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US lawmakers ask Biden to cancel $1b arms deal with Nigeria over human rights violations
Two lawmakers representing California and New Jersey in the US House of Representatives have asked President Joe Biden to reverse the decision to sell military infrastructure to Nigeria, premising their argument on an investigative report indicting the Nigerian Army for a quantum of forced abortions.
In 2018, Buhari conveyed to the Nigerian military authorities his approval for the purchase of military equipment to the tune of $1 billion.
The legislators, Republican Chris Smith of New Jersey’s 4th District and Democrat Sara Jacobs of California, both members of the subcommittee on Africa, tasked the US government to revisit the terms of its relationship with Nigeria with a view to knowing the extent of risks and abuses arising from its security assistance to Nigeria.
“We write to express our concern with current U.S. policy on and military support to Nigeria,” Reuters quoted the lawmakers.
The two congresspersons also pointed out that the Nigerian security forces had been accused of lacking adequate capacity to understand the concept of international humanitarian frameworks.
“Therefore, we believe continuing to move forward with the nearly $1 billion arms sale would be highly inappropriate and we urge the administration to rescind it,” the lawmakers said in the letter.
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This is the second time US legislators would oppose the release or sale of military tools to Nigeria in its battle against insurgency, hinging their claims on reported human rights abuses.
In December 2022, Senator Jim Risch, a Republican senator, sitting on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called for a review of the terms of security support and assistance between Nigeria and the US.
“I look forward to hearing more about the (State) Department´s planned response to the serious and abhorrent allegations levied against a long-standing beneficiary of U.S. security assistance and cooperation which, if deemed credible, have done irreparable harm to a generation of Nigerian citizens and to U.S. credibility in the region,” the Idaho senator said in the letter,” Risch said.
According to US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the security hardware “will better equip Nigeria to contribute to shared security objectives, promote regional stability and build interoperability with the U.S. and other Western partners”.
Since Buhari approved the funds in 2018, Nigeria has been receiving warplanes and security tools in batches to complement the efforts against insurgency.
The past 14 years in Nigeria have been characterised by large-scale terrorism by Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), who have caused thousands of deaths of armed men and civilians. FIJ
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200,000 repentant terrorists surrender, drop arms in North East – CDS
200,000 repentant terrorists surrender, drop arms in North East – CDS
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has disclosed that about 200,000 repentant terrorists have so far dropped their arms and surrendered to troops in the North East, noting that the twin strategy of kinetic and non-kinetic operations was responsible for this achievement.
The CDS made this known at the Security and Justice Symposium organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in collaboration with the British High Commission, which began at the National Counterterrorism Centre in Abuja on Tuesday.
He disclosed that the theme of the symposium, ”Securing Peace, Ensuring Justice, Protection, Conduct, and Accountability,” speaks volumes about the deluge of security challenges the armed forces and security agencies are facing.
His words, “All the challenges we are facing today have to do with fairness, equity, justice, and accountability.
“There will not be peace without justice, equity, fairness, and accountability. In our operations, we are conducting both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies, which have to a large extent yielded significant successes, and we want to particularly thank the National Security Adviser for his great support in this regard.
“Nigeria is going through so many challenges, and we feel we’re able to address this, and everybody has a sense of belonging. A lot of the security challenges we are having, we are sure, will go down. I want to thank the National Security Advisor for all the support he’s given us, both the kinetic and the non-kinetic.
“We have said it; the kinetic aspect is just less than 30%. The non-kinetic has a lot to play. The non-kinetic, because when you have democracy, people must have the evidence of democracy. As long as it tells people to sleep well and be peaceful, and they are hungry, their children cannot eat, and all this creates more problems.
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“The issue of informants. We have to look at how we tackle this issue of informants. Because these are the people who have created the issue.
200,000 repentant terrorists surrender, drop arms in North East – CDS
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Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police
Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police
The spokesperson for the police in Delta State, SP Bright Edafe, has confirmed the death of two robbery suspects in the state.
Mr Edafe, who disclosed this to journalists on Tuesday in Warri, said that the deceased were killed from the bullets shot by their gang members.
According to him, the incident occurred on Wednesday at Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of the state.
Mr Edafe explained that the deceased were leading the police surveillance team attached to the Ekpan Division to their hideout when they were caught during a shoot-out.
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“The suspects were arrested at Effurun roundabout with a bag containing 57 live cartridges and other items. They were leading the surveillance team to their hideout at Warri/Sapele road when their gang members, on sighting the vehicle of the police team, engaged them in a shootout.During the gun duel, the arrested suspects that were leading the police team were fatally wounded by the gun shot of their colleagues. The two injured suspects were taken to the hospital and later died while receiving treatment,” he said.
Mr Edafe said that items recovered from the hoodlums hideout included: one English pump action gun, one locally made cut-to-size gun and eight live cartridges.
Others were: six iPhones, Smart phones and a Rolex wrist watch.
He said that the command had intensified manhunt on the fleeing members of the gang.
Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police
(NAN)
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