U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is making a brief visit to Nigeria Thursday for meetings with President Goodluck Jonathan and other leaders.

She is traveling to the capital, Abuja, amid calls to urge Mr. Jonathan to address rising sectarian violence in Nigeria. Northern Nigeria is mostly Muslim. The south is mainly Christian.

U.S.-based Human Rights Watch says Clinton should encourage Mr. Jonathan to confront violence committed by the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, as well as abuses and corruption by his own security forces. The U.S. government has declared three Boko Haram leaders as terrorists.

From Nigeria, Clinton is scheduled to travel to Ghana later Thursday for talks with President John Mahama.

Clinton's African tour next goes to Benin. The trip has already taken her to Senegal, Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya, Malawi and South Africa.