Nigeria, but will it be 

safe? I have twice escaped Boko Haram attacks on my schools, but 

many have not. Many live in fear every day. Thanks to God, I am 

safely here in the U.S. and doing well in my studies, but I am worried about my family in Nigeria. People ask me if it will be safe 

for me to return to Nigeria. I ask: Is it safe for everyone in the 

northern Nigeria? I lost my dad months ago. It wasn’t the terrorism but the effects of the terrorism. 

I urge everyone who hears or reads this statement who has any 

power to help Nigeria to please help and also help some of my 

Chibok classmates who didn’t get the opportunity that I have today 

to be in school safely. I want them to be able to go to school too, 

especially my Chibok classmates and my friend Hauwa John, who 

has been denied a visa at the American Embassy in Nigeria three 

times. 

When I saw the video of some of my missing classmates and recognized some of their faces, I cried with tears of joy, thanking God 

for their lives. Seeing them has given me courage to tell the world 

that we should not lose hope. 

I have had dreams. Some of the dreams were scary, but now my 

dreams are good. I have a dream of a safe Nigeria, a Nigeria where 

girls can go to school without fear of being kidnapped; a Nigeria 

where girls like me are not made into suicide bombers and little 

boys are not routinely stolen and turned into terrorists; a Nigeria 

where, if even the worst happens and children were stolen, every 

effort is made for their swift rescue, and those who can help will 

help, and those who can help will speak for those who cannot speak 

for themselves. I dream and pray for freedom, safety, and peace to 

win in Nigeria. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Sa’a follows:]

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Mr. SMITH. Thank you so very much for your powerful words and 

powerful inspiration and your powerful witness to faith, character, 

and courage. It truly astonishing. Thank you so much. 

Dr. Fomunyoh. 

STATEMENT OF CHRISTOPHER FOMUNYOH, PH.D., SENIOR ASSOCIATE AND REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR CENTRAL AND 

WEST AFRICA, NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTE 

Mr. FOMUNYOH. Thank you, Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Ms. Bass. Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, on 

behalf of the National Democratic Institute, NDI, I appreciate this 

opportunity to discuss current security challenges and threats in 

northern Nigeria. This is a summary of my written testimony, and 

I request that it be made part of the record. 

Mr. SMITH. Without objection, so ordered. 

Mr. FOMUNYOH. Since Nigeria’s 1999 transition from military to 

civilian rule, NDI has worked closely with Nigerian legislators, political party leaders, and civil society activists to support democratic institutions and practices in the country. With funding from 

the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. 

Department of State, the National Endowment for Democracy 

(NED), the Ford Foundation, and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), NDI’s work has helped to support 

Nigerian efforts to advance democratic governance and electoral 

processes that reflect the will of the people. 

In May 2015, Nigeria’s newly elected President, President 

Muhammadu Buhari took office following the elections that saw 

the country’s first peaceful transfer of power from one political 

party to another. President Buhari and his government inherited 

several major economic and security challenges, particularly in the 

country’s northern states, where approximately 40,000 people have 

been killed by violence between 2011 and 2015. The region has experienced political and economic marginalization, unbalanced development, corruption, and poor delivery of public services. Northeast Nigeria has also borne the brunt of the ongoing surge of violent extremism. 

Boko Haram, a group that promotes a fundamentalist religious 

ideology, has cost nearly 15,000 deaths since 2009. Moreover, more 

than 2.2 million Nigerians are internally displaced with approximately 200,000 others now refugees in neighboring countries. 

Also, the vast majority of approximately 5.4 million people that 

need emergency food assistance across the Lake Chad Basin region 

are Nigerian, as Boko Haram-related violence has divested infrastructure and disrupted economic activity. Human Rights Watch 

estimates that over 2,000 schools in northern Nigeria and the Lake 

Chad Basin countries of Cameroon, Chad, and Niger have closed or 

been destroyed by the Boko Haram insurgency. 

