Protect Civilians As You Go After Boko Haram..US Urges FG

The United States yesterday reiterated its call on Nigerian authorities to avoid high-handedness in the military operation against insurgents.

At a daily briefing in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, acting deputy spokesman of the State Department, Mr. Patrick Ventrell, said: “Nigeria’s security forces must protect civilians in any security response in a way that respects human rights and the rule of law…. we have made clear to the Nigerian government that its heavy-handed response to insecurity in northern Nigeria and the failure to address human rights violations will potentially affect our ability to provide security assistance going forward. So we’ve made that message clear to the Nigerians.”