Why we refused to sell military helicopters to Nigeria - US



The United States has said that it refused to sell its Cobra helicopters to Nigeria due to concerns about the Nigeria’s military ability to use and maintain them.



The cobra attack helicopter is a combat aircraft used by the US marines with the ability to climb at the rate of 8.2meters per second. It is equipped with a 20 mm M197 3-barreled Gatling cannon in the A/A49E-7 turret (750 rounds ammo capacity).

But America stated that it had provided and approved sales of military equipment to Nigerian armed forces.

The US State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, stated this in Washington on Wednesday while responding to questions from journalists on the allegations made by the Nigerian ambassador to US, Prof. Adebowale Adefuye.

Adefuye had told members of the Council on Foreign Relations on Monday that the US refused to sell lethal arms to Nigeria, adding that America was not doing enough to assist in combating the Boko Haram insurgency in North-Eastern part of the country.

The ambassador said the US was letting down an old ally in its hour of need, and that Nigerians and the FG feel abandoned.

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.”

Adefuye said that Washington had refused Nigeria’s requests to buy heavy weaponry because of allegations the defense forces have violated the human rights of Boko Haram suspects.

He said allegations of human rights abuses by the military were “rumors, hearsays and exaggerated accounts put about by rivals of President Goodluck Jonathan and rights groups.”

But Psaki in reaction to Adefuye’s allegations, claimed there had been “a great deal” of US aid to Nigeria.

She 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.
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  1. america is not greater dan God.so by Gods favor we will overcome dis trian times in nigeria.

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  2. One thg certain's if Nig govt had had been leadg by democracry nd nt by self centred intention, by now Boko harram, permit me 2 say, wld have been a 4gotten issue by now. Reason; these were few group of failures who thought power could a thg gotten a radical nd fraudullent act, like we're aware, group devilish minded might gang up one day nd decide somethg unimargineable nd decide 2 create confussion nd it either works out for their good or vis-a-vis, because they've no value for life. For the enlighteded citizens of this country who believe in justice, we know no stone shall be left unturned until justice becomes d order of d day.

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  3. This lie or reason no jel at all. So,America too de blow this kind lie. They tell you to sell to them first. Wethin concern them with maintenance. Is it when they cannot maintain them you keep selling new ones .Beside,America even technical staff to support their allies in terms of maintenance.Why is Nigeria case difference?

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  4. This is a kind of result a nation that abandon development of her citizens get. If Nigeria had developed its human and material resources, there might not be need to depend on other nations for weapons but build it locally. Let our government wakes up and develop those talents wasting away.

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  5. This is absolutely true - placing such a machine in the hands of Nigerians will be waste of resources considering our bad maintenance culture.

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  6. This is a bitter truth in Nigerian forces,ranging from the police and others.maltreatment of suspects before confirmation to any crime.many died during interrogation simply because we lack professional acumen to verify issues.We still have a long way to go in Nigerian

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  7. Nigerian army cannot operate or maintain the helicopter. What an insult.This is simply bcos our rulers are senseless. Will US say this to SA? A fair treatment for a disgraced giant of Africa.

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  8. The US is a key sponsor of all the problems in this world - espionage,  terrorism,  kidnapping,  wars etc . This they do to serve their unquenchable greedy appetite to be the only super power. The above caption is not a surprise because they have predicted that nigeria will seize to exist by 2015 hence they working round the clock tooth and nail to make their predictions come to pass.  They know that if they sell weapons to Nigeria,  bokoharm would be crushed in little or no time. They are sponsoring bokoharm financially and otherwise, and the so call abokis and northern elites have not been able to see beyond their nose. Abokis, you people should wake up from this perpetual slumber and salvage what remains of nigeria to avoid this impending catastrophey.

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    1. Rivers Nigeria, this is not about the 'Abokis' alone; it's a rather naive mindset. While I agree with you that the role of the US is shady in African affairs (I have the crises that swept the Maghreb, sacked Mubarak and Gadaffi in mind, add to that the Sudan crisis, and now Nigeria), the role of the Federal Government of Nigeria is even more shady. Can you tell Nigerians how Boko Haram fighters sacked whole towns and chased our soldiers, while local hunters and vigilantes surmounted enough courage to repel the insurgents and re-capture the same towns lost by the soldiers? Ask Jonathan, Badeh and Minimah why they can't defeat the insurgents when farmers armed only with ordinary guns have routed the same insurgents.

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  9. TO FIGHT INSURGENT IS A COLLECTIVE EFFORT OF BOTH THE GOVERNMENT AND THE TEEMING MASSES, THANKS TO LOCAL HUNTERS, TOGETHER WE SHALL FIGHT OUR ENERMIES

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