US President Donald Trump has called on Nigeria to remove its trade barriers, saying America is "owed that" on account of providing the West African country with more than $1bn in foreign aid each year.

Trump, speaking on Monday at a joint press conference with Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari in Washington, DC, said the US will invest substantially in Nigeria if Buhari is able to create a more "level playing field" on trade.

Trump's comments come ahead of a meeting between the pair, during which they are expected to discuss a range of issues, including security.

"We have many things that we do together, as you know, probably, especially on terrorism," Trump said.

"We also have a very big trade deal that we're working on for military equipment - helicopters and the like."

Buhari, who is the first leader from sub-Saharan Africa to visit the White House since Trump took office more than a year ago, said he is thankful for US support in his government's fight against Boko Haram, the armed group.

"We are even more grateful for the physical presence of the United States military [inaudible] that are going to our institutions in Nigeria, and train them and go to the front, in the northeast, to see how they are performing, as an example of the training given to them," Buhari said.

"The commitment of the United States to get rid of terrorism across the world, we have firsthand experience of that, and we are very grateful for it."

Buhari, who came into office promising to defeat Boko Haram has just a year left of his first term. But the fighters still pose a significant threat to Nigeria, as attacks in the northeast of the country continue to take place.

Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris, reporting from Nigeria's capital, Abuja, said Buhari will seek to reach an agreement on acquiring military hardware from the US which can be used to battle against Boko Haram during his talks with Trump.

The meeting between the pair marks the second time Buhari has sat down with a US president since coming to office three years ago, following talks with Barack Obama in 2015.

The talks are taking place at a time when both the US and China are looking to strengthen financial relations with Africa.</s>
• Praises Nigerian president on security, anti-graft war, says he would like to visit Nigeria
• Buhari blames killings on Libyan militia, says he can’t tell US what to do on low crude imports
• Both countries agree on repatriation of $500m stolen funds

Tokunbo Adedoja in Washington, Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja, Eromosele Abiodun and Obinna Chima in Lagos

United States President Donald Trump played host to President Muhammadu Buhari at the White House Monday, telling the Nigerian president that the persistent wanton killings of Christians in Nigeria was a serious problem, which must not be allowed to continue.

Buhari, who arrived Washington on Sunday for a four-day visit to the U.S., was received by Trump at midday at the White House and ushered into the Oval Office, where both leaders exchanged pleasantries before proceeding to a closed-door meeting for talks bordering on the war against global terrorism and trade.

Buhari was the first leader from sub-Saharan Africa to visit Trump when he arrived at the White House. As they opened discussions in the Oval Office, Trump said it was important to meet face-to-face, “especially on terrorism and terrorism-related” issues.

“We have a very big trade deal we’re working on for military equipment, helicopters and the like,” Trump added.

Trump also told Buhari that the protracted killings of Christians in the country was unacceptable and required working very hard to put paid to it, adding that having met Buhari before, a great relationship was being developed.

“We had met before, developing great relationship. We look forward to our discussions today (yesterday). They are very important but again, especially as it relates to terrorism. That is terrorism here and terrorism all over the world.

“It’s a hot bird and we are going to be stopping them. Also, we have had a very serious problem with Christians who are being murdered, killed in Nigeria. We are going to be working on that problem, and working on that problem very, very hard because we can’t allow that to happen. Mr. President thank you for being here, thank you,” Trump said while receiving Buhari.

Responding, Buhari thanked the U.S. President for inviting him. He also thanked him for agreeing to sell 12 Tucano aircraft to Nigeria and expressed further appreciation to Trump for the physical involvement of the U.S. military in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria through training of Nigerian forces.

Buhari blamed the heinous killings being perpetrated by Fulani herdsmen on the movement of militants from Libya following the death of its former leader, Muammar Gaddafi, saying the militants had proficient skills in shooting and killing.

He said whereas herdsmen in Nigeria were hitherto known for carrying only sticks, and machetes to cut grass for their herds, they are now armed with AK47 rifles, explaining that efforts were being made to stop cross-border movement and check the proliferation of arms in the West African sub-region.

Furthermore, he said the effective operations of the U.S., which he noted had largely incapacitated ISIS, had also helped to weaken Boko Haram which had pledged its loyalty to ISIS.

“Thank you Mr. President for inviting me. It’s a great honour. I am very grateful for it. Certainly, security is the main issue. We are very grateful to the United States for agreeing to give us the aircraft we asked for and the spare parts.

“We are even more grateful for the physical presence of the United States military instructors that go into our institutions and train them, and go to the warfront in the North-east to see how they are performing as a result of the training given to them.

“The commitment of the United States to get rid of terrorism across the world, we have had first-hand experience of that and we are very grateful for it.

“The problem of the cattle rearers and herders in Nigeria is a very long historical thing. Nigerian herdsmen never carried anything more than a stick and occasionally, a machete to cut down foliage and give it to their animals.

“These ones are carrying AK47 (rifles). So, I don’t think people should underrate what happened in Libya. In the 43 years of Gadaffi, people were recruited from the Sahel. They were thought nothing other than shooting and killing.

“With the demise of Gadaffi, they moved to their countries and their regions and they carried away with them the only experience they had and their training using weapons. And that is what is aggravating the situation.

“We are doing our best to ensure that we stop cross-border movement and so on and to ensure that the proliferation of small arms in the region is checked.

“But it is going to take time, and the action by the United States in trying to see the end of ISIS has helped us a lot because Boko Haram in Nigeria at one time made a statement that they were loyal to ISIS.

“And now that ISIS has virtually gone with the help of the United States, we are very grateful for that and we are sure that we are stabilising the situation of security in Nigeria,” Buhari submitted.

Trump, who echoed Buhari that ISIS had been decimated, noted that the story had not been the same with Boko Haram which he said had been terrible, as he proceeded to ask Buhari what he was doing about the Chibok and Dapchi girls who are still in captivity.

“We have very much decimated ISIS. Much has taken place over the last 12 months but Boko Haram has been terrible and how did you do with the young women that were kidnapped? How was that going?” Trump asked Buhari.

Responding, the Nigerian president said the kidnap of the Chibok girls took place before his administration but added that about 130 had been brought back.

Buhari also said of the 105 Dapchi girls who were kidnapped last February, 100 of them had been released, four of them died, while one was still in captivity.

Thanking the United Nations (UN) for its roles in the release of the kidnapped girls, Buhari said efforts were still being made to secure the release of the remaining girls in captivity.

“The Chibok girls kidnap was before we came in 2014. We have only a number of them, we recovered about 130 of them. But the Dapchi ones, they were 105 that were kidnapped. We got 100 back, four died, one is still held in captivity and we are very grateful to the United Nations that is acting in between us and the kidnappers and we haven’t given up.

