WASHINGTON: The Latest on the visit of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to Washington.
Nigeria’s fight against the Boko Haram jihadist group was expected to top the agenda in talks Monday between President Donald Trump and Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari, leader of Africa’s most populous and wealthiest country. Buhari became the first leader from sub-Saharan Africa to visit Trump when he arrived at the White House at midday.
As they opened discussions in the Oval Office, Trump said it was important to meet face-to-face, “especially on terrorism and terrorism-related” issues, stressing that the extremist group Boko Haram has been a “terrible problem” for Nigeria.
Buhari is seeking support in the battle against Boko Haram extremists, who for nine years have attacked cities and towns in the country’s northeast, killing more than 20,000 people in a bloody quest to establish a terrorist group.
“We have a very big trade deal we’re working on for military equipment, helicopters and the like,” Trump added.
The US President commented Monday as he sat down in the Oval Office with Nigerian President Buhari.
According to Trump, the topics of terrorism, trade and anti-Christian sentiment in Nigeria will be discussed in the meeting.
“We’ve had serious problems with Christians who have been murdered, killed,” Trump said, an apparent reference to the attack on April 24 on a church in central Nigeria, where 18 people, including two priests, were murdered.
“We’re going to work on that problem and working on that problem very, very hard,” Trump said.
Buhari thanked the US for its commitment to fighting terrorism and says US action has helped his country a lot.
Boko Haram launched a violent insurgency in the Nigerian northeast nine years ago with the aim of creating a terrorist group. Thousands of people have been killed. Mass abductions of schoolgirls brought Boko Haram international notoriety and one faction has declared allegiance to the Daesh group.
