INSULT: Nigeria’s Military Needs Training, Not Arms Says US Legislator

US Representative Darrel Issa

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.