“We are trying to get everybody back to join their families and their schools,” Buhari said.

In his final response, Trump said: “A terrible problem. Mr. President, thank you very much.”

After the closed-door meeting between the Nigerian and U.S. delegation, Trump and Buhari held a joint press briefing at the Rose Garden of the White House, where the American president said he was honoured to host Buhari in the White House, saying Nigeria is the largest democracy in Africa.

Trump noted that he had conveyed to Buhari during their discussions that the U.S. “deeply values and appreciates Nigeria’s role as a strong democratic leader in the region”.

He added: “The United States is working to expand trade and commercial ties with African nations, including Nigeria, to create jobs and wealth in all of our countries.

“We hope to be the economic partner of choice for nations across the continent and all around the world, and I hope you see what is happening all around the world with respect to trade and the United States – we are being respected again.

“I hope all African countries and countries throughout the world that we also will be supporting you and that they would likewise support us in our bid along with Mexico and Canada for the 2026 World Cup. We will be watching very closely and any help they can give us in that bid, we will appreciate it.

“I am pleased that Nigeria is one of our largest trading partners in the region, and we look forward to growing our trade based on the principle of fairness and reciprocity.

“But we give Nigeria well over $1 billion in aid every year and we have already started talking with the president about taking down the trade barriers, very substantial barriers in the United States trading with Nigeria, so we think that we are owed that.

“President Buhari is also taking serious steps to fight corruption and improve the Nigerian business climate and most of all to me is ripping down those trade barriers.”

According to the U.S. president, the elimination of trade barriers would make it easier for Nigerian and U.S companies to invest, adding that American companies would do so substantially once a level playing field is created.

“These measures will make it easier for Nigeria and U.S. companies to invest and we will be investing substantially if they can create a level playing field.

“I also want to thank President Buhari in the partnership and leadership in the fight against terrorism – he has been a real leader. Nigeria was one of the first countries to join the coalition to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) and Nigerian forces are currently leading the regional effort against ISIS in West Africa and doing very well as we have.

“Nigeria is also leading the effort in the fight against Boko Haram, another ruthless jihadist terrorist group – you have been reading about them, they kidnapped the young girls and young women, many of whom we have never seen again.

“This summer, it was my honour to meet with two brave young women, Joy Bishara and Ledia Pogu, who were kidnapped by Boko Haram in April 2014 in a secondary school in Nigeria. I was deeply moved by their stories of courage, resilience and survival.

“I told the two girls my administration is committed to combating the scourge of kidnapping and human trafficking and smuggling. In the world today, there are more human traffickers and slavery than at any time in human history.

“We are helping Nigeria by facilitating training and providing military equipment to the Nigerian forces. For example, we recently sold Nigeria 12 A29 Super Tucano aircraft in the first ever sale of American military equipment to Nigeria.

“We are deeply concerned by the religious violence in Nigeria, especially the burning of churches, the killing and persecution of Christians – it is a horrible story.

“We encourage Nigeria, the federal, state and local leaders to do everything in their power to immediately secure the affected communities and the innocent civilians of all, including Muslims and Christians,” Trump added.

While thanking Buhari for the visit, he described Nigeria as a valued partner, stressing that he looked forward to deepening Nigeria-U.S. cooperation and forging an even closer partnership.

The U.S., Trump added, was committed to working with Nigeria as it seeks a future of strength, prosperity and peace for both countries.

In his response, Buhari pointed out that both countries share a long history of cordial relations, which encompasses political, economic, military, social and cultural cooperation.

Both countries, Buhari added, maintain a strategic partnership for peace and security, conflict resolution as well as the global fight against terrorism.

“We also share similar features as secular federal states, a similar democratic model of governance, and are committed to the universal value of fundamental human rights and freedom, free enterprise, social justice and the rule of law.”

Buhari disclosed that the two delegations, during their interaction, discussed security, trade, governance, human rights and the humanitarian crisis in the North-east.

“President Trump, his team, myself and the Nigerian team discussed issues relating to security, trade, governance, human rights and the humanitarian crisis.

“We congratulated the leaders of North and South Korea on their historic summit and we applaud them for the positive commitment they have made for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. President Trump deserves the credit for the state-manly role he played in transforming so dramatically the courses of events in that region.

“We also congratulated the U.S. for the important role it played in the defeat of the Islamic State, although some of their remnants have found their way to the Sahel region,” Buhari said.

Nigeria, Buhari stressed, recognised the strong role the U.S. is playing in the country’s (Nigeria) fight against terrorism and the agreement to sell 12 A29 Tucano aircraft to Nigeria to effectively fight terrorism.

To defeat terrorism in Nigeria, he said the federal government has adopted a multi-sectoral approach involving the relevant government agencies in addressing the social and political dimensions, while the Armed Forces of Nigeria assist the civil authority to provide security and maintain law and order.

“As part of efforts to address emerging cases of insurgency in the country, the Nigerian military adopted a non-kinetic counter terrorism/counter insurgency approach code-named ‘Operation Safe Corridor’, to de-radicalise, rehabilitate, and reintegrate willingly surrendered Boko-Haram members into the larger society.

“This programme is currently embarking on a number of projects including skills acquisition centres and integrated farms, comprising poultry, fish pond and greenhouse farming, among others. A number of international partners, including the International Organisation for Migration have contributed to the success of Operation Safe Corridor. We indicated that we would appreciate whatever support we could also get from the U.S,” he said.

He disclosed that the U.S. to date has been the biggest contributor to the humanitarian response, “and last year gave $500 million in cash and kind through the United Nations and other inter-governmental-organisations”.

He said his government was doing what it could to secure the release of the remaining abducted schoolgirls from Dapchi and Chibok.

“In this context we welcome the support of the U.S. in intelligence gathering, hostage negotiation and information sharing. The government is doing its best to promote the peaceful coexistence of herdsmen and farmers by enforcing security and legislation to guarantee herders and farmers access to land.”

Buhari also hailed the Trump administration for its laudable decision to launch a Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative to assist in achieving that aim and implored the U.S. to sustain its cooperation with Nigeria to effectively achieve this objective.

“We thanked the U.S. government very much for the cooperation we have received in our effort to recover stolen funds. Our two governments have put the machinery in place for their respective Attorneys-General to collaborate in ensuring the return to Nigeria of $500 million looted funds siphoned away in banks around the world.

“In this connection, we congratulated the U.S. government on the launch of the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative which was spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering. We hope that we could continue to count on U.S. support in this area,” he said.

On the economy, Buhari congratulated ​both Trump and his government on what he described “as the impressive performance of the US economy under their watch”, disclosing that Nigeria’s focus was on diversifying its economy by focusing on agriculture and food security as well as power and infrastructure.

