Congresswoman Waters Urges Action to Stop the Slaughter of Civilians by Boko Haram

Congresswoman Waters Urges Action to Stop the Slaughter of Civilians by Boko Haram

April 16, 2015

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, urged aggressive efforts to combat the terrorist group Boko Haram in Nigeria. She made her comments yesterday on the Floor of the House of Representatives during a series of "special order" speeches to mark the one-year anniversary of the kidnapping of 276 Nigerian schoolgirls by Boko Haram.

Her remarks follow:

A year and a day ago today, 276 innocent Nigerian schoolgirls were tragically taken away from their boarding school and their family. One year later, more than 200 of these girls are still missing, and Boko Haram continues to prey on the Nigerian people.

The kidnapping of these schoolgirls is just one example of the appalling acts of terror committed by this group, who, according to the Human Rights Watch, have killed more than 2,000 people and forced 800,000 children to be displaced from their homes.

We simply must do more to combat their efforts. I commend President Obama for publicly expressing his willingness to assist Nigeria in its efforts to dismantle this group. Additionally, I encourage the incoming President of Nigeria, President Buhari, to remain committed to his pledge to implement an aggressive effort to combat Boko Haram and to protect his citizens.

I hope, with the anniversary of these attacks upon us, we are all re-galvanized to do what we can to bring back our girls and protect other innocent citizens from any future attacks.

###