Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Joe Costello. In fact, probably a year ago I tabled a motion on Boko Haram, requesting action to be taken by the Government and at EU level. It has also been discussed at the Joint Committee of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the past year to 18 months.

Boko Haram is one of the most murderous terrorist groups in the world. Their chilling acts of terror have been referred to by my colleagues opposite. On the night of 16 April in north-east Nigeria, dozens of armed Boko Haram terrorists captured 230 girls sleeping in their dormitories. A month has passed and, as has been said by Senator Bacik, only now has the media come to focus on it. That is a sad reflection on the international media and of course on the United Nations, who have been exceptionally slow to react to this situation.

Boko Haram has complete disdain for the education model which has been left by the British and for western education. The translation of the group's name is "Western education is sinful.". As a consequence Boko Haram has conducted these attacks.

The group emerged from the 9/11 attack in the United States, under the leadership of the then 30 year old Mohammed Yusuf, who founded the group that later became Boko Haram. It is a Taliban inspired model of teaching that they are promoting in favour of so-called quranic sciences. They lure the unemployed, the impoverished and students who had left government universities to their side. They preach the necessity of Sharia law. In fact since the death, or possible murder of Mohammed Yusuf in 2009, the group has been further radicalised. Yusuf who was in custody was reportedly handcuffed at the time he was killed, and that has led to a reaction. The Nigerian President has been struggling with the problem ineffectively. He is expressing optimism but in fact the parents of the victims do not accept that. Some of them have gone into the forest to see if they can find their children only to turn back because of the threat to their own lives.

I am happy to support the motion, but I am afraid it is inadequate as we are focusing only on these abductions. I ask the Members opposite to consider the following addition to the motion - "and their ongoing targeted campaign of killing Christians in Nigeria and that we call upon the international community, including the United Nations to provide whatever assistance is necessary to combat this terrorist organisation." . I do so because Boko Haram has promised to annihilate all western culture.

The killings have reflected a sectarian element. In May 2011 two bombs killed 15 people; in August 2011 a suicide bomber killed 21; in January 2012, 185 Christians were killed just after Christmas in a church in which they were praying; in July 2013, 29 students were burned alive in their school; in September last year 40 young children were murdered; and in February this year 59 more students were killed. It would be remiss of us not to condemn these events in the same way as we condemn the others. Action has to be taken to eliminate Boko Haram and bring to an end its treacherous murderous campaign. Senator Ivana Bacik mentioned that up to 5,000 people had been killed and in the first four months of this year alone Amnesty International has stated 1,500 people died. This is a group which is promoting a genocidal campaign in Nigeria and it needs to be confronted by the international community, obviously in agreement with the Nigerian Government. It should be eliminated. While I am not putting this forward as an amendment, if the House could accept it as a consensus, it would be good because we would actually condemn all of the brutal activities of Boko Haram, rather than perhaps be seen to focus on one aspect.