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With the blacklisting, the two groups have been officially designated Foreign Terrorist Organisations, which will bar any United States firm or citizen from assisting them as well as lead to the freezing of all their assets in the US.
“These designations are an important and appropriate step, but only one tool in what must be a comprehensive approach by the Nigerian government to counter these groups to help root out violent extremism,” the US State Department said in a statement.
The Islamist insurgency has claimed thousands of lives since 2009 mainly in Nigeria’s restive northeast and caused international concern over its potential to spread across porous borders into other nearby safe havens.
“In the last several years, Boko Haram and Ansaru have been responsible for thousands of deaths in northeast and central Nigeria, including dozens of attacks on churches and mosques, targeted killings of civilians, and the 2011 suicide bombing of the United Nations building in Abuja that killed 21 people and injured dozens more,” key White House homeland security advisor, Lisa Monaco, said in a statement.
“By cutting these terrorist organisations off from US financial institutions and enabling banks to freeze assets held in the United States, these designations demonstrate our strong support for Nigeria's fight against terrorism and its efforts to address security challenges in the north,” the statement added.
US officials accused Boko Haram of links to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, while Ansaru is a splinter faction that earlier this year kidnapped and executed seven foreign construction workers.
Emergency rule in the northeast has largely pushed Boko Haram fighters from urban areas into the countryside over the last six months, but attacks have continued unabated.
“All of our assistance to Nigeria stresses the importance of protecting civilians and ensuring that human rights are respected. That assistance and these designations demonstrate US support for the Nigerian people's fight against Boko Haram and Ansaru,” the State Department said.
President Barack Obama met President Goodluck Jonathan in September and urged him to pursue a comprehensive counterterrorism approach that uses law enforcement tools effectively, creates economic opportunity, and ensures that human rights are protected and respected.
Reacting to the US' decision, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke (SAN), who spoke with journalists last night, said: “The US stance is a welcome development; we salute the US government for partnering with the federal government to rout out terrorism.
“This step will assist this nation to deal with these renegades. It will also help in strengthening the proscription of Boko Haram by the federal government.
“We urge other super powers to emulate the US government to check terrorism in any part of the world. A threat to any nation by the insurgents is a threat to global peace.”
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