Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Washington DC

The President of the United States of America Donald Trump on Monday said the killings of Christians in Nigeria is unacceptable.

This is even as he said this will top the discussion he and President Muhammadu Buhari will be having in a closed door meeting.

Trump said this when he received President Buhari at the White House, Washington DC.

“Also we have had very serious problems with Christians who are being murdered in Nigeria, we are going to be working on that problem very, very hard because we cannot allow that to happen,” he said.

President Buhari on his part has ,while thanking the United State government for its support to Nigeria by approving the sale of military hardware as well as spare parts to Nigeria, assured that his administration was working on addressing the problem.

Trump in his welcome remark said:

“We have been working on terrorism and terrorism related. We have also have been very big on trade. We have also been working on military equipment, helicopters and the like. We have met before, we have a great relationship. I look forward to our discussion today again especially as it relates to terrorism. Terrorism here, terrorism all over the world is a hotbed and we are going to be stopping them.

“Also we have had very serious problems with Christians who are being murdered in Nigeria, we are going to be working on that problem very, very hard because we cannot allow that to happen.

“Mr President thank you very much for being here.”

Buhari, on his part noted that the United States has assisted a great deal in dealing with the country’s security issues.

President Buhari gave the following remarks:

“Thank you Mr President very much for inviting me. It is a grateful honour. On security, I am very grateful to the United States for agreeing to sell to us the aircraft we asked for and the spare parts. We are even more grateful for the physical presence of the United States military who are training in our institutions and who also go to the front in the northeast to see how they are doing.

“The commitment of the United States to get rid of terrorism across the world, we have first hand experience of that and we are very grateful for it.

“The problem of cattle herders, is a very long historical problem. What is of a concern is that before now the Nigerian herders are known to carry sticks and machetes and cut follies for their animals but these ones are carrying AK 47. So I don’t think we should underrate Liby. 43 years of Gaddafi, people were being recruited from the Sahel and people were being killed. With the demise, they moved from their country and their region with their training and their weapons and that is what aggravated the situation.

“We are doing our best to make ensure we stop the cross border movement and so on. It will take time.

“We are happy with the United States trying to see the end of ISIS; this has helped us a lot because the Boko Haram in Nigeria had one time made a statement that they belong to ISIS. Now that ISIS has been virtually gone we are very happy with that.

“We are stabilizing the situation in Nigeria.”

Trump, while agreeing that ISIS has been degraded asked Buhari what he was doing to rescue kidnapped girls.

“We are very much decimated ISIS over the last 12 months. But Boko Haram has been terrible. How did you do with the young women that have been kidnapped?”

Buhari in his response said, “Chibok girls kidnap was before we came. We rescue some of them. The Dapchi girls were 106, we rescued 100 back, four died, one is still in captivity. We are very grateful to the United Nations organisation that is acting as go-between and is helping out. We have not given up on the Dapchi girl.”