US approves stalled arms sale to Nigeria

The US State Department has approved a possible foreign military sale to Nigeria of munitions, precision bombs, precision rockets and related equipment valued at an estimated $346m, reports the The Guardian Nigeria. This comes after US lawmakers had put a hold on sale of weapons to Nigeria over concerns about possible human rights abuses by the federal government. The US had in 2022 approved nearly a $1bn weapons sale to Nigeria by the Joe Biden administration after an initial pause by President Donald Trump in his first term in office. This was as a result of concerns over the series of accidental bombings by the military air and land forces in their bid to clear terrorists from their enclaves, which affected some villagers. The Defence Security Co-operation Agency (DSCA) confirmed it delivered the required certification to Congress this week, notifying lawmakers of the planned sale. The State Department said the deal would enhance Nigeria’s ability to respond to current and future threats, ‘through operations against terrorists and to counter illicit trafficking in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea’. The DSCA noted that the sale would not alter the basic military balance in the region and that Nigeria would have no difficulty integrating the munitions into its armed forces.