In Partnering With Nigeria’s Abusive Military, the U.S. Is Giving Boko Haram a Lifeline

In Partnering With Nigeria’s Abusive Military, the U.S. Is Giving Boko Haram a Lifeline
Nigerian soldiers during the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari, Abuja, May 29, 2015 (AP photo by Sunday Alamba). Buhari has tried to cultivate the image of a military man who can successfully take the fight to Boko Haram.

From arbitrary arrests to extrajudicial killings, reports of abuses committed by Nigerian soldiers fighting Boko Haram are legion. These rough tactics undermine the counterinsurgency effort by alienating civilians. So why does the Trump administration seem intent on continuing bilateral military support?

Early one Friday morning this past August, the United Nations compound and guesthouse in Maiduguri, the largest city in northeast Nigeria, was targeted in a raid.

For several hours after the armed intruders arrived, they were prevented from crossing the gate of the facility, where officials help coordinate humanitarian assistance programs for populations affected by the ongoing violence carried out by the militant group Boko Haram. Eventually, though, after the attackers cut the lock on the compound gate and beat a security guard, U.N. officials had little choice but to let them in.

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