The Nigerian president who also said 2016 statistics showed that Nigeria’s trade volume with the U.S. stood at $6.07 billion, observed that the figure comprised $4.176 billion worth of Nigerian exports to the U.S. and $1.894 billion U.S. exports to Nigeria.

He said both presidents sought greater efforts to increase these figures substantially.

Buhari added: “We have cut the importation of rice by about 90 per cent, thereby saving a significant amount of money. We very much welcome increased U.S. investment in the Nigerian economy, especially in the non-oil sector.

“Economic relations between Nigeria and the United States are anchored on three major instruments, namely: the Bi-National Commission (BNC), Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) and the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

“The Bi-National Commission in particular, comprising bilateral political, economic, developmental and humanitarian partnership, is a basic economic framework for engagement between our two countries.”

On governance and human rights, Buhari said the government of Nigeria remained committed to the principles of human rights, promotion and protection of people’s freedom, even in the fight against terror, adding: “We commit to ensure that all documented cases of human rights abuses are investigated and those responsible for violations held accountable for their actions.”

After reading their prepared speeches, both leaders took questions from the press, during which Trump described Nigeria as an amazing country that he would like to visit.

“I would like to visit Nigeria, it is an amazing country, and in certain ways, I hear from the standpoint of the beauty of a country, there is no country more beautiful,” Trump said.

Buhari also disclosed that both Nigeria and the U.S. had put the machinery in place for the repatriation of $500 million stolen funds to the country.

On corruption and efforts by the Nigerian government to secure the U.S.’ assistance in the repatriation of looted funds, Trump acknowledged that Nigeria has a reputation for massive corruption, but added that the U.S. will continue to offer its support for Nigeria to proffer a lasting solution to the menace.

He also said that his Nigerian counterpart had done a lot to combat corruption significantly in the country.

“In terms of corruption, Nigeria has a reputation for very massive corruption, but I also know that the president has been able to cut that down very substantially, we talked about it, and they have made a lot of progress,” Trump said.

Asked whether he was offended by Trump’s alleged denigration of African countries in the past, especially the use of a vulgar term to describe African countries, Buhari tactfully replied that he was sceptical about media reports and would rather not comment on them.

“I am being careful about what the press says about others and myself. But the best thing for me to do is to keep quiet,” Buhari said.

Trump in turn, said: “We didn’t discuss it, and you do have some countries that are in very bad shape, and very tough places to live in. We didn’t discuss because the president knows me, and he knows where I am coming from, and I appreciate that.”

Buhari said his government had done a lot to curb human rights abuses in Nigeria, especially in the ongoing war against Boko Haram.

“The government of Nigeria remains committed to human rights, even in the course of fighting terrorism,” he said.

When Buhari was asked if he had any issues with the role of the U.S. as the policeman of the world, he said that he had no problem with the presence of American troops in Nigeria, adding they were only in the country to offer training and other support that are crucial to winning the war against terrorism.

“This is one of the best things the United States could do for our country,” Buhari said.

Trump at this point interjected, saying Buhari’s comments were fair, but added that he would want to see America scale back its supervisory role across the world while improving trade with other countries.

“We want to police our country. What we want to do now is to open Nigeria and other countries to trade,” he said.

On the concerns about the low patronage of Nigerian crude by the U.S. in recent years, Buhari said he would not tell another country what to do. He praised the U.S. for its technological innovations that had helped to reduce its reliance on oil.

“I can’t tell the U.S. what to do. Luckily for us, we have got a market for our crude oil. But the progress made by the US in technology is certainly frightening for our mono-economy.

“I hope technology will allow them to use our crude for its quality for petrochemicals,” the Nigerian president said.

The U.S. president further clarified that Nigeria was interested in agricultural produce from his country, stating that plans were in place to allow exports of U.S. farm produce to Nigeria — “for the good of U.S. farmers, Nigeria, and Africa”.

“What we discussed today was our agricultural products going into Nigeria, which Nigeria wants. But we have certain barriers that don’t allow that to happen.

“For the good of U.S. farmers and for the good of all of Africa, it is very important that we are able to send our agriculture produce into Nigeria and we would be working on that right away,” Trump said.

Also responding to a question on Nigeria’s purchase of military aircraft from the U.S. for the fight against terrorism, as well as the need to get the aircraft delivered quickly to Nigeria, Trump said denying Nigeria the purchase of war planes before now was not good, stressing that his government sold the best aircraft in the world to Nigeria.

“We love helicopters, but he (Buhari) likes them more than I do. He likes buying helicopters and they buy a lot of helicopters. So, very soon we are getting them the planes.

“Part of the problem is that before you weren’t allowed to buy helicopters in your country, but now you are. I worked that out. So, now you can buy the helicopters that you want.

“The helicopters we have here are the best in the world. We make the best military equipment in the world and our friends can now buy those equipment.

“We are also helping our Nigerian partners by facilitating intelligence, cooperation and providing training and military equipment to the Nigerian forces. For example, we recently sold to Nigeria 12 US A-29 Super Tucano aircraft, great aircraft, in the first ever sale of American military equipment to Nigeria.

“This new aircraft will improve Nigeria’s ability to target terrorists and protect civilians,” Trump said.

Reacting shortly after the joint briefing by both leaders, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Monday bemoaned the performance of the Nigerian president during the meeting with his U.S. counterpart, describing it as embarrassing and disturbing.

The party lamented that Buhari completely failed to project the economic interests of the country before the American government and the world.

A statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary Kola Ologbondiyan said it was alarming that Buhari buckled during the bilateral negotiations and failed to address the issue of the drop in U.S. purchase of Nigeria’s crude oil, saying it is the main stay of the Nigerian economy.

“Nigerians and the business community were aghast when President Buhari could not market our crude oil to his American counterpart even when in the course of the question and answer session, a leeway was provided for him, he off-handedly declared that he cannot ‘tell America what to do’,” the party said.

PDP also said that Buhari had no answers to Trump’s stance that the U.S. had not been investing substantially in Nigeria owing to the unconducive economic climate under his administration, further confirming the stand of the PDP that the All Progressives Congress (APC) was running a moribund economy.

More disturbing, PDP noted, was the revelation by Trump that the U.S. has been supporting Nigeria with the sum of $1 billion annually whereas Buhari, in his script, announced that Nigeria received only $500 million last year.

“We had expected President Buhari, as the ‘African Champion on Anti-Corruption’, to immediately respond to President Trump on the whereabouts of the shortfall of $500 million.

“It is also inexcusable that President Buhari had no answers to the security situation of daily bloodletting and mass killings in Nigeria, which President Trump described as ‘horrible’. Instead, he restricted himself to his script, which was silent on the issue.

