United States may have relaxed its embargo on sale of arms and other military hardware to Nigeria, as available records show that the U.S Army is sending Armoured Personnel Carriers and ambulances, to help bolster the counter-insurgency war in the North-East. This is as Nigeria has acquired 500 additional rifles from Poland.
The development comes against the backdrop of President Muhammadu Buhari’s criticism of the Leahy Law, which prohibits US sale of arms to countries with alleged records of human rights abuse.
It also follows the recent pledge by the head of a delegation of the U.S Congress Committee on Judiciary to the country, Mr. Darrel Issa, that his home government is ready to reconsider its stance. Buhari had, during his official visit to the U.S, alluded to the fact that by the very nature of the Leahy Law, the U.S may be unwittingly supporting the insurgency. However, records from the U.S Defence Security Cooperation Agency indicate that the Department of Defence is now ready to deliver military materials to Nigeria.
A DSCA list of what is referred to as ‘Excess Defence Articles’ billed for the country, shows that the U.S Army, has concluded plans to transfer Caiman trucks, armoured vehicles designed “to defeat current and 
emerging threats, Agence France Presse reports. The disclosure was made by the equipment manufacturer, British-based BAE Systems.
emerging threats, Agence France Presse reports. The disclosure was made by the equipment manufacturer, British-based BAE Systems.
Apart from the aforementioned equipment, it was also revealed that the U.S Army is making available to the Nigerian military, armoured vehicles known as MaxxPro MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected).
The vehicles are made by Navistar Defence, an Illinois company, and Israeli-based Plasan Sasa. A State Department official, while responding to an AFP e-mail enquiry, said: “These articles have not been exported yet but are in the process. We don’t have a date on the export yet.”
Also, a specialist in African Affairs at the Congressional Research Service, Lauren Ploch Blanchard, said the “US security assistance to Nigeria hasn’t been suspended”, adding that “The US has also cleared so-called ‘clean’ units.” In a related development, Nigeria has acquired 500 Beryl M762 assault rifles from Poland valued at $500,000.
The rifles were said to have produced by Fabryka Broni, a Polish small arms manufacturer, under a contract that was said to have been signed early 2015. The disclosure was made by the company’s sources to defence publication, IHS Jane’s . According to IHS Jane’s, the first batch of 1,000 Beryl M762s, spare parts and training, was delivered to Nigeria under a $1 million contract signed in mid-2014.
It is said that “this was the first ever export order for any Beryl rifle, including the M762, a 7.62×39 mm version of the Polish Army’s 5.56×45 mm Beryl M556 (wz. 96C) service rifle.” The second batch, according to the report, included 10 Mini Beryl M556 carbines for test and evaluation purposes. In a separate development, the Nigerian military has carried out several bombings and air strike missions in Sambisa Forest.
The strike missions came after several weeks of tactical reconnaissance by the reconnaissance/ surveillance aircraft.
The air strikes carried out by F-7NI and Alpha Jets as well as attack helicopters has resulted in the degradation of the terrorists’ capabilities and destruction of some of their strongholds, according to a statement by the Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Dele Alonge.
“Intelligence report revealed that as aftermath of the strike missions, the terrorists have been confined and their capabilities greatly reduced, thereby restricting their nefarious activities to small scale attacks and suicide bombings.
“The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar assures all Nigerians that the air efforts would be sustained until the Boko Haram Activities becomes a thing of the past. He further stated that the Nigerian Air Force with their support is willing, able and ready to meet up with current and future security challenges of the nation.”
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