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NINE DAYS LATER, BODIES STILL LITTER BUSHES FROM BOKO HARAM'S 'DEADLIEST' MASSACRE TO DATE IN NORTHEASTERN NIGERIA

January 12, 2015

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a Senior Member on the House Homeland Security Committee and the House Judiciary Committee and Co-Chair of the House Congressional Children's Caucus, released the following statement regarding the latest barbaric acts and killings by Boko Haram:

"I continue to be extremely concerned by the recent attacks by Boko Haram against the Nigerian people in the northern region of the country. It has been reported that some 2000 people have been killed by their latest attacks. We must not forget the abduction earlier this year of some 200 girls who were taken from their school hostel in Chibok, Borno State, in Nigeria. My heart goes out to their families, and I am praying that all of those who have been kidnapped will soon be reunited with their families and children. The world must come to the aid of these women, girls and children now.

"As a Senior Member on the House Homeland Security Committee I know that children's rights are human rights, and these types of attacks, specifically targeting of schools and villages, are strictly prohibited under international law and cannot be justified under any circumstances. Schools and villages are places of refuge and safety, where families should be allowed to learn and grow without fearing harm coming to them. Girls and young women around the world absolutely must be allowed to go to school peacefully and free from intimidation, persecution and all other forms of discrimination.

"Boko Haram, a militant group designated by the State Department in November 2013 as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, has been conducting a reign of terror against innocent Nigerian women, children, and men since 2009, when it killed hundreds of persons during a raid of a police station in Maiduguri. In the last four years, Boko Haram has carried out more than 480 violent attacks against a broad array of targets: Christian and Muslim communities, government installations, schools, hospitals and medical facilities, aid workers, and journalists. Since the beginning of 2013, more than 4,400 innocent persons have been killed and thousands more left homeless.

"I am urging the Government of Nigeria to develop its own capacity to deploy specialized police and army units rapidly to rescue these women, children and schoolgirls and bring Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau to justice. Such units also can be deployed to prevent and combat sectarian violence in cities and around the country where there has been a history of sectarian violence. The creation of an elite highly-trained rapid response unit would appear to be a sound short-term strategy that the Government of Nigeria should employ in dealing with violent groups like Boko Haram. This approach was used to successful effect by the Indonesia Government in 2004 to neutralize the Laskar Jihad terrorist organization.

"I call on Boko Haram who is responsible for abducting or continuing to hold these girls to release them immediately and unharmed and to stop killing other Nigerians. They must also ensure these young women return home safely, where they rightfully belong."

Congresswoman Jackson Lee is a Democrat from Texas's 18th Congressional District. She is a senior member of the House Committees on Judiciary and Homeland Security and is Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security