“By this, the American government has summarily indicted President Buhari’s government on its failure to ensure security of lives and property of Nigerian citizens.

“On the whole, the visit surmises photo-ops of President Buhari in the White House in a bilateral session where President Trump was committed to marketing the U.S. to the most populous black nation,” the PDP said.</s>President Muhammadu Buhari and his United States (U.S.) counterpart Donald Trump spoke yesterday against terrorism, human trafficking, rights’ abuses and other issues. It was at a joint news conference at the White House in Washington D.C. In their remarks, both leaders promised to maintain close and cordial relations.

President Buhari, I want to thank you very much for travelling to Washington for these important discussions. It’s a true pleasure to welcome you to our nation’s capital.

Nigeria is the largest democracy in Africa. As I conveyed to President Buhari in our discussions, the United States (U.S.) deeply values and appreciates Nigeria’s role as a strong democratic leader in the region.

The United States is currently working to expand trade and commercial ties with African nations, including Nigeria, to create jobs and wealth in all of our countries. We hope to be the economic partner of choice for nations across the continent and all around the world.

And you see what’s happening with respect to trade and the United States. We are being respected again.

I hope all African countries and countries throughout the world, that we also will be supporting you and that they will, likewise, support us in our bid, along with Canada and Mexico, for the 2026 World Cup.

We will be watching very closely. And any help that they could give us in that bid, we would appreciate.

I’m pleased that Nigeria is one of our largest trading partners in the region, and we look forward to growing our trade relationship based on the principle of fairness and reciprocity.

But, we give Nigeria well over $1 billion in aid every year. And we have already started talking with the President about taking down the trade barriers – very substantial barriers to the United States trading with Nigeria. So, we think that we are owed that.

President Buhari has also taken several steps to fight corruption and improve the Nigerian business climate. And, most of all, to me, yet again, is ripping down those trade barriers.

These measures will make it easier for Nigeria and the United States companies to invest, and we will be investing substantially in Nigeria if they can create that level playing field that we have to, very much, ask for and maybe demand.

I especially want to thank President Buhari for Nigeria’s partnership and leadership in the fight against terrorism. He’s been a real leader.

Nigeria was one of the first African nations to join the Coalition to Defeat ISIS, and Nigerian forces are currently leading regional efforts against ISIS in West Africa. And doing very well as we have.

Nigeria is also leading African nations in the fight against Boko Haram and another ruthless jihadist terrorist group. They – we’ve been reading about them. They kidnapped the young girls and young women, many of whom never are seen again. It’s tough stuff.

This summer, it was my honour to meet with two brave young women, Joy Bishara and Lydia Pogu, who were kidnapped by Boko Haram in April of 2014 at the secondary school in Nigeria.

I was deeply moved by their inspiring stories of courage, resilience and survival. They really were two amazing young women.

I told Joy and Lydia, my administration is committed to combating both jihadist terrorism and the scourge of human trafficking and smuggling.

In the world today, there is more human trafficking than there has ever been, if you can believe this. They use the internet better than almost anybody is able to use the internet. So, think of it: In a modern world, in this world, there’s more human trafficking and slavery than at any time in the history of this world. It’s hard to believe.

To protect Americans from these menaces, I have called on Congress to close deadly immigration loopholes that are exploited by terrorists, traffickers and criminals.

Just look at our southern border and our weak and obsolete immigration laws. They are obsolete and they are weak and they are pathetic. And there’s no country in the world that has laws like we do. They’ve got to change and they’ve got to change now for the safety of our country.

We’re also helping our Nigerian partners by facilitating intelligence cooperation and providing training and military equipment to Nigerian forces.

For example, we recently sold Nigeria 12 U.S. A-29 Super Tucano aircraft – it’s a great aircraft – in the first-ever sale of American military equipment to Nigeria. These new aircraft will improve Nigeria’s ability to target terrorists and protect civilians.

Finally, we’re deeply concerned by religious violence in Nigeria, including the burning of churches and the killing and persecution of Christians. It’s a horrible story.

We encourage Nigeria and the federal, state and local leaders to do everything in their power to immediately secure the affected communities and to protect innocent civilians of all faiths, including Muslims and including Christians.

Mr. President, thank you again for visiting the White House and being with us today. Nigeria is a valued partner and a good friend.

I look forward to working closely with you to deepen our cooperation and forge an even closer partnership. The United States is committed to working alongside Nigeria as we seek a future of strength, prosperity and peace for both of our countries.

The post Nigeria, US unite against terrorism, trafficking appeared first on The Nation Nigeria.

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This post was syndicated from The Nation Nigeria. Click here to read the full text on the original website.</s>AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 150 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.</s>Nigeria's fight against the Boko Haram jihadist group was expected to top the menu for talks Monday when President Donald Trump meets Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari, president of Africa's most populous and wealthiest country.

Buhari will be the first leader from sub-Saharan Africa to visit Trump, and they plan a joint press conference in the White House gardens after their meeting around midday.

In his talks with Trump, Buhari will be seeking support in his battle against Boko Haram, as well as investment in Nigeria's rickety infrastructure.

Trump, meanwhile, has to overcome the hard feelings left by his insulting reference to "shithole countries" in questioning why the US should accept immigrants from Africa.

The US president also raised eyebrows in March by firing Rex Tillerson as secretary of state while he was visiting Nigeria, in part to prepare the ground for Buhari's visit.

But Trump's receiving Buhari at the White House just after visits by France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Angela Merkel is a positive signal, analysts say.

"The fact that the president of Africa's most populous country is visiting Washington at all may be more important to strengthening the US-Africa relationship than any discussion of policy during the trip," said John Campbell, a former US ambassador in Abuja who is now at the Council of Foreign Relations.

The White House says both security and business will be up for discussion during the visit.

Nigeria is entering its ninth year fighting Boko Haram extremists, who have devastated the northeast of the country and killed over 20,000 people in a bloody quest to establish an Islamist state.

Trump's administration has agreed to the sale of a dozen A-29 Super Tucano turboprop light attack aircraft for use in the fight against the jihadist group, a deal worth a reported $496 million.

In January 2017, then-president Barack Obama froze the deal after Nigeria's air force bombed a refugee camp, killing more than 100 people, on a mission against Boko Haram.

Washington is now ready to allow the sale to go forward. But it has come under scrutiny inside Nigeria, where lawmakers are accusing the president of illegally withdrawing funds to purchase the planes.

Nigeria is also seeking support for its farm and transport sectors. Buhari is scheduled to meet with potential investors in Nigerian farming and food processing.

Amid intensifying competition with China and Europeans for the business of oil-rich Nigeria, officials accompanying Buhari also will be meeting with aviation giant Boeing, according to his office.

On Friday, General Electric announced that an international consortium it leads has signed a deal for a $2 billion project to refurbish Nigeria's narrow-gauge railway.

