Nigerian Military Can't Operate, Maintain Some Attack Jets To Fight B'Haram–US

The United States government has reacted to allegation made by its Nigerian counterpart that it refused to help fight the scourge of terrorism in the country (Nigeria).

Since 2009, a terrorist group called Boko Haram has unleashed terror on communities in the north eastern region of Nigeria.

Their deadly attacks were intensified in 2011 after Goodluck Jonathan emerged winner of the 2011 presidential election.

The Nigerian government, through its Ambassador to the US, Ade Adefuye, said on Monday that the Barak Obama-led government was not helping Nigeria in its hour of need despite the huge presence of the US in the West African country.

Adefuye further accused the US of refusing to sell some sophistication weapon to Nigeria to fight Boko Haram. He also said the US was not allowing other countries sell weapon to Nigeria.

“We find it difficult to understand how and why in spite of the US presence in Nigeria with their sophisticated military technology, Boko Haram should be expanding and becoming more deadly,” Adefuye said on Monday.

But reacting to these claims on Wednesday in Washington DC, the US Department of State spokesperson, Jen Paski, said her government did not stop Nigeria from getting military weapon from other sources.

“Nigeria has purchased helicopters that originated in countries other than the United States, and nothing in our decision prevents Nigeria from obtaining weapons and equipment from other sources,” Paski said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

Paski explained that the US refused to sell refused to sell some Cobra attack helicopters to the Nigerian military in early 2014 because they feared the military had no required expertise to operate and maintain them.

However, the US government pointed out that some military equipment were sold to Nigeria.

“We have also provided and approved sales of military equipment to its (Nigerian) armed forces. These decisions are made, of course, after careful scrutiny to ensure they conform with United States law,” Paski revealed.

“We will continue to look for ways to deepen our cooperation with Nigeria to help it acquire the systems and skills needed to restore peace and security. But obviously, we’ve provided a great deal of assistance over the past several months,” she said.