The policemen responsible for that act have actually been apprehended, but that was only after Boko Haram went on a rampage.The photo you showed in an earlier post depicting the street executions by police in 2009 are in a youtube video. I am sure you have seen it. It was absolutely detestable, but no action against the police and that action, as you say, flamed the hatred. USA military action would do the same.
The situation in Nigeria is serious, but there is not short-term fix.
That is the Nigerian Police Force's usual modus operandi, once they get tired of keeping you in detention, they size you up (do you have rich or influential relatives?), if you don't they simply take you outside, shoot you and claim you are an "armed robbery suspect".
In many parts of Nigeria, the military has a similar reputation. So much innocent blood was split by the Nigerian military in the Niger Delta. I recall how they leveled an entire village (Odi), laying waste to anything alive. We weren't surprised when the Niger Delta erupted.
Are these the people the US military want to make friends with?
I can understand America's realpolitik rationale for forging close ties with the Nigerian military. The expectation is that Nigeria is likely to grow in strategic importance and the bonds formed by captains and majors from both armies will be useful in promoting American interests in the future.
But things could turn out much differently, and all those bonds could count for nothing. The most important lesson from the Arab Spring is that power still lies with the people, not the elite, not the military.
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