Both sides have something to gain from the meeting of the two presidents, Peter Pham, director of the Africa Center at the Washington-based Atlantic Council, told AFP.

"On President Trump's side, it's definitely putting that controversy behind him," Pham said, referring to the "shithole countries" remark.

For Buhari, who will seek reelection in 2019, "It's having the prominence of being the first African leader received at the White House in this administration," Pham said.</s>President Donald Trump has said he and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari did not discuss his reported use of a vulgarity in describing African countries earlier this year.

Answering a reporter's question Monday, Trump said he and Buhari did not talk about reports that he used a term for a filthy toilet when telling U.S. lawmakers that he wanted less immigration from certain countries in Africa and more from places like Norway.

Trump said Monday that there are 'some countries that are in very bad shape and very tough places to live in.'

Buhari deflected, saying he was unsure about 'whether that allegation against the president was true or not.'

Trump adds that he and Buhari didn't discuss it 'because the president knows me and he knows where I'm coming from.'

President Donald Trump has also refused to apologize for his inflammatory rhetoric on immigration even if it impacts the legal fortune of his travel ban.

The president said Monday, while at a White House news conference alongside President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, that he had nothing for which to apologize.

He also said he did not believe it would make any difference. The latest iteration of his travel ban is currently being considered by the Supreme Court.

Trump also said his administration was monitoring the progress of a caravan of migrants making its way north through Latin America toward the United States.

He declined to say how many of the migrants should be admitted to the U.S. but bemoaned the nation's immigration laws as 'the worst.'

In his speech the president said the US values Nigeria's role as a strong democratic leader in West Africa.

Nigeria is one of America's largest trading partners in the region. Trump said the US is having conversations with Nigeria about removing trade barriers.

Trump says the nation will invest 'substantially' in Nigeria if Buhari can create a level playing field.

Trump also noted that Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has taken steps to fight government corruption and improve the trade climate.

Trump urged Nigeria to take down trade barriers to allow additional U.S. investment in the African nation.

President Donald Trump said the extremist group Boko Haram has been a 'terrible problem' for Nigeria.

Buhari thanked the US for its commitment to fighting terrorism and said US action has helped his country a lot.

Boko Haram launched a violent insurgency in the Nigerian northeast nine years ago with the aim of creating an Islamic state. Thousands of people have been killed. Mass abductions of schoolgirls brought Boko Haram international notoriety and one faction has declared allegiance to the Islamic State group.

The Nigerian president's visit follows an uncomfortable start to the Trump administration's approach to the world's second most populous continent.

Trump caused anger in Nigeria last year after reports that he said Nigerians wouldn't want to return to their 'huts' if allowed to visit the US.

Nigeria was also among the African nations that summoned the US ambassador to explain Trump's comments comparing Africa to a filthy toilet.

Buhari was among the first two African leaders Trump called after taking office, along with South Africa's president.</s>President Muhammadu Buhari and his United States (U.S.) counterpart Donald Trump spoke yesterday against terrorism, human trafficking, rights’ abuses and other issues. It was at a joint news conference at the White House in Washington D.C. In their remarks, both leaders promised to maintain close and cordial relations.

President Buhari, I want to thank you very much for travelling to Washington for these important discussions. It’s a true pleasure to welcome you to our nation’s capital.

Nigeria is the largest democracy in Africa. As I conveyed to President Buhari in our discussions, the United States (U.S.) deeply values and appreciates Nigeria’s role as a strong democratic leader in the region.

The United States is currently working to expand trade and commercial ties with African nations, including Nigeria, to create jobs and wealth in all of our countries. We hope to be the economic partner of choice for nations across the continent and all around the world.

And you see what’s happening with respect to trade and the United States. We are being respected again.

I hope all African countries and countries throughout the world, that we also will be supporting you and that they will, likewise, support us in our bid, along with Canada and Mexico, for the 2026 World Cup.

We will be watching very closely. And any help that they could give us in that bid, we would appreciate.

I’m pleased that Nigeria is one of our largest trading partners in the region, and we look forward to growing our trade relationship based on the principle of fairness and reciprocity.

But, we give Nigeria well over $1 billion in aid every year. And we have already started talking with the President about taking down the trade barriers – very substantial barriers to the United States trading with Nigeria. So, we think that we are owed that.

President Buhari has also taken several steps to fight corruption and improve the Nigerian business climate. And, most of all, to me, yet again, is ripping down those trade barriers.

These measures will make it easier for Nigeria and the United States companies to invest, and we will be investing substantially in Nigeria if they can create that level playing field that we have to, very much, ask for and maybe demand.

I especially want to thank President Buhari for Nigeria’s partnership and leadership in the fight against terrorism. He’s been a real leader.

Nigeria was one of the first African nations to join the Coalition to Defeat ISIS, and Nigerian forces are currently leading regional efforts against ISIS in West Africa. And doing very well as we have.

Nigeria is also leading African nations in the fight against Boko Haram and another ruthless jihadist terrorist group. They – we’ve been reading about them. They kidnapped the young girls and young women, many of whom never are seen again. It’s tough stuff.

This summer, it was my honour to meet with two brave young women, Joy Bishara and Lydia Pogu, who were kidnapped by Boko Haram in April of 2014 at the secondary school in Nigeria.

I was deeply moved by their inspiring stories of courage, resilience and survival. They really were two amazing young women.

I told Joy and Lydia, my administration is committed to combating both jihadist terrorism and the scourge of human trafficking and smuggling.

In the world today, there is more human trafficking than there has ever been, if you can believe this. They use the internet better than almost anybody is able to use the internet. So, think of it: In a modern world, in this world, there’s more human trafficking and slavery than at any time in the history of this world. It’s hard to believe.

To protect Americans from these menaces, I have called on Congress to close deadly immigration loopholes that are exploited by terrorists, traffickers and criminals.

Just look at our southern border and our weak and obsolete immigration laws. They are obsolete and they are weak and they are pathetic. And there’s no country in the world that has laws like we do. They’ve got to change and they’ve got to change now for the safety of our country.

We’re also helping our Nigerian partners by facilitating intelligence cooperation and providing training and military equipment to Nigerian forces.

For example, we recently sold Nigeria 12 U.S. A-29 Super Tucano aircraft – it’s a great aircraft – in the first-ever sale of American military equipment to Nigeria. These new aircraft will improve Nigeria’s ability to target terrorists and protect civilians.

Finally, we’re deeply concerned by religious violence in Nigeria, including the burning of churches and the killing and persecution of Christians. It’s a horrible story.

We encourage Nigeria and the federal, state and local leaders to do everything in their power to immediately secure the affected communities and to protect innocent civilians of all faiths, including Muslims and including Christians.

