WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has welcomed Nigeria’s new president to the White House.
Obama praised President Muhammadu Buhari (moo-HAH’-mah-doo boo-HAH’-ree) for working to bring “safety, security and peace” to a nation challenged by economic strains, a history of corruption and violence unleashed by the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram.
The group, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State Group, has killed thousands across northern Nigeria.
Nigeria’s government and military have failed to locate more than 200 school girls, most of them Christian, who were kidnapped by Boko Haram from the northern town of Chibok in April 2014. The abduction led to international condemnation and a campaign to “Bring Back Our Girls” that reached as far as the White House.
Obama, speaking to reporters at the outset of the meeting, said Buhari has “a very clear agenda in defeating Boko Haram and extremists of all sorts inside of his country.”
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181-a-06-(President Barack Obama, with reporters)-“cooperate on counter-terrorism”-President Barack Obama says he and Nigeria’s new president are concerned about the spread of the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram. (20 Jul 2015)
< 180-a-08-(President Barack Obama, with reporters)-“they’ve carried out”-President Barack Obama says Nigeria’s new president is determined to defeat Islamic terrorists in the nation’s north. (20 Jul 2015) < APPHOTO DCEV108: President Barack Obama, right, meets with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, in the Oval Office of the White House, on Monday, July 20, 2015, in Washington. Buhari is seeking to shore up relations between the two countries and to request additional assistance in the fight against the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (20 Jul 2015) <
