Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the ambassador to the committee meeting and thank her for her presentation. I am not going to concentrate on the marriage issues which have been mentioned. Many people, including Christians, will not be able to get married in Nigeria simply because they are being killed. I will therefore concentrate on the breaches of fundamental human rights which are occurring there at present, in the main perpetrated by Boko Haram. We have all been appalled for many years by what is going on. Rather than being brought under control and diminishing, it has in fact increased. The ambassador's speech outlined the kidnapping and rape of young girls and probably young boys also and the conscription of child soldiers, which is a problem in other countries in Africa and which is a particular abuse of human rights with regard to children and would breach many conventions in that regard. We also saw the incident of the young suicide bomber, a young girl, who was obviously killed herself along with others. It is appalling. I would like to elicit some information from the ambassador on a couple of aspects of it. I understand that some of the 276 school girls in Chibok who were kidnapped escaped. How many are still in captivity?

Will the ambassador give us an idea as to the strength of Boko Haram? How many are involved? I know it is now conscripting people who would not normally be supportive of it and who are probably being forced into fighting. From where does it source its arms? Will the ambassador outline the number of victims killed since the current outbreak, which I think was in 2009? On the issue of arms and the sourcing of arms, will the ambassador outline if Nigeria has ratified the arms trade treaty or if it is a signatory to it?

Could the ambassador outline the background to the escalation of the current conflict? The leader of Boko Haram back in 2008 or 2009, when the group may have operated under a different name, was in police custody and he died in mysterious circumstances. My understanding is that no police were brought to justice or tried in regard to that. Could the ambassador give us some background information on exactly what happened there because some reports I read have attributed that particular killing or death to the escalation of the violence?

My colleague, Deputy Crowe, asked about the social issues that give rise to the disenchantment which may fuel support for the conflict. That is a question to which we would be keen for the ambassador to respond. Deputy Crowe also asked questions about the military. With regard to the attack on Baga, the multinational task force was based there and it seems extraordinary that Boko Haram could come in and wipe out the headquarters and also kill many civilians. It raises questions as to the competence of the army and President Goodluck Jonathan's commitment to tackling this situation.

I spoke to some Nigerians and, in general, they would say he is a very good man but some questions were raised with regard to his commitment to tackling this issue. The ambassador might comment on that. She might also expand on the training the army is getting. Given that it has a headquarters which is specifically tasked with containing and tackling the Boko Haram issue, the fact that troops could be taken from its headquarters raises training and competence issues.

The ambassador, in her statement, mentioned strategic communication to counter extremist ideology and narratives. One of the biggest issues facing everybody across the globe today is these extreme ideologies, some of which are social, some of which are religious and some of which are political. What is the strategy for achieving that? The ambassador only mentioned one line about that in her statement. She mentioned that the multinational task force under the offices of ECOWAS and other international partners is in place. How can we be confident that will be any more effective than what was already in place there?

What are the ambassador's observations on the support, help and assistance Nigeria is getting from the UN? We see condemnatory statements being made by it, as usual, but calling upon Boko Haram to desist is, I would have thought, to an extent, equivalent to whistling in the wind. One would have to compliment the UN on its refugee agencies and the camps they have in Chad which are taking people who are fleeing the country and, apparently the number has quadrupled in recent times. The ambassador might comment on how refugees are being dealt with and accommodated. I heard a report on a radio programme, I think it was on the BBC, over the weekend that gave direct accounts of people interviewed whose wives and children had been kidnapped and where many in the village had been killed. Those people are now living out in the forest trying to survive in very difficult circumstances. What supports are they getting? Their struggle is for food and they were seeking money or resources to get food. Obviously there is a huge humanitarian issue there and the ambassador might comment on that.

Fatou Bensouda, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, ICC, has issued a statement in which she said, "As a State Party to the Rome Statute, Nigeria is committed to ensuring that crimes that deeply shock the conscience of humanity do not go unpunished, and I remind Nigeria of its obligation in this regard." What is happening in regard to those who are captured and being brought to justice in Nigeria for these crimes? The overriding question is what is being to ensure there is a solution, be it militarily or through negotiations, to finalise the suffering of the people in northern Nigeria?