Mr. President, thank you again for visiting the White House and being with us today. Nigeria is a valued partner and a good friend.

I look forward to working closely with you to deepen our cooperation and forge an even closer partnership. The United States is committed to working alongside Nigeria as we seek a future of strength, prosperity and peace for both of our countries.

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This post was syndicated from The Nation Nigeria. Click here to read the full text on the original website.</s>Today in faraway Washington District of Columbia, the political capital of the United States of America, the eyes of the World would focus on Nigeria because the embattled president of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari is a guest of the tough talking President of the United States of America.

Already, presidency officials are singing the praises of the United States administration even as a newspaper reported one of these officials as stating that Nigeria is benefiting more now under president Trump than it did during the administration of Barrack Obama which was obviously a big obstacle to the fight on terror in Nigeria by the then president Goodluck government. With that Presidential statement it appears the blame has now shifted away from the immediate past Nigerian leader to the American President contrary to the litany of lamentations targeting Goodluck Jonathan by the current administration as the regime that did not combat Boko Haram terrorism with vigour.

On the side of the United States, two things have happened with one of it relating directly to Nigeria and the other showcasing the capability of the president of the United States to achieve landmark peace in very troubled area- Korean peninsula.

First the United States of America issued a damaging human rights record indicting the Nigerian administration under president Buhari whom the Trump’s administration had invited on a state visit to the white House.

Secondly, in that same week, the hitherto reclusive president of North Korea Kim Jong UN signed a peace accord with the South Korean president Mr. Moon Jae just as the package includes serious and honest “discussions about denuclearization,” so says Agency reports.

Recall that president Trump may have been responsible for the dramatic shift by the North Korean president who may have realized that president Trump meant business when he promised to detonate the biggest bomb in North Korea which will wipe off North Korea from World’s map. Both the North Korean leader and Trump had exchanged heated verbal threats but the young political warlord from North Korea may have discovered the futility of going to battle with President Donald Trump who is indeed eccentric and unpredictable.

Coming back to the first verbal bombardment of Nigeria in a report on the abysmal human rights record of president Buhari, the United States State department summed up the American distaste at the poor human right record of their guest Muhammadu Buhari, thus: “There were several reports the government or its agents committed arbitrary and unlawful killings. The national police, army, and other security services used lethal and excessive force to disperse protesters and apprehend criminals and suspects and committed other extrajudicial killings. Authorities generally did not hold police, military, or other security force personnel accountable for the use of excessive or deadly force or for the deaths of persons in custody.”

So it can be deduced that the administration of Donald Trump will today sound out the Nigerian president on what the government has put in place to address all the diverse issues of poor human right status of the administration which is almost winding up its first term.

The development in the Korean Peninsula should also serve the Nigerian leader as a good picture of what the American president can do should the violations widens.

However, the ideology of America first which president Trump holds so dear may remind us that the united states administration may have issued the damning human rights record on Nigerian just to placate critics who may view president Trump as only concerned about the commercial gains he can make from Nigeria notwithstanding the abysmal human right status of the government headed by the ex-military dictator.

Critics are already observing that the concerns raised by America on the speedy infiltration of Africa by China could make president Trump to overlook the available body of knowledge on the extensive abuses of human rights of Nigerians by government just so that Nigeria can do more business with Trump and forget about looking towards the East to China for investments and trades. It is still not clear how this pans out given the fact that the USA is no longer a big time customer of Nigeria’s rich Brent crude oil. America is increasingly looking inwards for their energy sources. Also America is speedily working on green cars to take away the pressure of fuelling their automobiles in the next two decades. But the Embassy officials in Abuja posted online that Economy and Security will dominate the discussions between Trump and his guest tonight President Muhammadu Buhari.

So Nigerians are keen on seeing how the diplomatic encounter between Trump and Buhari would proceed even as the blood cuddling violence unleashed by armed Fulani herdsmen have continued to attract international attention to Nigeria.

In faraway Vatican City, in Rome, the Holy Father had last weekend condemned the emerging pattern of mass killing of Christians. News reports from Rome are disturbing. It goes as follows: ‘Nigeria was stricken again with the killing of a group of faithful, among whom were two priests.’

Pope Francis repeated his frequent prayers and plea for peace in Nigeria on April 29, 2018. His comments came after praying the Regina Coeli with crowds of the faithful in St. Peter’s Square.

“Last week the Christian community of Nigeria was stricken again with the killing of a group of faithful, among whom were two priests,” the Holy Father said. “We entrust these brothers to the God of mercy, that he may help those very tried communities to rediscover concord and peace.”

Two Catholic priests were among the victims of an April 24, 2018, attack on parishioners at St. Ignatius Parish in Ayar-Mbalom, a community in the Gwer East local government area of Benue State.

A local source told ZENIT the murdered priests were Fr. Joseph Gor and Fr. Felix Tyolaha. The source said as many as 20 mayhave died in the attack during Mass at the church. The attackers are believed to be Fulani herdsmen and be part of an ongoing reign of terror by Muslim extremists against Christians.

Nigeria’s Catholic bishops met with Pope Francis on April 26, 2018, in their periodic “ad Limina” visit.

“The government apparatus is completely, as it seems to us, helpless, dysfunctional or deliberately helpless and deliberately dysfunctional,” said Bishop William Avenya on behalf of the other Bishops present, as quoted in Vatican News.

“The world is not hearing us. It started like this in Rwanda; the world did not hear. It started like this many years back in Germany. The world was deaf. This is what is happening to us, and the world needs to know that we are in trouble!”

The Holy Father has repeatedly appealed for an end to violence in Nigeria, which has both large Catholic and Muslim populations. ZENIT recently published a young teenager’s account of the violence facing the nation.

The Pope who recently clocked five in the Papacy has gained global ascendancy in the area of conflict resolution just as his focus on Nigeria must be a consolation to us that the Nigerian government will henceforth face global monitoring mechanisms. This was how The Guardian of London assessed the global pride of place of the Pope so we know that Nigeria may not remain the same given that the Holy See has now shifted focus to the mass killings in Nigeria.

The Guardian reports that Chatham House is one of the most important foreign affairs thinktanks in the UK.

It adults however that on Wednesday its focus will not be a president or an organization like the World Bank, or the future of the EU after Brexit, but a religious leader: Pope Francis. And it will be the third time in recent weeks that Britain has turned its attention to the pope.

Two weeks ago, the Foreign Office-sponsored think-tank Wilton Park took delegates to the Vatican to meet the pope and discuss violent religious extremism, while last week the Metropolitan police commissioner, Cressida Dick, was in Rome to talk with Francis about modern slavery.

This engagement confirms the pope as one of the leading figures of the age. It will be five years on13 March since the then Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires was elected leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics, following the shock resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.

