UK Parliament Worried About Nigeria’s Growing Insecurity

*Debates frequent students’ abductions, boko haram
attacks

Worried about the nation’s unceasing insecurity, the United
Kingdom’s parliament, the House of Commons, has held consistent
debates between April 12 and 22 over the continued abductions of
students and the sustained attacks by Boko Haream’s insurgents.

The lawmakers debate, centred around understanding the situation
in Nigeria and subsequently providing assistance to her
government.

For example, on April 12, lawmaker Jim Shannon, the Democratic
Unionist Party MP for Strangford, sought to find out what
discussions the UK government had had with President Muhammadu
Buhari’s administration on helping to prevent the kidnap of
children from schools.

In response, James Duddridge, the Secretary of State for
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, said, “We are deeply
concerned by the kidnapping and continued captivity of
schoolchildren by Boko Haram (BH) and Islamic State West Africa
(ISWA) in North-East Nigeria.

“The British High Commission continues to raise these cases with
the Nigerian government, most recently in March 2021. We are also
concerned by the recent attacks on schools in Zamfara, Niger,
Kaduna, and Katsina states, conducted by criminal groups.”

He further stated: “I publicly condemned these attacks and
stressed the importance of all children being able to access an
education without fear. The UK Deputy National Security Advisor
discussed the abduction of Nigerian schoolboys in Kankara in
Katsina State with the president’s Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari,
on December 15, 2020.

“Our High Commissioner in Abuja spoke to the Inspector General
of the Nigerian Police on improving school safety and addressing
kidnapping in March 2021.”

Duddridge explained that the UK provided mentoring and capacity
building for units of the Nigerian Police Force to improve their
anti-kidnap capacity and response to organised crime groups in
Nigeria.

The following week, on April 19, another UK lawmaker, Stephen
Doughty, the Labour (Co-op) MP for Cardiff South and Penarth,
demanded from the British government an assessment of the security
and humanitarian situation in the North-East following recent
attacks and the displacement of people in the Damasak area.

Duddgride explained that the UK government was concerned by the
security and humanitarian situation in the North-East, where
terrorist groups, including Boko Haram and Islamic State West
Africa, continue to attack local communities.

Shedding more light on his assessment, he noted, “Recent attacks
on Damasak in Borno State, in which civilians, humanitarian
workers, and facilities were targeted, have led to a worsening
humanitarian situation, and the displacement of local residents and
internally displaced people to Niger or other areas of north-east
Nigeria. As the UK government has repeatedly made clear,
humanitarian workers should never be a target.”

He reiterated to the House of Commons that the UK remained
“committed to helping Nigeria tackle the threat posed by the
terrorist groups” in the North-East, adding, “We are providing
significant humanitarian and stabilisation assistance to support
affected communities, including those who have been displaced.”

THISDAY’s findings also showed that 60 to 69 UK-based staff were
posted by the then Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department
for International Development and currently Foreign, Commonwealth,
and Development Office to all posts in Nigeria as of March 31,
2021.

On April 20, another legislator Hilary Benn, the Labour MP for
Leeds Central, asked specifically about the threat to Christians
amid killings in Nigeria.

In response, Duddridge stated that the UK condemned all violence
against civilians in Nigeria, irrespective of religion. He pointed
out that in the North-East, terrorist groups, including Boko Haram
and ISWA, “continue to cause immense suffering to both Muslim and
Christian” communities.

“These groups seek to undermine the right to freedom of religion
or belief by indiscriminately attacking those of all faiths, who do
not subscribe to their extremist views,” he said.

He further told the House of Commons that intercommunal violence
across multiple states also “has a devastating impact” on Christian
and Muslim communities and disclosed that the “underlying drivers
of violence are complex, and frequently relate to competition over
resources and increasing criminality.”

On April 26 and 27 April, the UK minister disclosed that he met
with “a range of Nigerian interlocutors, including governors” from
some northern states and Nigerian government representatives,
including the foreign affairs minister, Geoffrey Onyeama.

“I raised the need for all communities to be protected amidst
increasing insecurity…We will continue to encourage the Nigerian
government to take urgent action to protect all communities and to
implement long-term solutions that address the root causes of
violence,” he told the parliament.

The UK envoy also told the House of Commons about the issues of
LGBT in Nigeria, noting that the UK government is worried about the
criminalisation of homosexuality, recognising that there is a long
way to go before all LGBT people can live free and equal lives in
Nigeria.

Speaking of the country and others in Africa, Duddridge
explained, “We make regular representations to governments around
the world on this issue, including in Uganda, Ghana, Namibia and
Nigeria. We work through our Embassies and High Commissions, as
well as international organisations, including the UN, Council of
Europe, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE),
and the Commonwealth, to promote non-discrimination towards LGBT
people, and to address discriminatory laws.”

He added: “We directly challenge governments that criminalise
homosexuality at the highest political levels.”

