US Considering Selling Nigerian Attack Planes To Fight Boko Haram

According to US officials, the USA is seriously considering selling Nigerian ground attack planes in an effort to ramp up their defenses against Nigerian terrorist group, Boko Haram.

The US has made a promise to Nigeria to help them in their efforts of fighting the jihadist terror group. However, there have been some concerns about providing Nigerian troops with arms because of the Nigerian army’s human rights track record.

There have been various instances over the years where the Nigerian army was accused for extrajudicial killings, which is not above board.

That being said, new reports by officials suggest that Washington is considering selling Nigeria A-29 Super Tucano ground attack planes in an effort to boost their defenses against Boko Haram.

However, this plan has not yet been approved by the American Congress and will first have to go through the right channels and be approved before given the go-ahead.

An official for the Washington administration said that the US will stick to their promise of not providing arms or forces to any group that had been investigated for human rights violations, but that the US will continue giving support and training to the Nigerian army:

“…[sic] We are committed to implementing the letter and spirit of the Leahy Law, and will not provide assistance to any unit for which there is credible information of a gross violation of human rights…We provide training and other assistance to numerous Nigerian security force units not implicated in human rights violations and we believe that assistance has and will have a significant impact on Nigeria’s fight to defeat Boko Haram,” the official statement read.