In March 2015, Boko Haram pledged allegiance to the Islamic 

State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS, declaring itself the Islamic State’s 

West Africa Province. Besides the Boko Haram crisis in the northeast, intercommunal conflicts between agrarian and pastoralist 

communities have cost 6,000 deaths since 2011, about 600 of which 

have occurred since the beginning of this year. A 2015 report by 

Mercy Corps, a U.S.-based organization, found that violence has 

61

contributed to negative economic growth and that Nigeria could 

gain approximately $13.7 billion a year in macroeconomic activity 

in the four most affected states because of the agrarian-pastoralist 

conflict. The communities most affected are northern and central 

Nigeria and the Middle Belt, stretching from Kwara and Niger 

States in the west to Adamawa State in the east. Recently, intercommunal skirmishes have occurred in the country’s southeast 

zone, underscoring the national ramifications of simmering tensions and violence. 

In my full statement, I trace the origins and consequences of the 

conflicts and offer a series of recommendations for consideration by 

both Nigeria and the international community, among which they 

need to expedite the creation of a comprehensive development 

agency for northeast Nigeria that could prioritize long-term economic development, review the legal framework on indigenization 

and access to land, introduce stronger citizen-centered approaches 

to state and local governments, invest in further professionalization 

of security services, support rehabilitation and resiliency of impacted communities and individuals, promote women and youth as 

agents of peace, and enhance educational opportunities, particularly for girls. 

Despite its challenges, Nigeria has in the past proven its resilience. By using its public resources wisely and improving governance at the local, state, and Federal levels, the leaders of Africa’s 

largest economy and most populous country can still deliver on the 

promise of democracy and the dividends that many Nigerians expect of their government, especially in the northern regions of the 

country. More inclusive and responsive governance, especially at 

the local level, would help sustain for the long-term the military 

gains against Boko Haram and ongoing efforts to tackle terrorism 

and skirmishes that impact negatively on citizens’ well-being and 

undermine national cohesion. 

Since the peaceful and credible Nigerian elections of March 2015, 

the international community has more forcefully expressed its opposition of Nigerian efforts to tackle forthrightly corruption, insecurity, and economic development. The international community 

should redouble its support through greater and more robust partnerships with Nigerians at the subnational levels, directly in the 

northern states and local government areas most impacted by terrorist-related and/or criminal violence. Direct assistance to locally 

based institutions and social citizen-led initiatives would have 

greater impact and likelihood to be sustainable over the long term. 

In addition to security and other forms of material assistance, the 

international community should prioritize human development expertise that can address the trauma that the violence of the last 

few years has inflicted on youth, women, girls, and other underprivileged segments of society in northern Nigeria. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Fomunyoh follows:]

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Mr. SMITH. Doctor, thank you so very much for your testimony 

and your insights and recommendations. 

We expect a series of votes at 3:45, so what I thought is that 

each of us who have questions, that we ask our questions, and if 

there is more time and if some can stay after the votes, we could 

reconvene the hearing if that would be acceptable to you. But I 

have got to be aware of your time as well. 

So I will just throw out a few couple of questions and yield to 

my good friend Ms. Bass. And take the questions you would like, 

and as best you can, please answer them. 

On the IDPs, doctor, you mentioned 2.2 million IDPs, 200,000 

refugees. Every trip I make there, every conversation with the administration is, are we doing enough to help them? When Mr. 

Ogebe, took us to an IDP camp—it was really a motel—in Jos, 

where we met this unbelievably tremendous man who had been 

shot by Boko Haram, would not renounce his faith in Christ, and 

then survived. He was in the IDP camp and told his story. And 

then we brought him over here for testimony. The question is, are 

we doing enough for this group of people? 

Secondly, on the military, when we kept hearing how the Leahy 

law was the obstacle, we convened a hearing of this subcommittee, 

and the administration said that at least half or more of all of the 

military in Nigeria could be properly vetted pursuant to the Leahy 

amendment and get the specialized training that they need. Are 

you agreeable? Do you believe we are doing enough to train vetted, 

non-human-rights-abusers in the best military tactics, as well as 

with the kind of weaponry and capabilities, like night-vision goggles, that they would need? 

And, finally, the special envoy idea of Mr. Wolf, you championed 

that for the Middle East, which is now up and running. You did 

it for Darfur, and that took years, as we all recall, but it made a 

difference. I am wondering, that is something we might look to do 

a bill on, or maybe we could just admonish the administration to 

create it administratively, which they certainly have the ability to 

do. 

