Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his polices of the statement by the EYN Church National President Reverend Joel Billi during a press conference in Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria on 2 July, that over 700,000 of his church’s members have been displaced, eight pastors and over 8,370 lay people have been killed, and an unknown number have been abducted by terrorist factions of Boko Haram.

We are aware of the statement made by the President of EYN Church, Reverend Joel Billi, on 2 July. The UK condemns the appalling actions of terrorist groups including Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa in North East Nigeria. Adamawa State is one of the three Nigerian states worst affected by the conflict. These terrorist groups attack Nigerians of all faiths who do not subscribe to their extremist views, causing immense suffering in both Christian and Muslim communities.

The UK remains committed to helping Nigeria tackle the terrorist threat and supporting affected communities through a comprehensive package of security, stabilisation and humanitarian assistance. This includes up to £300 million of humanitarian assistance to affected communities between 2017-2022. We regularly raise the importance of protecting all Nigerians with the Government of Nigeria, and do so at the highest levels. In June, I discussed the conflict in North East Nigeria with the Nigerian President's Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari.