FG Formally Requests UN To Blacklist Boko Haram

A United Nations diplomat has told the Voice of America (VOA) that the Nigerian government has formally requested the United Nations Security Council Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee to blacklist the Boko Haram group after the kidnapping of 276 school girls in Chibok, Borno State, over a month ago.

The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said if there is no objection by the 15-member council committee which operates by consensus, Boko Haram will be sanctioned tomorrow (today).
“It is difficult to object to such a request by the concerned country”, the council diplomat said.
It would be recalled that the Federal Government had refused to seek international assistance in fighting the Boko Haram menace until the recent abduction of the girls from a secondary school in North-East Nigeria forced President Goodluck Jonathan to request and accept foreign intervention.
Speaking further, the diplomat noted that the document submitted by the Nigerian government to support its blacklisting request, made reference to the August 2011 bombing of the UN headquarters in Abuja, which claimed many lives.
Boko Haram, which Western governments said is linked to the international terror group al-Qaeda, has claimed responsibility for the abduction of the school girls as well as several other deadly attacks on Nigerians.