The European Parliament adopted by 516 votes to 11, with 36 abstentions, a resolution on the situation in Nigeria.

The text adopted in plenary had been jointly tabled by the EPP, S&D, ECR, ALDE, GUE/NGL, Greens/EFA and EFDD groups.

Parliament strongly condemned the ongoing and increasingly disturbing violence committed by the terrorist sect Boko Haram against civilian, government and military targets in Nigeria, which have led to thousands of deaths and injuries and have displaced hundreds of thousands of people, and which could constitute crimes against humanity. One year has passed since the abduction of 276 girls from a school outside Chibok. According to human rights groups, at least another 2000 girls and women have been taken. Members asked the government and the international community to do everything in their power to find the abductees and free them.

Addressing the root causes of the violence: Parliament asks the newly elected president to keep his campaign promises and to put all resources into bringing an end to the violence of Boko Haram, re-establishing stability and security across the whole country and addressing the root causes of this terrorism

The resolution advocated:

• firmer action to fight internal corruption, mismanagement and inefficiencies within the public institutions and the army, which have rendered it incapable of dealing with the scourge of Boko Haram in the north of the country, and to adopt measures to starve Boko Haram of its sources of illegal income through cooperation with neighbouring countries, in particular with regard to smuggling and trafficking;
• the adoption of a roadmap for the social and economic development of the northern and southern states in order to address the issues of poverty and inequality, which are a cause of spiralling violence, while promoting fair distribution of oil revenues.

Regional and international cooperation: Parliament calls on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in particular, to continue to make its new Counter-Terrorism Strategy operational, paying particular attention to the containment of cross-border illicit flows of arms, weapons, fighters and contraband. It points, in this regard, to the pledge of allegiance made by Boko Haram to Islamic State, and to the necessity of impeding any further coordination or cooperation between the two terrorist organisations.

The international community was urged to do more to help the Nigerian Government fight Boko Haram and to help the Nigerian refugees in neighbouring countries.

Role of the Union: Parliament called on the EU to:

• fulfil their commitment to providing a comprehensive range of support to Nigeria and its people at all levels - political, development and humanitarian - in tackling the Boko Haram threat and ensuring the development of the country;
• use all its tools to promote these measures, and to efficiently curb illicit financial flows and tax evasion and avoidance and boost democratic international cooperation in tax matters;
• investigate the financing of Boko Haram and to address the transparency of trade in all natural resources, including oil, in order to avoid any fuelling of conflicts by any company;
• set up immediately a credible and holistic European system for managing the migration routes from sub-Saharan Africa to the Middle East and northern Africa, to offer sustainable development solutions to countries of origin, such as Nigeria.

Parliament, finally, welcomed the continued commitment of all political parties and candidates to peaceful elections. It was convinced that the transition of power through the ballot box demonstrates a deepening democracy in Nigeria, which could serve as a model for other African nations.