{"id":11327,"date":"2016-09-04T19:47:02","date_gmt":"2016-09-04T19:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=11327"},"modified":"2016-09-04T20:47:54","modified_gmt":"2016-09-04T20:47:54","slug":"human-rights-abuse-congressman-wants-u-s-to-withhold-security-assistance-to-nigeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=11327","title":{"rendered":"Human rights abuse: Congressman wants U.S. to withhold security assistance to Nigeria"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><code><script src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\" async=\"\"><\/script><br \/>\n <!-- www.deltanewsroom.com --><br \/>\n <ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-2163942495525027\" data-ad-slot=\"1411897411\" data-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\/\/ <![CDATA[\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><\/code><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><em><a href=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Barack-Obama.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10477\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10477\" src=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Barack-Obama-300x187.jpg\" alt=\"Barack-Obama\" width=\"300\" height=\"187\" srcset=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Barack-Obama-300x187.jpg 300w, http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Barack-Obama-768x480.jpg 768w, http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Barack-Obama-128x80.jpg 128w, http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Barack-Obama.jpg 858w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>A letter to US Secretary of State, <strong>John Kerry by<\/strong> Tom Marino, who doubles as the chairman of USA\u2019s Committee on the Judiciary, Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><code><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alternativeadvert.com\/show.php?z=30&amp;pl=10315&amp;ad_type=59&amp;rl=180\" width=\"300\" height=\"250\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/code><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><em>Dear Secretary Kerry, I am encouraged by the personal interest you have taken in aiding Nigeria and its administration as it takes on endemic corruption, multiple insurgent movements, and a faltering economy. However, I believe there are a number of warning signs emerging in the Buhari administration that signal \u201cthe man who once led Nigeria as a military dictator might be sliding towards former autocratic tendencies.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><em>\u201cI would urge the U.S. to withhold its security assistance to the nation until President Buhari demonstrates a commitment to inclusive government and the most basic tenets of democracy: freedom to assemble and freedom of speech. A logical start towards this commitment is for the Nigerian government to hold accountable those members of the Nigerian Police Force and the Nigerian Military complicit in extra-judicial killings and war crimes\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><em>\u201cHuman rights groups like Amnesty International have widely documented torture, inhumane treatment, and extra-judicial killings of defenseless Nigerians since President Buhari took office.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\">Quoting Amnesty International Report, he wrote, <em>\u201cIn the last six months, Nigeria\u2019s military has unlawfully killed at least 350 people and allowed more than 168 people, including babies and children, to die in military detention.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\">He continued: <em>\u201cThe secretary to the government of Kaduna state even admitted to burying 347 of those killed in a mass grave. And while President Buhari promised swift condemnation, his words rang empty. Instead of swift reforms, Buhari chose to reinstate Major General Ahmadu Mohammed, who Amnesty International revealed was in charge of the Nigerian military unit that executed more than 640 unarmed, former detainees.<\/em><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><em>\u201cAlso, in separate incidents concerning the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the Nigerian Army has killed at least 36 \u2013 the real number is likely higher \u2013 people since December 2015 in an attempt to silence opposition and quell attempts by the group to gather publicly.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><script src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\" async=\"\"><\/script><br \/>\n <!-- www.deltanewsroom.com --><br \/>\n <ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-2163942495525027\" data-ad-slot=\"1411897411\" data-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\/\/ <![CDATA[\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\">Marino stated that <em>&#8220;President Buhari has continually shunned inclusivety by surrounding himself with advisors and ministers from the north of the country and the region he considers home.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><em>\u201cOf President Buhari\u2019s 122 appointees, 77 are from the north and control many of the key ministries and positions of power. Distrust is already high in Nigeria and favouring Northerners for key appointments has only antagonized the issue. These appointments are also primarily Muslim in the north and Christian in the south, adding a religious aspect to long-held regional biases.<\/em><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><em>\u201cOf additional concern is President Buhari\u2019s selective anti-corruption drive, which has focused almost exclusively on members of the opposition party, over-looking corruption amongst some of Buhari\u2019s closest advisors. Politicizing his anti-corruption efforts has only reinforced hostility among southerners.<\/em><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><em>\u201cThis is a logical first step in making a demonstrable, sustained commitment to inclusive democracy, with distributed power in Nigeria. Until President Buhari establishes a track record of working towards inclusion, we ask the State Department to refrain from selling warplanes and other military equipment to the country.<\/em><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><em>\u201cThe State Department should urge President Buhari to form a government that represents the diversity of its citizens and allows dissenting voices to be heard. Democracy can thrive only if people are free to assemble, to express their beliefs, and voice their concerns,&#8221;<\/em> Marino stated.<\/p>\n<p><code><script src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\" async=\"\"><\/script><br \/>\n <!-- www.deltanewsroom.com --><br \/>\n <ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-2163942495525027\" data-ad-slot=\"1411897411\" data-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\/\/ <![CDATA[\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><\/code><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alternativeadvert.com\/show.php?z=30&amp;pl=10315&amp;ad_type=59&amp;rl=180\" width=\"300\" height=\"250\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A letter to US Secretary of State, John Kerry by Tom Marino, who doubles as the chairman of USA\u2019s Committee on the Judiciary, Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs. Dear Secretary Kerry, I am encouraged by the personal interest you have taken in aiding Nigeria and its administration as it takes on endemic corruption, multiple insurgent [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":10477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[133,2654,2912],"class_list":["post-11327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","tag-amnesty-international","tag-john-kerry","tag-tom-marino"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Barack-Obama.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4oswh-2WH","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11327"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11327\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11329,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11327\/revisions\/11329"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}