The United States has defended its refusal to sell cobra helicopters to
Nigeria, saying the Government is free to buy fighter jets from any
other country.
“Nigeria has purchased helicopters that originated in countries other than the US and nothing in our decision prevents Nigeria from obtaining weapons and equipment from other sources,” its State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, said on Wednesday.
Psaki was responding to questions from journalists on the allegations by the Nigerian Ambassador to the US, Prof. Adebowale Adefuye, that Washington declined to sell lethal arms to Nigeria.
Adefuye had also told members of the Council on Foreign Relations that Washington was not doing enough to assist Nigeria in combating the Boko Haram insurgency in North-East zone of the country.
He said, “The U.S. government has up till today refused to grant Nigeria’s request to purchase lethal equipment that would have brought down the terrorists within a short time on the basis of the allegations that Nigeria’s defence forces have been violating human rights of Boko Haram suspects when captured or arrested.
“We find it difficult to understand how and why, in spite of the U.S. presence in Nigeria, with their sophisticated military technology, Boko Haram should be expanding and becoming more deadly.”But Psaki said that the US refused to sell the helicopters to Nigeria due to concerns about the ability of the military to use and maintain them.
The cobra is a combat aircraft with the ability to climb at the rate of 8.2metres per second. It is equipped with a 20 mm M197 3-barrelled Gatling cannon in the A/A49E-7 turret (750 rounds ammo capacity).
Psaki said there were ongoing concerns about the Nigerian military’s protection of civilians when conducting military operations, adding that these had been discussed with the Nigerian authorities.
The State Department spokeswoman added, “Earlier this year, we denied 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. We shared those concerns with Nigeria before this decision and subsequent to it.
“We’ll 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.”
Psaki said Washington would not have raised concerns on human rights abuses by the Nigerian military “if we didn’t feel and others didn’t feel that they were warranted.”
