UK’S GROUP PUBLISHES CHALLENGING INVESTIGATION ON BOKO HARAM
The report was published in July, 2014, on the official website of Bow Group, which mainly releases the research of its members.
Bow Group Chairman Ben Harris-Quinney said:
“An early investigation into the backers of Boko Haram and their links to the APC, followed by potential sanctions designed to prevent Nigeria becoming a future safe-haven for terrorists, and threat to UK citizens at home and abroad, therefore seems an appropriate and important strategy to prevent future terrorist threats before they take hold.”
The article is authorized by the group’s renowned research analyst Jacob Zen who specializes in writing about Boko Haram and Northern Nigeria. He warns the United States against “playing a dangerous game.”.
Find the report below:
“Summary:
· Boko Haram operates as Al-Qaeda’s representative in Nigeria and must be challenged on a domestic, regional and international level.
· The US government’s delay in designating Boko Haram a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) initially hampered international attempts to combat the terror group’s overseas financial transactions—there have been over 3,000 deaths this year alone in Nigeria and Cameroon.
· The US State Department should clarify the standards used to make the terror designation and explain why Boko Haram did not receive the label under the leadership of former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, despite traceable evidence linking Boko Haram to Osama bin Laden.
· There are concerns in the international community and Nigeria that the U.S. Democratic Party or its advisers may be associating themselves with northern Nigerian politicians, despite reported links to Boko Haram.
· Any political pact between US officials and the APC carries risks – the US must adopt a neutral approach to the Nigerian elections and political landscape.
· An international investigation that can bring sanctions against political and business leaders in Nigeria and abroad who are financing Boko Haram should be commissioned immediately.
Recommendations:
1. The U.S. government should clarify why it refused to label Boko Haram as an FTO before November 2013 and outline the criteria and standards upon which it will be used in the future.
2. Former Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, and the U.S. Democratic Party, including its consultants, should establish and maintain a position of neutrality in advance of the Nigerian Presidential elections.
3. International support and cooperation with the Nigerian government should be enhanced. More support is needed to ensure early successes in the war on Boko Haram are taken advantage of, and any chance of the terror group re-taking strongholds in the country are avoided.
4. An international investigation under the auspices and coordination of the US, UK, France, Nigeria and other leading states must be called to examine Boko Haram and its relationships with in-country political figures, businesses in West Africa and abroad and international terrorist groups. The probe and its conclusions should be neutral and objective and delivered well before the presidential elections next year.
5. The UK should take an active interest interest in the the situation by seeking to formulate its own coherent policy on the matter and influence US policy given Boko Haram’s links to Al Qaeda that could pose a potential bed for terrorism in the UK. The new Foreign Secretary should treat this as a matter of urgency.”
