Daily Times

NIGER DELTA: Nigeria is expecting the arrival of warplanes and helicopters it ordered from Pakistan and Russia since it has recently been engaged in counter terrorist activities, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar said on Sunday.

Nigeria has been battling a notorious militant group named Boko Haram, which has been involved in insurgency, occupying the northern part of the country, aiming to establish an Islamic state. Thousands have been killed and more than 2 million people have been displaced due to the ongoing activities of Boko Haram.

It also faces threats in its crude oil producing heartland in the southern Niger Delta, where militants have been blowing up oil pipelines. The subsequent loss of crude oil output has hurt government revenues.

The air force chief said it was assisting the army and navy in countering activities of terrorists and militants.

Nigeria’s foreign minister said in May that the government hoped that United States would sell aircrafts to fight Boko Haram militants because Nigerian human rights record had improved enough for lifting up blockade on arms deals.

Under the previous government, the United States had blocked arms sales and ended training of Nigerian troops, partly over human rights concerns such as treatment of captured insurgents.

He said more than 700 of his troops were undergoing training in Pakistan, China, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Egypt, Russia and the United States.