*Debates frequent students’ abductions, boko haram
attacks

Worried about the nation’s unceasing insecurity, the United
Kingdom’s parliament, the House of Commons, has held consistent
debates between April 12 and 22 over the continued abductions of
students and the sustained attacks by Boko Haream’s insurgents.

The lawmakers debate, centred around understanding the situation
in Nigeria and subsequently providing assistance to her
government.

For example, on April 12, lawmaker Jim Shannon, the Democratic
Unionist Party MP for Strangford, sought to find out what
discussions the UK government had had with President Muhammadu
Buhari’s administration on helping to prevent the kidnap of
children from schools.

In response, James Duddridge, the Secretary of State for
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, said, “We are deeply
concerned by the kidnapping and continued captivity of
schoolchildren by Boko Haram (BH) and Islamic State West Africa
(ISWA) in North-East Nigeria.

“The British High Commission continues to raise these cases with
the Nigerian government, most recently in March 2021. We are also
concerned by the recent attacks on schools in Zamfara, Niger,
Kaduna, and Katsina states, conducted by criminal groups.”

He further stated: “I publicly condemned these attacks and
stressed the importance of all children being able to access an
education without fear. The UK Deputy National Security Advisor
discussed the abduction of Nigerian schoolboys in Kankara in
Katsina State with the president’s Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari,
on December 15, 2020.

“Our High Commissioner in Abuja spoke to the Inspector General
of the Nigerian Police on improving school safety and addressing
kidnapping in March 2021.”

Duddridge explained that the UK provided mentoring and capacity
building for units of the Nigerian Police Force to improve their
anti-kidnap capacity and response to organised crime groups in
Nigeria.

The following week, on April 19, another UK lawmaker, Stephen
Doughty, the Labour (Co-op) MP for Cardiff South and Penarth,
demanded from the British government an assessment of the security
and humanitarian situation in the North-East following recent
attacks and the displacement of people in the Damasak area.

Duddgride explained that the UK government was concerned by the
security and humanitarian situation in the North-East, where
terrorist groups, including Boko Haram and Islamic State West
Africa, continue to attack local communities.

Shedding more light on his assessment, he noted, “Recent attacks
on Damasak in Borno State, in which civilians, humanitarian
workers, and facilities were targeted, have led to a worsening
humanitarian situation, and the displacement of local residents and
internally displaced people to Niger or other areas of north-east
Nigeria. As the UK government has repeatedly made clear,
humanitarian workers should never be a target.”

He reiterated to the House of Commons that the UK remained
“committed to helping Nigeria tackle the threat posed by the
terrorist groups” in the North-East, adding, “We are providing
significant humanitarian and stabilisation assistance to support
affected communities, including those who have been displaced.”

THISDAY’s findings also showed that 60 to 69 UK-based staff were
posted by the then Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department
for International Development and currently Foreign, Commonwealth,
and Development Office to all posts in Nigeria as of March 31,
2021.

On April 20, another legislator Hilary Benn, the Labour MP for
Leeds Central, asked specifically about the threat to Christians
amid killings in Nigeria.

In response, Duddridge stated that the UK condemned all violence
against civilians in Nigeria, irrespective of religion. He pointed
out that in the North-East, terrorist groups, including Boko Haram
and ISWA, “continue to cause immense suffering to both Muslim and
Christian” communities.

“These groups seek to undermine the right to freedom of religion
or belief by indiscriminately attacking those of all faiths, who do
not subscribe to their extremist views,” he said.

He further told the House of Commons that intercommunal violence
across multiple states also “has a devastating impact” on Christian
and Muslim communities and disclosed that the “underlying drivers
of violence are complex, and frequently relate to competition over
resources and increasing criminality.”

On April 26 and 27 April, the UK minister disclosed that he met
with “a range of Nigerian interlocutors, including governors” from
some northern states and Nigerian government representatives,
including the foreign affairs minister, Geoffrey Onyeama.

“I raised the need for all communities to be protected amidst
increasing insecurity…We will continue to encourage the Nigerian
government to take urgent action to protect all communities and to
implement long-term solutions that address the root causes of
violence,” he told the parliament.

The UK envoy also told the House of Commons about the issues of
LGBT in Nigeria, noting that the UK government is worried about the
criminalisation of homosexuality, recognising that there is a long
way to go before all LGBT people can live free and equal lives in
Nigeria.

Speaking of the country and others in Africa, Duddridge
explained, “We make regular representations to governments around
the world on this issue, including in Uganda, Ghana, Namibia and
Nigeria. We work through our Embassies and High Commissions, as
well as international organisations, including the UN, Council of
Europe, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE),
and the Commonwealth, to promote non-discrimination towards LGBT
people, and to address discriminatory laws.”

He added: “We directly challenge governments that criminalise
homosexuality at the highest political levels.”