And, Mr. Ogebe, you mentioned the Chibok schoolgirl, as did 

Sa’a, who can’t get a visa. That is outrageous. We need to follow 

up on that and perhaps others who are also being disallowed entry 

into the United States. 

Ms. Bass. 

Ms. BASS. Well, first of all, thank you all for your testimony. 

And I agree with my colleague here: We would like to do everything that we can in terms of a visa for this one person but also 

any other individuals. 

And I just wonder, Sa’a, to the extent that you are in contact, 

one, how is your family doing there? Are you in contact with any 

of the other girls who escaped? And maybe you can answer that. 

Mr. SMITH. Any other questions that you have? 

Ms. BASS. No, and I will yield to my colleague here, Ms. Wilson. 

Ms. WILSON. Yes, that is a good question. That is a question that 

I would like to hear the answer also. 

Also, about the people who are displaced from their homes, is 

anything being done to find housing for them? Also, I don’t know 

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committee, about the funds, the confiscated funds from Nigeria, 

that can be used to help some of these internally displaced persons. 

Maybe Chairman Smith would want to give us some insight on 

what we are doing moving toward that. 

Mr. SMITH. I don’t think we are doing enough, number one. 

Ms. WILSON. We are not doing enough. 

Mr. SMITH. At previous hearings, I asked that there be established a victims’ compensation fund. 

Ms. WILSON. Yes. 

Mr. SMITH. And that could be done by the government, their government as well as ours working in tandem, and the prototype for 

it would be what we did for the 9/11 victims. And that victims’ 

compensation fund so positively impacted many of my own constituents who lost loved ones and jobs, obviously, through 9/11. But 

not enough is being done. 

Ms. WILSON. Not enough. And it appears as if some genocide has 

taken place. And it seems like there is going to be a whole generation of children who are not being educated because the schools are 

being destroyed. There are 3,000 schools that Boko Haram has destroyed. And I am just concerned about, it is almost as if there is 

a fence of apartheid that has been put around, erected around Nigeria and the other neighboring countries, and it is almost as if the 

world is saying: Leave them there. It is Africans killing Africans, 

so why should we bother? 

And then when the New York Times and the Washington Post 

puts in the headline that Boko Haram is the most deadly terrorist 

organization in the world and they have killed more people than 

ISIS or any other terrorist organization, and then it just fades 

away. This is mind-boggling to me. And I wonder in my heart and 

soul what, Chairman Smith and the subcommittee, what should we 

be doing? What can we do as a country? We can’t just pretend that 

it is not happening and that this fence of apartheid is there. It 

takes us back many years when we had to go through this with 

South Africa. So I am just wondering: Do we need to start a revolution? Do we need to march to the White House? Do we need to 

march to Nigeria? What is it do you think we can do, Sheila, all 

of us, as a Congress? Because everyone is concerned. It is not just 

us. It is so many people. And we realize that when we do the red 

Wednesdays, and when we have the press conference and we have 

the hearings, Mr. Wolf, and all of you should see us. So it is still 

the same. So that is why I came today and that is my question. 

Mr. SMITH. Well, I will yield to my good friend and colleague, Mr. 

Donovan, in a second, but it has been my observation over 36 years 

as a Member of Congress that this is what we do everywhere. 

When the Balkans were under siege by Serbia, we fiddled. We said: 

It is not our problem; it is Europe’s problem. They said: It is not 

our problem. And hundreds of thousands of people died. 

On the Armenians, obviously, they said that 100 years ago, almost to the year, during the Armenian genocide when everybody 

looked askance and they still don’t recognize it in many parts of 

the world, including in the United States Government. 

I think it is gross indifference. There might be a tinge of racism 

in there. I don’t know that, but it seems every continent has it, and 

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we look the other way. That doesn’t mean that we need military 

intervention 24/7——

Ms. WILSON. Right. 

Mr. SMITH [continuing]. But the Nigerians have a very capable 

military. Their soldiers are outstanding. I mentioned that in my 

opening that they are peacekeepers. They just need a special skill 

set that we learned over time that needs to be imparted to them. 

