The United States is ready to provide military training to
help Nigeria’s battle against Islamic extremists, the leader of a US
Congressional delegation has said.
Representative Darrel Issa said Nigeria’s military is not
outgunned by Boko Haram, it needs training, not arms, to defeat the insurgents
blamed for the deaths of thousands in three countries.
Issa spoke after his four-person bipartisan delegation met
with President Muhammadu Buhari and military service chiefs.
Issa’s statement contradicts Buhari who asserted, after
meeting President Barack Obama at the White House last month, that the US is
aiding Boko Haram by refusing to sell attack helicopters to Nigeria.
The US Leahy Act prohibits sales of high-tech weapons to
countries whose militaries are accused of gross human rights abuses.
Nigeria is accused by Amnesty International of killing
without due process an estimated 8,000 people suspected of involvement with
Boko Haram.
Issa said: “The number one thing we bring is professional
training to help the Nigerian forces
fight Boko Haram and to advise them on how to treat insurgents and civilians
captured in the war zone.
“Nigeria’s military “doesn’t lack basic firearms ... it lacks
training in military strategy and in international and humanitarian laws.
“This is a military that was allowed to fall into disrepair
during the previous administration. Morale is low when training is low.”
He said Obama’s pledge to give whatever training is needed
signals “a new day” in US-Nigeria relations since Buhari’s victory at the March
28 presidential election.
Buhari has pledged to annihilate Boko Haram and fight
Nigeria’s serious corruption problem.
Credit: Thisday
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