Congresswoman Lois Frankel spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives yesterday following her trip to Nigeria during which the focus was on the plight of the victims of Boko Haram terrorists, including 270 school girls kidnapped in April of this year.

Recently, Frankel traveled to Nigeria as part of a Congressional delegation with Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX), Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), and Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL). During the trip, the delegation met with victims of Boko Haram, as well as, Nigerian political, military and civic leaders. The delegation emphasized the urgency of securing the safe release of the school girls and urged the Nigerian government to set up a relief fund for the victims and families of the Boko Haram violence.

Click here to watch a video of the speech.

Below are Frankel’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

“Mr. Speaker, I just returned from a Congressional Delegation trip to Nigeria which was both eye-opening and moving.

Nigeria is a country of huge possibilities.

It is an oil rich nation, the largest in Africa with a population that will surpass the United States by 2050.

It is mired with corrupt political leaders and a weakened police and military leading to a dire climate of poverty and joblessness in the northeast and giving rise to a terrorist organization of mostly young men who call themselves Boko Haram.

 They burn schools. They burn churches, mosques, and police stations. They rob, they steal, they kidnap and murder innocent victims in their path.

Their violence has resulted in thousands of deaths in the last decade.

Boko Haram’s most notorious activity, which was the focus of our trip, was the recent kidnapping of 270 innocent girls attending school. These girls remain hidden, most likely scattered and subjected to unimaginable crimes.

This kidnapping received international attention for a short time and then, like the girls, disappeared.

While in Nigeria, we met with victims of Boko Haram – as well as political, military and civic leaders.  We learned of the horrific suffering at the hands of Boko Haram, and the inability of the corrupt Nigerian government, which is involved in a competitive upcoming election, to stop the violence.

Embedded in my mind are the young girls who told us harrowing stories of how they escaped from Boko Haram terrorists, while their friends tragically remained behind.

We met with the weeping father of one such girl. And, I will never forget the story of a young mother who witnessed Boko Haram decapitate her husband's head and left her dying in the street with her own throat slit. She survived physically but was left broken financially and, of course, psychologically.

We spent the time with a fusion team of Nigerian, US, British and military and law enforcement put together to strategize the return of these girls.

Now, Mr. Speaker some quick observations of mine to a very complicated situation:

As I have said before, there are some crimes against humanity that know no borders that require a response no matter where you live in the world.

The kidnapping of 270 girls is such a crime and it cannot be treated just as another flavor of the week just to be soon forgotten.

That is why the United States and the international community must continue to apply pressure to the Nigerian government to do all it can to negotiate the safe return of these young girls home to their families.

For those citizens who want to join this, I join my colleague Frederica Wilson in asking the people in this country and all over the world to tweet using the hashtag bring back our girls every day at 9 AM.

During our trip, Mr. Speaker, we called upon, and we should continue to call upon, the Nigerian government to set up a relief fund for the victims and families of theBoko Haram attacks with the financial and medical care that they so need.

The United States should continue its efforts with the fusion team and our government should quickly respond to our team’s a request for approval of its strategic plan.

Of course, Mr. Speaker, we must continue to advise Nigerian authorities on the need for transparency and honesty – and the need to deal with the economic plight of their people and to urge a free and fair upcoming election.

As I said from the start, Mr. Speaker, Nigeria is a nation of great possibilities. It can be one day a giant economic partner for the United States and our allies – or it can become a safe haven for terrorists.

We can keep it on the right path by bringing the girls home.”

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