David Lammy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2014-05-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help find the 230 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram; and whether the UK will commit military aid to the search effort if required.

Mark Simmonds

Since the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls from Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria, we have been in regular contact with the Nigerian Government to offer our assistance. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), spoke to the Nigerian Foreign Minister on 18 April immediately after the abductions and offered the UK’s assistance. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) spoke to the Nigerian President on 7 May. The Nigerian President accepted our offer of a team of experts led by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and including Ministry of Defence (MOD), Department for International Development (DFID) and Police representatives. The team arrived in Abuja on 9 May and will be talking to the Nigerians to offer advice on how the Nigerians can defeat Boko Haram and bring stability to the north of Nigeria.

It is too soon to comment on what specific assistance we will give. However, the team will provide expertise in counter-terrorism, counter-insurgency, military mentoring and training, victim support and economic development. Human rights compliance is, and will remain, an essential element of any UK assistance in Nigeria.