Amendment Forces Dept. of State to Make Decision on Nigerian Terrorist Group

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan (PA-07) today successfully added an amendment to H.R. 4310, the National Defense Authorization Act. The Meehan amendment forces the Department of State to examine whether Boko Haram, a Nigerian-based Islamist terrorist group, meets the criteria for designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).

“Boko Haram is a fully operational terrorist network that mirrors the same evolution as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Pakistani Taliban (TTP),” said Meehan. “The State Department did not designate these groups as foreign terrorist organizations until after they attempted to attack the U.S. and kill hundreds of innocent Americans. We cannot let that happen again with Boko Haram. The Secretary of State must explain why the department has not yet designated Boko Haram a foreign terrorist organization and provided our intelligence and law enforcement communities the tools they have formally requested to combat this emerging threat.”

The Meehan amendment also requires that if the Department of State determines Boko Haram does not merit FTO designation, the Secretary of State must inform Congress which criteria are not met.

As Chairman of the House Homeland Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, Meehanhas raised awarenessabout the threat posed by Boko Haram to the United States and its interests. Last month, Meehan and Homeland Security Chairman Peter King (NY-03)called on Secretary of State Hillary Clintonto designate the Boko Haram as a FTO. Meehan also chaired a congressional hearingon Boko Haram, and he subsequently issued a bipartisan committee report last December on the growing threat this group poses to the United States. Click here to read the full report.

Meehan’s amendment mirrors legislation he introduced earlier this week, H.R. 5822.

In August 2011, Boko Haram attacked the United Nations headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, with a car bomb that killed 21.  More recently, the group launched terrorist attacks in churches during Christmas and Easter Masses, killing dozens of worshippers. 

Multiple senior U.S. security officials have sounded the warning about Boko Haram, including CIA Director Petraeus, AFRICOM Commander General Ham, Director of National Intelligence Clapper, and the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria Terrence McCulley.

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