Statement of Senator Coons on Status of Kidnapped Nigerian Schoolgirls

Statement

U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, issued the following statement Monday following remarks given by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on the status of 234 female students abducted by terrorist group Boko Haram in northern Nigeria on April 14. The group's leader has announced that the girls are now being sold into marriages.

"It is inexcusable that it took almost three weeks for President Jonathan to make a commitment to return the schoolgirls to their homes. I am gravely disappointed with the lack of urgency and alarm with which President Jonathan approached this issue, and disturbed that the Nigerian military does not seem to know where the girls have been taken. My heart breaks for the families who have suffered without necessary support from their government, and I implore President Jonathan to do more to combat Boko Haram and ensure the girls' immediate and safe return.

"The world has heard the anguish of the Nigerian people, including mothers from across the country, responding to this horrific event. The U.S. stands ready to assist the Nigerian government in locating the girls and the perpetrators, and has offered to do everything possible to bring them home. President Jonathan should accept this assistance immediately, and apply a degree of urgency to this search with the help of U.S. experts. It is incumbent on the Nigerian government to respond in an effective manner to ongoing acts of terror within its borders.

"It has taken far too long for the Nigerian government to effectively combat the threat presented by Boko Haram. Thousands of people have been killed in increasingly sophisticated attacks on civilians, government, and police installations over the last three years. Boko Haram believes that children should not receive "Western' education, and its attacks in northern Nigeria have contributed to literacy rates in the region of less than half those elsewhere in the country. These abductions are just the latest atrocity committed by Boko Haram, which was designated by the U.S. as a terrorist group in November.

"President Jonathan must now do more to exercise leadership worthy of his office and bridge the persistent geographic, sectarian, and economic divides between the North and South to address the root causes of Boko Haram's support. This includes improving good governance so that all citizens can benefit from a more effective and responsive government, including improved policing and judicial capacities, which will protect citizens and hold perpetrators of violence accountable."

Senator Coons chaired a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs in March 2012 that looked at the rapidly increasing threat of Boko Haram and focused on the economic challenges undermining Nigeria's domestic security. Senator Coons' opening statement is available here.

Senator Coons was one of six senators to introduce a bipartisan resolution in the Senate last week condemning the schoolgirls' abduction.

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