Since then, Bergoglio, who on election took the name Francis after St Francis of Assisi, has become hugely popular. Even atheists declare: “I love this guy!” on social media.

Fellow church leaders, such as the Orthodox leader, ecumenical patriarch Bartholomew, and the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, politicians and other public figures flock to meet him. The Chatham House event will explore the Roman Catholic Church’s role in diplomacy, its relationship with the US, and the significance of the first post-western pope, who has diluted the Eurocentrism of the Vatican.

It was quickly evident after his election that Francis was very different from Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned in February 2013, following a series of financial scandals in the Vatican. He had more energy and enthusiasm for meeting people than his diffident Bavarian predecessor, and also responded, as John Paul II had done before him, to the issues of the age. But whereas the Polish John Paul focused on communism and the cold war, the Latin American pope, a child of economic migrants, has turned his attention to the plight of people uprooted from their homes: refugees, victims of trafficking and modern slavery. In 2016, in a defining gesture of his papacy, after a visit to the Greek island of Lesbos, the entry point for thousands seeking asylum in Europe, he took home with him on his plane to Rome three families of Syrian Muslim refugees.

He is also deeply aware of the impact of climate change on the planet’s poorest regions and, in 2015, published his green encyclical, or teaching document, Laudato Si, which he subtitled On Care for Our Common Home, urging people to rethink their relationship with God’s creation. Conservative Catholics, especially in America, claimed he was telling SUV drivers that they were committing a sin. It is the document Francis seems most proud of, offering it as a gift to his visitors. Some, such as the Prince of Wales, appear deeply appreciative; others, such as President Donald Trump, far less so.

Francis Campbell, a former British ambassador to the Holy See and now vice-chancellor of St Mary’s University, said: “There is a lack of confidence about the future of society and Pope Francis is occupying a space that few others are. He is speaking to a constituency that is looking for a form of leadership.

“The fact that people who are not interested in religion are interested in him is a reminder of the lack of global leaders. Who else is not retreating into nationalism or isolationism? Who else is reminding us of the big ethical issues?”

As a world leader, Francis certainly appears to have little in common with Trump. During the Obama administration, the US president and Vatican diplomats worked behind the scenes to bring Cuba and the US towards some kind of rapprochement after an icy stand-off lasting more than 50 years. But there appears to be no love lost between the pope and Trump.

The above reports detailing the international strategic place of the Holy Father may be a thing of joy to the suffering millions in Nigeria that perhaps our situation has received global attention.

*Emmanuel Onwubiko is the Head of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) and[email protected]; www.huriwanigeria.com; [email protected]</s>“In terms of corruption, Nigeria has a reputation for very massive corruption. The President (Buhari) has been able to cut that down very substantially”
• Nigeria, US team up to repatriate $500m looted funds, says Buhari

The United States President, Donald Trump, on Monday described the killing of Christians in Nigeria as a serious problem, saying the US would not accept it.

Trump also condemned the burning of churches and urged the Federal Government to ensure security in the affected communities.

He said the government of the US and that of Nigeria would work hard to resolve the problem.

Trump said this shortly before he entered into a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Oval Office in the White House, Washington DC.

“We have met before, we have a great relationship. I look forward to our discussion today again, especially as it relates to terrorism. Terrorism all over the world is a hotbed and we are going to be stopping it.

“We have had very serious problems with Christians who are being murdered in Nigeria; We are going to be working on that problem very, very hard because we cannot allow that to happen,” he said.

Trump who said his government had decimated the ISIS over the last 12 months, said Boko Haram had been terrible.

He asked Buhari how he was handling the issue of the abducted Chibok and Dapchi girls.

Buhari said his administration had not given up on the remaining Dapchi girl and the Chibok girls.

“The Chibok girls kidnap was before we came; we rescued some of them. The Dapchi girls were 106, we rescued 100, four died, and one is still in captivity. We are very grateful to the United Nations Organisation that is acting as a go-between and is helping out. We have not given up on the last Dapchi girl,” he said.

The President insisted that Libya crisis and Muammar Ghaddafi were responsible for herdsmen killings.

He said, “The problem of cattle herders is a very long historical problem. Before now, Nigerian herders were known to carry sticks and machetes and cut follies for their animals, but these ones are carrying AK-47.

“So I don’t think we should underrate Libya. During the 43 years of Gaddafi, people were recruited from Sahel and trained to shoot and kill. With the demise of Ghaddafi, they (recruited persons) moved from their country and their region with their training and their weapons and that is what aggravated the situation.

“We are doing our best to stop the cross border movement, but it will take time.

“We are happy with the effort of the United States to see the end of ISIS. This has helped us a lot because the Boko Haram in Nigeria had one time made a statement that they belong to ISIS.

“Now that ISIS is virtually gone, we are very happy. We are stabilising the situation in Nigeria.”

Later, at a joint press conference with Trump after a meeting of the two leaders at the White House, Buhari said the US and Nigeria were collaborating to repatriate over $500m stolen from Nigeria.

He said the funds were stashed away in banks across the world.

He said, “Our two governments have put the machinery in place for our respective Attorneys-General to collaborate in ensuring the return to Nigeria of over $500m looted funds stashed away in banks around the world.

“In this connection, we congratulate the US government on launching a Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative which was spearheaded by the US Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering.

“We hope that we could continue to count on the US support in this area.”

Buhari said his team and that of Trump discussed issues relating to security, trade, governance, human rights and humanitarian crises.

He said they congratulated the leaders of North and South Korea on their historic summit and the positive commitment they have made towards the ‘de-nuclearisation’ of the Korean peninsula.

He said Trump deserved credit for his role in transforming “so dramatically the course of events in that region.”

He said, “We also recognised the strong US support in our fight against terrorism and appreciated very much the US’ agreement to sell 12 Super Tucano A-29 war planes and weapons to Nigeria to fight terrorism.

“We are even more grateful for the physical presence of the United States military who are training in our institutions.

“We have the firsthand experience of the commitment of the United States to get rid of terrorism across the world and we are very grateful for it.

“To contain insurgency in Nigeria, the Federal Government has adopted a multi-sectoral approach involving relevant government agencies to address the socio-economic and political dimensions, while the Armed Forces of Nigeria would assist the civil authority to provide security and maintain law and order.

“As part of efforts to address emerging cases of insurgency in the country, the Nigerian Military adopted a non-kinetic counter-terrorism/counter-insurgency approach code-named, Operation Safe Corridor, to deradicalise, re-habilitate, and re-integrate willingly surrendered Boko Haram members into the society.

“This programme is currently embarking on a number of projects including skill acquisition centres and integrated farms, comprising poultry, fish pond and greenhouse farming.

