Corruption

John Kerry: Corruption is ‘root cause’ of terrorism

Secretary of State John Kerry made his third visit to Nigeria in 20 months this week, talking in the most explicit terms any top-level American official has used to explain the direct link between corruption and terrorism.

He called corruption a "root cause" of violent extremism.

In remarks Tuesday in Sokoto, Nigeria, Kerry said beating local terror group Boko Haram on the battlefield is "only the beginning of what we need to do."

Violent extremist groups use humiliation, marginalization, inequality and poverty caused by corruption as recruitment tools, he said.

"The fight against corruption has to be a global security priority of the first order," he said.