The United States Government has approved the sale of 12 AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopters and other weapons to Nigeria worth nearly $1bn.
Other weapons include the Bell-made Cobras; 28 General Electric-made T700-401C engines; 2,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems and targeting and navigation systems.
The sale of the helicopters and related defence systems to the Nigerian government was announced in a statement by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency on Thursday.
The agency said that the US State Department has also released $25m for human rights-related training of the military officers that will handle the weapons.
It added that the $25m will be dedicated to “institutional and technical assistance” to Nigeria’s military to continue its Air-to-Ground Integration program.
“The proposed sale will better equip Nigeria to contribute to shared security objectives, promote regional stability and build interoperability with the U.S. and other Western partners.
“This sale will be a major contribution to US and Nigerian security goals,” the statement said.
TrackNews learned that the Joe Biden-led administration gave the approval after US lawmakers lifted restrictions on the sale of the weapons over human rights concerns.
Recall that the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee delayed the sale of the weapons to Nigeria amid concerns of human rights violations.
