US plans major border security program in Nigeria

The United States is preparing to launch a "major" border security program to help Nigeria and its neighbours combat the increasing number and scope of attacks by Islamic extremists, a senior US official for Africa has said.
Nigerian insurgents have begun attacking villages in neighbouring Cameroon and have been seizing land in northeast Nigeria where they proclaimed an Islamic caliphate.
Assistant Secretary of State Linda Thomas-Greenfield yesterday told a meeting of US and Nigerian officials in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, that "Despite our collective efforts, the situation on the ground is worsening.
"The frequency and scope of Boko Haram's terror attacks have grown more acute and constitute a serious threat to this country's overall security," she said. "This is a sober reality check for all of us. We are past time for denial and pride."

The government denied that Boko Haram this week overran Bama, the second largest city in Borno state, but Thomas-Greenfield said, "We are very troubled by the apparent capture of Bama and the prospects for an attack on and in Maiduguri."
And the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said it is "extremely concerned about the further deterioration of the security situation following the recent attack by Boko Haram on Bama town."

Bama, a city of about 200,000 people is just 75 kilometres (45 miles) from Maiduguri, the Borno state capital that is the headquarters of the military campaign against Boko Haram.

A senior Borno state security officer said a bombing raid on Wednesday destroyed a Boko Haram camp outside Bama. The officer said two Air Force jets spotted the insurgents, who apparently were gathering for a meeting. He spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to give information to journalists.
The officer and a member of the Nigerian Vigilante Group of civilians fighting Boko Haram both said some of the thousands of Bama residents who fled were returning home. There was no way to independently verify the confusing and conflicting information about Bama.
OCHA, the UN agency, said at least 26,000 people have been displaced in Bama.

A Westerner working on the Cameroon side of the border said more than 100 Nigerian soldiers fled Bama and crossed into Cameroon on Tuesday. Last week, nearly 500 Nigerian soldiers fled into Cameroon from another border town that was under attack.