Pentagon informs US Congress of the sale of N181bn warplanes, weapons to Nigeria

The Pentagon which is the Headquarters of the United States Department of Defence has informed the US Congress of the sale of 12 Super Tucano A-29 ground attack aircraft and weapons to Nigeria to fight the Boko Haram insurgency.

Reuters reported that the Pentagon communicated the sale of the 12 ground attack aircraft valued at $593m (N181bn) to the US Congress on Monday.

The report quoted Pentagon’s Defence Security Cooperation Agency as having made the announcement to the US legislature.

The Super Tucano A-29, “an agile, propeller-driven plane with reconnaissance and surveillance as well as attack capabilities, is made by Brazil’s Embraer.”

The US had in April, this year, agreed  to sell high-tech aircraft to Nigeria to tackle  the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East.

United States officials told the Associated Press that the Congress was  expected to receive formal notification within weeks, setting in motion the deal with Nigeria.

They added that the arrangement would call for Nigeria purchasing up to 12 Embraer A-29 Super Tucano aircraft with sophisticated targeting gear.

The purchase will gulp about $600m, said the  officials in April. They were, however, unauthorised to discuss the terms of the sale publicly and preferred anonymity on the diplomatic conversations.

The United States had before this new development, blocked Nigeria from acquiring the Super Tucano ground attack aircraft from Brazil in November, 2016 because of allegations of human rights violations against the Nigerian military.