Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Valerie Vaz

Tuesday 20th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Valerie Vaz (Walsall South) (Lab)]

What steps have been taken to secure the release of the kidnapped schoolgirls in Nigeria?

[Mr Philip Hammond]

The UK has contributed considerable resources, including military surveillance resources, to assist the Nigerians, and we have produced some intelligence that could have been helpful in the ongoing manhunt. However, the capacity of Nigerian forces on the ground in that region is not as great as we would like, and the constraints on their freedom of action in the north-east region are growing all the time because of the increasing role of Boko Haram.