“A number of international partners, including the International Organisation for Migration, have contributed to the success of Operation Safe Corridor. We indicated that we would appreciate whatever support we could also get from the US.

“We expressed gratitude for the US support in the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in the North-East of Nigeria, as well as humanitarian assistance to the Internally Displaced Persons, through agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development and other partners.

“The USA has been to date the biggest contributor to the humanitarian response and last year gave approximately $500m in cash and in-kind contributions through the United Nations and other inter-governmental organisations.

“We are doing all we can to secure the release of the remaining abducted schoolgirls from Dapchi and Chibok. In this context, we will continue to welcome the US collaboration in intelligence gathering, hostage negotiations and information-sharing.”

On herdsmen and farmers’ clashes, Buhari said the Federal Government was taking necessary steps to promote peaceful co-existence by focusing on boosting security and enforcing legislation that would guarantee herders and farmers access to land.

“We are committed to ensuring that all documented cases of human rights abuses are investigated and those responsible for violations held accountable for their actions,” he added.

On trade and investment, Buhari said his government’s aim was to diversify the country’s economy by focusing on agriculture and food security; power and infrastructure.

“We have cut the importation of rice by about 90 per cent, thereby saving a significant amount of money. We welcome increased US investment in the Nigerian economy, especially in the non-oil sector.

“Economic relations between Nigeria and the United States are anchored on three major instruments namely: the Bi-National Commission, Trade and Investment Framework Agreement and the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act.

“The Bi-National Commission comprising bilateral political, economic, developmental and humanitarian partnership. It is a basic economic framework for engagement between our two countries.

“Nigeria’s trade volume with the United States stood at $6.07bn according to 2016 statistics and comprised $4.176 bn worth of Nigerian exports to the US and $1.894bn US exports to Nigeria. We urge greater effort to increase these figures substantially,” he said.

Trump said corruption in Nigeria was massive.

He, however, acknowledged that Buhari was cutting down on the menace.

Trump said he discussed the need to repatriate illicit funds back to Nigeria, cut down on funding for terrorism and reduce illegal immigration from Nigeria to the US.

“In terms of corruption, Nigeria has a reputation for very massive corruption. The President has been able to cut that down very substantially. We talked about it; he is working on it and they have made a lot of progress and I think they will continue to make a lot of progress.

“We have a lot of people in this country that invest in Nigeria. So cutting down that corruption element is very important and the President will be able to do that,” he said.

The US President also confirmed the sale of 12 fighter aircraft to Nigeria.

He said, “We are helping Nigeria by facilitating intelligence cooperation and providing training and military equipment to Nigerian forces. For example, we recently sold 12 US 829 Super Catarna war aircraft. This new aircraft will improve Nigeria ability to target terrorists and protect civilians.

“Also, we are deeply concerned by religious violence in Nigeria, including the burning of churches and killing and persecution of Christians. It’s a horrible story. We encourage Nigeria; the federal, state and local leaders; to do everything to secure the affected communities and protect civilians, including Muslims and Christians. The United States is committed to working alongside Nigeria as we seek a future of strength, prosperity and peace for both of our countries.”

Commercial activities were paralysed on Monday in Benue State as a large number of residents commenced the seven-day praying and fasting declared by the state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria.

The state chairman of CAN, Rev. Akpen Leva, expressed satisfaction with the level of compliance, saying the association had ordered a sit-at-home protest for all private organisations, including artisans, market women, commercial drivers and others, except civil servants, as the seven-day praying and fasting commenced on Monday.

Reports across the state showed that Gboko, Otukpo, Katsina Ala and other communities in the state observed the sit-at-home order.

“I am happy that the sit-at-home order we gave today (Monday) as we commence the seven days praying and fasting was effective.”

The cleric said that the organisation excluded civil servants because CAN had no power to order civil servants to stay at home.

“The order did not affect civil servants,” he added.

However, most of the state offices were shut as schools, shops and markets were closed down. While some banks opened for customers, others carried out skeletal services.

One of our correspondents who visited some areas in the capital city of Makurdi between 7am and 11am reported that the town was deserted as commercial vehicles abandoned roads, leaving a few commercial motorcycles operators to ply roads.

The empty offices forced Governor Samuel Ortom to issue a statement that there was no public holiday in the state.

The statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Terver Akase, read in part, “The praying and fasting jointly organised by the state government and CAN does not affect work and markets. Public and civil servants should return to work immediately.”

In a related development, the Catholic Laity Council of Nigeria has said the killing of two reverend fathers in Benue State by suspected Fulani herdsmen is a deliberate assault on the Christian faith and an open invitation to a religious war.

The organisation also said the killing of the two priests and other worshipers during morning mass had confirmed its fears that the herdsmen “wreaking havoc in Benue and other states of Nigeria” were terrorists.

Rev. Fr. Joseph Gor and Rev. Fr. Felix Tyolaha and several other parishioners of the St. Ignatius Catholic Church, Ukpor-Mbalom, in the Gwer Local Government Area of Benue State, were killed on April 24, 2018 by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

The CLCN in a statement by its President, Thomas Folu Adekoya; and Secretary-General, Henry Yunkwap, said it supported the position of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria on the current state of the nation with particular reference to “the gruesome and mindless murdering of two Catholic priests with some of their parishioners.”

The statement read in part, “The killing of any Nigerian in circumstance such as this is bad enough, but the killing of two reverend fathers in one fell swoop inside a church during Mass is most sacrilegious, provocative, a deliberate assault on the Christian Faith and an open invitation to a religious war from which we pray merciful God to deliver Nigeria.

“While we call on all Catholic faithful and Christians generally to remain prayerful and steadfast in the face of these provocations for the sake of peace in our country, we also call on the Federal Government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari to take every step to ensure that Nigeria and Nigerians are protected from foreign invaders who defile our places of worship and lay their murderous hands on the Lord’s anointed.

“We demand that the killers of Rev Fr. Joseph Gor and Rev. Fr. Felix Tyolaha and the other worshipers be fished out without delay and be made to pay for their heinous crime. We also demand that everything possible be done to ensure that this will be the last of this kind of killing in Nigeria so that Nigerians of all creeds will enjoy the secularity enshrined in our country’s constitution.”

Copyright PUNCH.

 All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.</s>The African Land Forces Summit is a week-long seminar bringing together land force chiefs from across Africa for candid dialogue to discuss and develop cooperative solutions as well as improve trans-regional security and stability. The summit provides an opportunity for U.S. participants to hear issues and concerns directly from African land forces leaders. It also provides a forum for our partner land forces to freely express their opinions, concerns, ideas, and goals. (For Radio)
The African Land Forces Summit opens in Abuja, Nigeria. Present are military delegations from 30 African nations plus representatives from Europe and the United States.