Germany to supply arms to Nigeria to fight Boko Haram, militants

The German government is set to supply Nigeria with military hardware before the end of 2016.

According to the Permanent Secretary of the German Foreign Office, Markus Elderer, the gesture is to aid Nigeria against terrorism in the North East and militancy in the Niger Delta.

Elderer, stated this in Abuja Monday night at the meeting of defence session of the Nigeria-Germany Bi-National Commission.

According to him, the decision to support Nigerian security forces towards addressing security challenges was at the instance of a request by President Muhammadu Buhari at the last G-7 summit hosted by Germany.

Elderer said the equipment involved comprised ground surveillance equipment, anti-mine equipment, gun boats and others, adding that Germany would commence the supply of the equipment as soon as the aid agreement was signed between the representatives of both countries.

The German official also disclosed that the military aid to Nigeria would also include training of Nigerian military personnel, especially military engineers in the handling and maintenance of the equipment.

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Elderer further disclosed that other aspects of the agreement with Nigeria included bio-security, mopping up of small arms in the country, police training and health support.

While speaking at the meeting, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Amb. Danjuma Sheni, said it was laudable that the German government decided to support Nigeria’s quest for peace and security.

He added that Nigeria would leverage on the opportunities created through the Nigeria-Germany Bi-National Commission to boost other aspects of relations that are beneficial to both countries.

According to Sheni, the secretariat of the commission was working tirelessly to ensure that the agreement was signed before the end of June.

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