US Lawmaker Accuses Nigeria of Failing to Protect Citizens After Plateau Killings
A United States congressman has accused the Nigerian government of failing to protect its citizens and to hold perpetrators accountable following recent killings in Plateau State, according to a report by This Day carried by AllAfrica.
Representative Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey and a long-serving member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, made the comments in remarks critical of Abuja’s response to the latest wave of violence in the central Nigerian state. The lawmaker said the attacks underscored what he described as a persistent failure by Nigerian authorities to safeguard communities and bring those responsible to justice.
Plateau State, situated in Nigeria’s Middle Belt with its capital at Jos, has experienced recurrent outbreaks of communal violence for decades. Tensions between farming communities and pastoralist groups, often along ethnic and religious lines, have produced repeated cycles of attacks and reprisals that have displaced thousands and drawn expressions of concern from international observers, humanitarian organisations and foreign governments.
Smith is a veteran congressional voice on human rights and religious freedom abroad and has previously criticised governments in several regions over their treatment of vulnerable populations. His intervention comes amid continued scrutiny in Washington of Nigeria’s security situation, including periodic designations and debates over US policy toward the West African country.
The Nigerian government has, in past statements on Plateau violence, pledged to strengthen security deployments, support affected communities and pursue accountability through the judicial system. The latest calls from Washington are likely to add to diplomatic pressure on Abuja as it confronts overlapping security challenges across multiple regions of the country.
Sources
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