And we have been reluctant, citing the Leahy amendment, falsely, 

I believe, as the impediment. 

So but I think what you have done, what Karen Bass and all of 

us have tried to do is just keep it front and center. 

We had a hearing yesterday on the crackdown in Vietnam, which 

is profound. And I had the wife of a dissident that I met in 2005 

who got arrested again and is probably being tortured. The President is going there. We begged the President to ask that Nguyen 

Van Dai be released and the other 180 or so political prisoners in 

Vietnam. We just need to make these priorities. And so I take your 

point and thank you for keeping——

Ms. WILSON. Thank you. 

Mr. SMITH [continuing]. The girls front and center 24/7. 

Mr. Donovan. 

Mr. DONOVAN. Thank you, Chairman. 

I just wanted to know if anyone knew an update on our efforts 

to find the remaining girls and if you could tell us what we are 

doing in those efforts. 

And, also, I am on the Committee on Homeland Security, so one 

of the things that we do when we talk about terrorist groups is try 

to measure the number of members of the group. Do we have any 

idea of the size of Boko Haram, their leadership, and the territories 

in which their strongholds are, where their leadership works out 

of? 

So those are most of my questions, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH. Ms. Jackson Lee. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. I am going to thank, Mr. Chairman, you and 

your ranking member for the courtesies of extending to those of us 

who have joined and have been joined at the hip on this issue of 

Boko Haram. And I think it has been 2 years that Congresswoman 

Wilson and I have been joined at the hip going from one ocean to 

the next on this issue. And I thank you so very much for what you 

are doing. 

Mr. Chairman, if I might, I have H.R. 528, which I would like 

to bring to the committee’s attention, and whether we could have 

a hearing. It is Victims of Terror Protection Act, and it deals with 

the Abacha loot, which the DOJ has, and I, frankly, believe they 

can begin to utilize that money ASAP. Maybe a hearing would be 

appropriate, and I would like to share that with you. I think you 

reviewed it and supported it, and so I would like to do that. 

And one of my questions is going to be, how desperately this relief is needed to have—and I am sure with the wonderful witnesses 

that we have had from our Chibok girl, how should I say it, leader, 

champion for the other girls, I know she has told the story, but I 

would like to hear that again or hear it maybe for the first time, 

because when we were in Nigeria 2 years ago and when I heard 

you being there recently, families were still in pain. They are still 

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in limbo. Some are just surviving with their young girls missing, 

and maybe they have lost. Certainly, Boko Haram have killed—and 

I want to make this point, and maybe it was already made—Muslims, Christians, and others. They have killed and burned mosques 

and churches and homes and schools, and they also have recruited. 

So if I could, under this relief fund, find out how desperately it is 

in need. 

And then a second question, if I could hear about the recruitment. What could we do to stem the tide of recruitment of young 

boys alongside—the overall question is what we can do to bring the 

girls back, but I know there are broken families that are there. If 

we could do that. 

And then to Congressman Wolf, thank you so very much. I would 

like to join on the question of legislation dealing with the special 

envoy. We have dealt with envoys in South Sudan, but we have 

had them in other areas as well as in the Lake Chad area. You, 

Mr.—I want to still call you Mr. Chairman—Mr. Wolf, knew when 

the Africa Command was done and the appropriations that were 

done in the Africa Command may be in combination of a discussion 

that you had that I would like to ask about how much value you 

think an envoy would bring, but besides the Leahy amendment, 

just what we might do. We have an African Command. When I was 

there, they were eager. They were doing technical assistance. 

Maybe you saw them doing the same thing. And that was technical 

assistance because they were eager to help bring the girls back, 

and this was in the early weeks and days that Congresswoman 

Wilson and Congresswoman Frankel and I were there and Congressman Chabot, I believe, was there. They were eager. They were 

in meetings. They were saying: We are almost there. 

And so maybe you can help us understand that. This is not the 

Committee on Armed Services, but you can have us understand 

what that might do if we could ramp that team up beyond where 

they are today. I understand they are advising, but the growth 

around Chad, Niger, and other areas, I would be interested in 

hearing back. 

