US Denies It Refused To Sell Military Equipment To Nigeria

At a press briefing on Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki stated that in the past six months, the United States has provided and approved sales of military equipment to Nigeria’s armed forces.

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The United States has dismissed Nigeria’s claims it refused her the military equipment required to defeat Boko Haram.

 
She said the country has also shared intelligence with Nigeria, began training a new army battalion and held numerous high-level discussions with Nigerian authorities on additional measures to best address the Boko Haram threat.
Psaki said the only denial was the transfer of some Cobra attack helicopters to Nigeria “due to concerns about Nigeria’s ability to use and maintain this type   of helicopter in its effort against Boko Haram and ongoing concerns about the Nigerian military’s protection of civilians when conducting military operations.”
Earlier in the week, Nigeria’s ambassador to the United States, Adebowale Adefuye, had told members of the Council on Foreign Relations that Nigeria was frustrated the US had refused to give the weapons needed to deliver the “killer punch” to Boko Haram because the US claimed to be concerned about Nigeria’s human rights record.

**as gathered by ifeanyi ugwuanyi ...