Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan calls for help from the United States in the country’s fight against Boko Haram, after the Islamist group struck again on Saturday. The head of state for the first time reportedly claimed direct links between the the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq and the Sunni radicals who have been waging a six-year insurgency in Nigeria.
President Jonathan in an interview with Wall Street Journal said: “Are they (the United States) not fighting ISIS? Why can’t they come to Nigeria? “They are our friends. If Nigeria has a problem, then I expect the US to come and assist us.”
Unfortunately, it appears the US does not have immediate plans to send troops to Nigeria as confirmed by Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby. “I can tell you that there are no plans as I speak here to send unilaterally, to send or to add US troops into Nigeria. There are no US troops operating in Nigeria,” he told reporters.
