Europees Parlement veroordeelt terreur aanslagen Nigeria (en)

Parliament condemns the terrorist attacks in January in Kano and the recent killing of the British and Italian hostages Chris McManus and Franco Lamolinara. It calls on the government to crack down on Boko Haram and investigate the root causes of the conflict and it demands measures to tackle the misuse of oil revenues and the problems caused by oil pollution.

The resolution, adopted on Thursday, points to a possible connection between the Islamic terrorist sect Boko Haram and Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and the need for regional cooperation to tackle this. At the same time, it appeals to the authorities to address the huge gap between rich and poor and the genuine grievances of citizens suffering from "dire living conditions" and to fight corruption, poverty and inequality.

Oil revenues should be declared, says Parliament, and the Nigerian authorities and multinational oil companies must clean up oil pollution in the Niger Delta.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton should combine diplomacy and development cooperation in order to improve conditions in Nigeria and the EU must address human rights issues in its political dialogue under the Cotonou Agreement.