FBI to aid Nigeria’s fight against terrorism

• Japan donates $3m to Boko Haram victims

The government of the United States of America (USA) is set to bring in officials from its Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other security experts to assist Nigeria’s government deal with its terrorism challenges.

Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy, Alan Tousignant, disclosed this, yesterday, in Abuja, when he led a delegation to the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau.

The Japanese government, meanwhile, has announced a donation of $3 million in support of victims of Boko Haram insurgency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States.

The Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Sadanabu Kusaoke, made the disclosure in Maiduguri, yesterday.

“The Japanese government has decided to support early recovery and social cohesion in the North East. This is to help people who engage in gainful activities, like farming and trading, to contribute to the social stabilisation and recovery of the affected communities in the three states,” Kusaoke said.

Tousignant said the delegation, which comprised a crack team of the United States’ Security Governance Initiative (SGI), was in the country as a follow-up to its visit in January.

He explained that the SGI is an initiative of the U.S. government, which offers enhanced technical security assistance to six African countries including Nigeria, Niger, Kenya and Ghana.

He noted that the team was in Nigeria upon the request of the government to provide support and not to donate any equipment.

SGI Team leader, Ambassador Stephen Nolan, said both countries were working to finalise and implement a Joint Country Action Plan (JCAP), assuring that the forthcoming elections in the U.S and change of government in January 2017 would not affect the project.

Dambazau thanked the delegation for the visit and expressed optimism that the partnership would help to re-position the security architecture of the country.