I yield back, Mr. Chairman, thank you. 

Mr. WOLF. I will be really brief. One, the IDPs are not getting 

assistance, and the camps are some of the worst camps that I have 

seen. 

Secondly, on the training of the military and police, it is training 

both there is an awareness of it but not the compliance, and so 

there needs to be in-depth. We were in villages. They said the military came in and fired; the police came in and fired. Did they capture the uniforms? I don’t know. But awareness, but also compliance. 

Thirdly, on the special envoy, when Danforth spoke, it was all together. In those days, you had Kenya involved. You had Uganda 

involved. You had Eritrea briefly involved, aiding John Garang, 

and you had Ethiopia involved. One person, and it was a one-stop 

office, and Andrew Natsios, so you had a place to go. The President 

had one person to talk to. This is not meant as criticism of the people that are working on this. But that process, so to have a special 

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ple—they are victims twice: When they are captured and when 

they are released. Yeah, so there needs to be a one stop, and then 

everyone knows. The press knows that in one office, that one person speaks. So I think a special envoy, the right person, but again, 

no criticism, this is not meant to say that is wrong. It could really 

be to elevate that, could really be—otherwise, what are you going 

to do? What? 

And then you have a military person, and they can speak to the 

military. Our military are good. I believe, how did the helicopters 

come in without our people not seeing it? How did boats come 

across the river without our people not seeing it? 

So, yes, there is more, but you have to—it is not covered by the 

media the way it should. And yes, this is a very important issue, 

but more for the IDPs, more training and a special envoy, I think 

the right person could make all of the difference. 

And, lastly, the families, the families, we did not talk to. We 

talked to the counselors who counselled the families. I think she 

can better say. But the counselors said the families were hopeful. 

They saw all of this hashtag. Now, they are disappointed. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Despair is settling in. 

Mr. OGEBE. Yes, sir. With regard to the refugees, in Cameroon, 

the camp that had 2,000 people now has 60,000 people. And so 500 

a week have been coming in, and there are still people outside 

waiting to get in. But for my current report, what I learned is they 

now have food. When there were 2,000, there was no food in the 

camp, but now, the U.N. is able to provide them. We understand 

some of that is through U.S. assistance. 

Now, that said, the IDP situation in Nigeria is very bad. We 

have the whole southern border. There are not more than two IDP 

counselors in the entire half of the state. So when we had the start 

of the school for IDP kids, 2,000 kids enrolled in 1 week. That is 

how bad the situation is. The kids have been there 4 years; no 

school. They trek miles just to come to that one school. So there 

is much to be done. 

Mr. SMITH. Is it the money? 

Mr. OGEBE. Well, sir, we have been trying to find out why the 

southern half of that state is not being taken care of. And it is part 

of, we suspect, the religious discrimination that systematically occurs in that state, because that half is not from the right religion. 

So we have related this issue with the Government of Nigeria, and 

we don’t know what the response will be. 

I thought you had a question. 

SA’A. You asked if I am in touch with my family. I am always 

in touch with my family and some of my classmates that escaped 

too. Some of them are in school in Nigeria, while some of them got 

married. Some of them got pregnant, which I think because they 

were scared to go to school because it is not safe there in Nigeria. 

So they don’t want to go to school. And so some of them who think 

like they want to go to school, they were in school in Nigeria, while 

some of them got married. Thank you. 

Ms. BASS. Thank you. 

Mr. FOMUNYOH. Mr. Chairman, on your question on the IDPs, I 

will agree this is a very serious issue. Because of the 2.2 million 

internally displaced persons, only 8 percent are in camps and 

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under conditions that could use a lot of help. And so we have the 

other 92 percent of internally displaced persons that are spread in 

communities, in families, and nobody seems to be tracking them. 

And so that is the first issue with regard to IDPs. There is also a 

question of identifying who is in those camps and the concerns that 

some of the former elements of Boko Haram, especially now that 

they are on the run, could infiltrate the camps and use the camps 

as staging ground for other atrocities. There have been reports of 

people arrested in the refugee camp that a number of them fled to 

in Cameroon who were identified with Boko Haram. 

