WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The United States formally designated the Nigerian Islamist militant groups Boko Haram and Ansaru as foreign terrorist organizations yesterday, making it a crime to provide them with material support.
The White House directed U.S. agencies to block financial transactions with the two groups, which it blamed for thousands of deaths in northeast and central Nigeria, including attacks on churches and mosques and a 2011 suicide bombing of the United Nations building in Abuja.
“By cutting these terrorist organizations off from U.S. financial institutions and enabling banks to freeze assets held in the United States, these designations demonstrate our strong support for Nigeria’s fight against terrorism and its efforts to address security challenges in the north,” Lisa Monaco, President Barack Obama’s homeland security and counterterrorism adviser, said in a statement.
Boko Haram and other splinter Islamist groups are seen as the biggest security threat in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and top oil exporter.
The Nigerian military said they were encouraged by the U.S. decision.
“It appears they now understand the reality of the challenges we face in dealing with Boko Haram,” said Nigerian Defense spokesman Brigadier General Chris Olukolade. “… It is a welcome development in furtherance of international understanding and cooperation in the fight against terrorism.”
