Samantha Power: begins Nigerian visit on Thursday

The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, will be in Nigeria between Thursday and Friday to highlight the growing threat Boko Haram poses to the country.

U.S. Embassy in Abuja said  that Power had earlier visited Cameroon and Chad between April 16 and 20 to underscore the rising danger the insurgence poses to the Lake Chad Basin region.

“Boko Haram is one of the deadliest terrorist groups in the world. It poses an acute threat to civilians across the Lake Chad Basin, and the group’s increasing lethality and relationship with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant are cause for alarm,” the embassy stated.

The statement by the embassy  noted with sadness the second anniversary of the kidnapping of the Chibok Girls and stressed the need to work with partners in the region to develop a comprehensive counter-Boko Haram effort.

This included a more coordinated military campaign, improved humanitarian access and response, a well-resourced stabilization and governance strategy, it said.

Power, while in Nigeria would engage with the Nigerian leadership and civil society in Abuja before traveling to the northeast to visit a settlement camp for civilians displaced by Boko Haram’s violence.

Power, according to the statement, will host a townhall meeting with students and participate in a Peace Through Sports event with young Nigerians.