On the question of the military, of course, I couldn’t be competent to talk about that, but my understanding is that there are 

currently two battalions that are being trained with technical assistance from the U.S. and that human rights has been incorporated into the curriculum. But, of course, I am sure other people 

are more qualified to discuss that issue with you, Mr. Chairman. 

The question about the generational handicap. That is really the 

concern that many of us have with regards to Nigeria, because we 

now are coming up to a decade since Boko Haram began these 

atrocities. And so we have a decade of young people who have not 

been able to go to school. I did mention the fact that 2,000 schools 

have been closed or destroyed in the course of this conflict. And so 

you have a whole generation that is coming of age that has not had 

basic secondary education. And without that, that is going to short 

access for them in terms of higher education. If you haven’t had 

secondary education, you can’t go to the university, which therefore 

means that they are not going to be able to have gainful employment. They are not going to be able to have good jobs. And so if 

you fast forward in the next 10 years, this vast majority of the segment of young people would be without access to gainful employment. And so, in some ways, you almost would think that, even if 

Boko Haram is defeated militarily, if all the concrete steps are not 

taken to provide avenues and opportunities for this generation of 

young people who have been starved of the possibility of gaining 

education, then we are probably just resolving one issue today and 

the problem will resurface in another 5 or 10 years. 

The last thing I would want to talk about is the idea of a special 

envoy. Before coming to the hearings, I hadn’t really thought 

through the issue. But I want to draw some inspiration in terms 

of the military gains that have been made against Boko Haram in 

recent months. The fact that the multinational force being stood 

up, has helped tackle this issue with the involvement of other countries in the subregion. And if that has worked from a military perspective, I think the rehabilitation and reconstruction of northeastern Nigeria would require a multinational approach and sometimes having a one-stop shop and someone who can centralize all 

of these issues, because there will be people coming from Chad, 

from Cameroon, from Niger with similar issues, would facilitate the 

U.S.’s ability to be able to lend some weight in the reconstruction 

and rehabilitation of northeastern Nigeria. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you. 

We are almost out of time, but, Congressman Wolf and both of 

you, thank you for the encouragement. We will put together a draft 

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ministration can do this without any bill whatsoever. But there 

might be pushback. Sometimes there is on something like this. So 

thank you for the idea. And I think it will help provide a focus that 

may be lacking to some degree, particularly on the humanitarian 

side with IDPs. And as both of you have said, the services and help 

just simply are not there. 

You know, Buhari, when he got elected, there were high expectations that things would change. There is a multinational force. 

There is a taking-it-to-them mentality that did not exist previously. 

And I am wondering if those expectations are ebbing, waning, or 

is there still a significant hope that Boko Haram can be defeated 

and, hopefully, God willing, the Chibok girls and other girls that 

have been abducted so cruelly, return to their families? 

And can I just add, because we only have—and anything else my 

distinguished colleagues might want to say—the use of the churches and mosques in bringing the women back, are they being employed in a way that is effective? Because there was a great deal 

of love in those churches and what I took away from our trip to 

Jos is how well the imam and Archbishop Kaigama worked together, Muslims, Catholics, other Christians working across those 

lines. It was extraordinary. 

Mr. OGEBE. Yes, sir. Well, I think my response to that is that we 

certainly need to see more humanitarian responses that will stave 

off a generational conflict because that is what we see brewing, as 

the gentleman alluded to. 

But let me just say for the record that Boko Haram has attacked 

citizens of different countries. They have killed citizens of over 15 

countries, and they have attacked citizens of the U.S. as well. But 

to this date, the State Department has not admitted that Boko 

Haram has done so. And that is part of why we feel there isn’t sufficient transparency and political will to push this issue as far as 

it needs to go. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you so much. 

We will act on your recommendations. They have been excellent 

and incisive. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Just very quickly, for another time, the recruitment issue is very important. Mr. Chairman, I would like to—

I am not on the subcommittee, but I would like to work with you 

on the envoy, if I may. My staff will be in touch. Thank you. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you. The hearing is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 4:05 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] 

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A P P E N D I X 

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MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD BY THE HONORABLE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, 

A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, AND CHAIRMAN, 

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


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