Ban Ki-moon to mark jihadist attack on UN in Nigeria: govt

UN chief Ban Ki-moon is to visit Nigeria to commemorate a deadly attack on the global body by Boko Haram militants and meet the country’s new leader, the government said Friday.

The secretary-general arrives in Abuja on Sunday, where he will have talks with President Muhammadu Buhari, who came to power on May 29, and lay a wreath to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the attack.

The car bombing at United Nations House, the headquarters for around 400 UN employees, killed at least 21 and wounded dozens on August 26, 2011.

Ban is also due to dine with captains of industry and the west African nation’s state governors during the two-day trip, a statement from the foreign ministry said.

The visit will be Ban’s second since taking office in 2007. He last visited Nigeria in May 2011 to discuss the crises in southern Sudan and Libya with then leader Goodluck Jonathan.

There were unconfirmed reports that Ban will also visit members of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign, who next week will mark 500 days since the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls from the northeastern village of Chibok by Boko Haram.