Boko Haram Makes Strategic Gains during Kerry Visit

Secretary of State John Kerry was in Nigeria on Sunday afternoon and met privately with current President Goodluck Jonathan, his opponent Muhammadu Buhari, and the head of Nigeria’s independent election commission. Kerry’s stated objective while in Nigeria was to discourage partisan conflict between Nigerian political factions over the upcoming election on February 14^th. Mr. Kerry met with Jonathan at the State House, a meeting that involved a twenty-minute session in which the two spoke by themselves. Kerry then rode to the United States consulate, where he met the challenger for the Nigerian Presidency, retired general Muhammadu Buhari.

Buhari has focused his campaign on claims he will end Boko Haram’s reign of terror.  Buhari had previously taken power in Nigeria in 1983 in a military coup. During his time in power Buhari imposed austerity measures and restrictions on the press.  Buhari is seen to be favored by the predominately Muslim north while Jonathan’s base of support is the largely Christian south. It is reported that after their meetings, John Kerry won pledges from both to refrain from post-election violence.

Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit came with contingencies. He spoke adamantly that the level of American support would be influenced by the determination of Nigeria’s government to carry out an free and fair election on February 14^th. “Bottom line, we want to do more,” Mr. Kerry said Sunday. “But our ability to do more will depend to some degree on the full measure of credibility, accountability, transparency and peacefulness of this election.” His pointed warning came against a backdrop of campaign violence by supporters of the candidates and a history of electoral fraud and post-election killings.

Earlier Sunday, Boko Haram carried out an early morning attack on the city of Maiduguri, launching a brutal assault on a military barracks before being repulsed. Boko Haram arrived at a military checkpoint outside the city, arriving in buses as if they were ordinary travelers, ambushing soldiers before they realized what was happening. In a separate attack, Boko Haram seized the strategically important city of Monguno. According to reports the Nigerian military was pre-warned of the impending assault, but still found itself unprepared, and while initially holding ground with support from a ZSU-23-4 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, forced to retreat when ammunition began to run out. With the victory at Monguno, Boko Haram now controls towns sitting astride three of the major roads out of Maiduguri.